Nino Schurter to end storied career at ‘favourite race’ Lenzerheide World Cup

Legendary mountain bike champion Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM) shared on an Instagram video that he will end his career with two races on home soil, the XCO World Championships in Crans-Montana, and his ‘favourite race’, the Lenzerheide World Cup.

The Swiss rider’s incredible palmares include an Olympic Gold medal at the 2016 Rio games, a silver medal at the 2012 London games, and a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing games. He has won 10 World Championships (2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022) and has claimed the overall World Cup title nine times (2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023). 

Schurter claimed his last XCO victory, his record-breaking 36th, at the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Val di Sole, Trentino, back in June 2024. 

The 2025 season began strong with his third Cape Epic victory, first since 2019, with Filippo Colombo, but in XCO World Cups, he broke into the top 10 twice this year, at Araxá in April, and at Pal Arinsal in July.

“Dear mountain bike family and beyond. For the past two decades, I've given my body, my mind and my soul to mountain biking. A beautiful sport, but also brutal at pro-level. You either win races, you are a contender, or you're gone. There's no place for passengers. It's all or nothing. 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Schurter said.

“When I raced my first World Championships, I was just a kid chasing a dream in Lugano 2003, and I left with my first international medal. What I didn't know then: that dream would carry me through countless unforgettable moments and let me win more than half of all of those championships along the way.”

What better way to sign off than to race his two final XCO contests on home soil, starting with the World Championships in Crans-Montana on September 14, followed two weeks later by the Lenzerheide World Cup, which he last won in 2023.

“It's been one hell of a ride. But now it's time. Time to let my mind breathe and to spend more moments with the people who have supported me through it all. This year gives me the perfect goodbye. Crans-Montana will be my final XCO World Championships and Lenzerheide, my favourite race, will be my last World Cup. Two home races, I couldn't have scripted it better.”

Shurter expressed his gratitude towards the mountain bike community. “You made this journey unforgettable. You were the reason I pushed harder. And you were the magic behind the medals.”

He will soon be embarking on new, yet-to-be-announced projects. 

“Let's make it legendary. Ride on,” the legend concluded as the video ended with a display of his medals.