This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com.
In the final round of the UCI cross country World Cup in Val d'Isere, France, Nino Schurter (Scott-Swisspower) earned his fourth win of the season, as many riders put the final touches on their form for the Olympic Games coming up in two weeks. Schurter took his second World Cup series title with his victory.
Schurter, who skipped the previous round in Windham, New York, for Olympic preparation, showed that his form is better than ever by leading the men's race from start to finish. The newly titled national Swiss champion rocketed off the front of the field on the first lap, opening up a gap on a chase group containing teammate Florian Vogel, Marco Fontana (Cannondale), Ralf Naef (Multivan-Merida), Sergio Gutierrez (Wildwolf-Trek), Windham winner Burry Stander (Specialized) and Julien Absalon (Orbea).
Vogel and Fontana steadily began to gain ground on Schurter, while the others fell back, with Absalon struggling in particular in the muddy conditions, eventually pulling into the pit to change tires and then abandoning.
Fontana and Vogel bridged up to Schurter by mid-race, but Vogel was gapped after crashing and never regained the leaders. Lukas Flückiger (Trek World Racing) moved forward into third and Fontana's teammate Manuel Fumic into fourth as others faded from the intense pace. On the final lap, Schurter attacked again to solo in for victory, while Flückiger caught the fading Fontana for second.
"My tactic today was to start really fast," said Schurter, "Because Burry always has problems at the beginning of the race when it's really fast, as does Absalon. So I decided to start very fast and that strategy was quite good. Neither Burry nor Absalon were in the leading group after the first lap. It was a perfect race for me. With Marco (Fontana) and Flo (Florian Vogel) together, we were a strong group in the lead."
"It is awesome for me to win the World Cup in an Olympic year," said Schurter. " It gives me a good feeling now for the upcoming Olympic Games. It was not my biggest target to win the World Cup, but now I am super happy; it is a bit of a surprise for me."
Schurter finishes the season with 1200 points to Stander's 1058, with defending champion Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) third at 865 points.
Looking ahead to the Olympic race in two weeks, for which Schurter is the obvious favorite by virtue of recent race performances, he said, "The Olympics will be different than here. It was a hard race here because of the altitude. The Olympics will be a much faster race, and I hope I can perform as well as here."
Full results
1
Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team
1:34:03
2
Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing
0:00:13
3
Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing
0:00:33
4
Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing
0:01:17
5
José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team
0:01:22
6
Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team
0:01:49
7
Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing
0:02:16
8
Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team
0:02:28
9
Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi
0:02:54
10
Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing
0:03:08
11
Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team
0:03:37
12
Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry
0:04:05
13
Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing
0:05:11
14
Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing
0:05:12
15
Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing
0:05:20
16
Marek Konwa* (Pol) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team
0:05:21
17
Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized
0:05:23
18
Cédric Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix
0:05:43
19
Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team
0:05:52
20
Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team
0:06:02
21
Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour
0:06:05
22
Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team
0:06:22
23
Michal Lami (Svk)
0:06:57
24
Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing
0:06:58
25
Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) Orbea Racing Team
26
Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team
0:07:08
27
Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
0:07:15
28
Martin Loo (Est) Hard Rock Canossa Merida
0:07:29
29
Periklis Ilias (Gre) Team Protek
0:07:51
30
Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team
31
Martino Fruet (Ita)
0:07:52
32
Jiri Novak (Cze)
0:07:53
33
Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team
0:08:19
34
Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team
0:08:23
35
Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru - Trek
0:08:24
36
Nicola Rohrbach (Swi)
0:08:34
37
Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop
0:08:35
38
Philip Buys (RSA)
39
Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Roxracing
0:08:53
40
Daniel Mcconnell (Aus)
0:09:05
41
Andy Eyring (Ger)
0:09:08
42
Fabien Canal (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix
0:09:34
43
Andras Parti (Hun) Euroone-Waberer's-Cube MTB Team
0:09:51
44
Paolo Cesar Montoya Cantillo (CRc)
0:10:13
45
Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team
0:10:17
46
Alexis Chenevier (Fra) Scott Les Saisies
0:10:23
47
Jürg Graf (Swi) Bskgraf Rollmat-Koba MTB Team
0:10:32
48
Jiri Friedl (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized
0:10:43
49
Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing
0:11:19
50
Lukas Sablik (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized
0:11:26
51
Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Versluys Team
0:11:31
52
Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Specialized Racing
0:11:40
53
Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team
0:11:52
54
Piotr Brzozka (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team
0:12:01
55
Umberto Corti (Ita) Team CBE Tecnoimpianti A.S.D.
0:12:07
56
Jérémy Huguenin (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour
0:12:19
57
David Fletcher (GBr) Orange Monkey-Cannondale
0:12:34
58
Jan Jobanek (Cze) Merida Biking Team
0:13:14
59
Giancarlo Sax (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
0:14:22
-1lap
Hans Becking (Ned) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team
-1lap
Ramon Sagues Portabella (Spa)
-1lap
Filip Eberl (Cze)
-1lap
Gareth Montgomerie (GBr)
-1lap
Pascal Meyer (Swi) Jb Felt Team
-1lap
Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita)
-1lap
Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Lapierre International
-1lap
Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team
-1lap
Patrik Gallati (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team
-1lap
Florian Thie (Swi)
-1lap
Ruben Almeida (Por)
-1lap
Jonas Baumann (Swi) Wheeler - Ixs Team
-1lap
David Joao Serralheiro Rosa (Por)
-2laps
Daniel Eymann (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
-2laps
Shlomi Haimy (Isr) Focus MIG Team
-2laps
Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
-2laps
Rafal Hebisz (Pol)
-2laps
Marios Athanasiadis (Cyp)
-2laps
Michael Broderick (USA)
-2laps
Dave Henderson (GBr)
-2laps
Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
-2laps
Sang Hoon Na (Kor)
-3laps
Seiya Hirano (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team
-3laps
Tiago Jorge Oliveira Ferreira (Por) Bi&Esse - Infotre Protek
-3laps
Robby De Bock (Bel)
-4laps
John Whittington (GBr)
DNF
Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea Racing Team
DNF
Michele Casagrande (Ita) Elettroveneta - Corratec
DNF
Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Spa) Orbea Racing Team
DNF
Ismael Ventura Sanchez (Spa)
DNF
Robert Wardell (GBr)
DNF
Matous Ulman (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team
DNF
Kornel Osicki (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team
DNF
Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing
DNS
Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team
DNS
Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) Elettroveneta - Corratec
DNS
Peter Glassford (Can)
DNS
Thomas Christian Bonne (Den)
Teams
1
Cannondale Factory Racing
69
pts
2
Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team
67
3
Multivan Merida Biking Team
62
4
Specialized Racing
59
5
Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing
37
6
Trek World Racing
35
7
Rabobank Giant Offroad Team
34
8
TX Active Bianchi
22
9
BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry
19
10
Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team
15
11
Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized
14
12
GT Skoda Chamonix
13
13
Versluys Team
12
14
Giant Swiss SR - Suntour
10
15
Orbea Racing Team
6
16
Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
4
17
Hard Rock Canossa Merida
3
18
Team Protek
2
Elite men individual Final World Cup standings
1
Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team
1200
pts
2
Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing
1058
3
Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing
865
4
Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing
830
5
José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team
797
6
Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team
760
7
Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing
715
8
Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing
697
9
Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team
660
10
Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing
657
11
Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea Racing Team
650
12
Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team
595
13
Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry
562
14
Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing
543
15
Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi
529
16
Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing
506
17
Max Plaxton (Can)
472
18
Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing
456
19
Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing
450
20
Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team
430
21
Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Roxracing
405
22
Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team
394
23
Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team
383
24
Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team
380
25
Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru - Trek
359
26
Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
336
27
Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra)
331
28
Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Specialized Racing
306
29
Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour
304
30
Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team
304
31
Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing
295
32
Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
258
33
Daniel Mcconnell (Aus)
248
34
Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing
247
35
Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team
243
36
Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized
230
37
Marek Konwa* (Pol) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team
217
38
Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) Orbea Racing Team
216
39
Henk Jaap Moorlag* (Ned) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team
199
40
Cédric Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix
193
41
Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) Elettroveneta - Corratec
190
42
Fabien Canal (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix
188
43
Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team
173
44
Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team
162
45
Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing
158
46
Martin Loo (Est) Hard Rock Canossa Merida
150
47
Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3Roxracing
144
48
Martino Fruet (Ita)
142
49
Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team
137
50
Philip Buys (RSA)
136
51
Michele Casagrande (Ita) Elettroveneta - Corratec
135
52
Jiri Novak (Cze)
133
53
Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team
121
54
Jürg Graf (Swi) Bskgraf Rollmat-Koba MTB Team
119
55
Tony Longo (Ita) TX Active Bianchi
111
56
Stephen Ettinger (USA) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team
111
57
Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Lapierre International
105
58
Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team
105
59
Raphael Gagne (Can)
104
60
Jérémy Huguenin (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour
102
61
Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop
102
62
Sven Nys (Bel)
100
63
Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru - Trek
88
64
Andras Parti (Hun) Euroone-Waberer's-Cube MTB Team
88
65
Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team
86
66
Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
84
67
David Fletcher (GBr) Orange Monkey-Cannondale
81
68
Periklis Ilias (Gre) Team Protek
75
69
Michal Lami (Svk)
70
70
Matous Ulman (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team
68
71
Nicola Rohrbach (Swi)
68
72
Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Spa) Orbea Racing Team
67
73
Piotr Brzozka (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team
65
74
Umberto Corti (Ita) Team CBE Tecnoimpianti A.S.D.
61
75
Paolo Cesar Montoya Cantillo (CRc)
60
76
Lukas Sablik (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized
60
77
Severin Disch (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
56
78
Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team
56
79
Andy Eyring (Ger)
54
80
Adam Morka (Can)
48
81
Andrew Watson (Can)
46
82
Lachlan Norris (Aus) Giant Factory Off-Road Team
41
83
Alexis Chenevier (Fra) Scott Les Saisies
41
84
Marek Galinski (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team
37
85
Mitchell Hoke (USA)
36
86
Michael Broderick (USA)
32
87
Peter Glassford (Can)
31
88
Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team
30
89
Alex Grant (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing
29
90
Alban Lakata (Aut) Topeak Ergon Racing Team
29
91
Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Versluys Team
27
92
Neal Kindree (Can)
26
93
Spencer Paxson (USA) Kona
24
94
Patrik Gallati (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team
24
95
Hector Riveros (Col)
23
96
Cameron Jette (Can) Scott-3Roxracing
23
97
Matthys Beukes (RSA)
21
98
Jiri Friedl (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized
20
99
Rotem Ishai (Isr)
20
100
Kristian Hynek (Cze)
20
101
Daniel Eymann (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
18
102
Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
16
103
Rubens Valeriano (Bra)
15
104
Matthew Hadley (Can)
15
105
Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) Isd MTB Team
15
106
Ignacio Torres (Mex)
14
107
Pete Ostroski (USA)
13
108
Ruben Almeida (Por)
13
109
Sid Taberlay (Aus)
12
110
Hannes Metzler (Aut)
12
111
Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona
11
112
Kevin Pauwels (Bel)
11
113
Jan Jobanek (Cze) Merida Biking Team
10
114
Craig Richey (Can)
10
115
David Joao Serralheiro Rosa (Por)
10
116
Giancarlo Sax (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
9
117
Justin Lindine (USA)
9
118
Marc Bassingthwaighte (Nam)
9
119
Hans Becking (Ned) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team
8
120
Luciano Caraccioli (Arg)
8
121
Dave Henderson (GBr)
8
Teams Final World Cup Standings
1
Specialized Racing
504
pts
2
Cannondale Factory Racing
413
3
Multivan Merida Biking Team
380
4
Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team
352
5
Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing
244
6
Trek World Racing
214
7
Rabobank Giant Offroad Team
201
8
Orbea Racing Team
140
9
BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry
114
10
TX Active Bianchi
96
11
Bmc Mountainbike Racing Team
81
12
Scott-3Roxracing
73
13
Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
67
14
Subaru - Trek
45
15
Giant Swiss SR - Suntour
42
16
Giant Factory Off-Road Team
31
17
Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized
27
18
GT Skoda Chamonix
27
19
Elettroveneta - Corratec
24
20
Topeak Ergon Racing Team
23
21
Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team
18
22
Versluys Team
12
23
Thoemus Racing Team
6
24
Lapierre International
6
25
Hard Rock Canossa Merida
6
26
S&H Superior MTB Team
5
27
Team Protek
2
28
Euroone-Waberer's-Cube MTB Team
1
