Schurter sprints to World Cup win

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Nino Schurter (Scott-Swisspower) proved that there was no "rainbow curse" on him as he matched women's world champion Irina Kalentieva (Topeak Ergon) in swapping his rainbow jersey for the World Cup leader's one.

The Swiss rider won the men's 43km race in a finish very similar to last year's World Championships, when he outsprinted Olympic champion Julien Absalon (Orbea). Again, it came down to a sprint between the two, with Schurter winning by less than a wheel length. Burry Stander (Specialized) of South Africa took third, 14 seconds behind the front two.

The six lap men's race started very fast, with eight riders initially making the selection at the front, but by the fourth lap that was whittled down to just Schurter, Absalon and Stander. The South African looked to be the strongest, but he made a mistake on the last lap, allowing the other two to get away.

Absalon took the lead, setting the pace, but could not shake Schurter, and when they turned onto the gravel finishing straight, the Swiss rider came up alongside his French rival and pulled ahead in the final 10 metres to take the win.

"This is an incredible victory, to win the World Cup and take the leader's jersey is very special," said Schurter. "I hoped to do well here, but there was a very, very strong field, so I was only looking to make the podium. I was dying out there, to stay with Julien, but I knew that if it came to a sprint I was a little bit faster."

Absalon, for his part, revealed that he was quite content with second. "I have been sick this week, so I didn't know if I could race in the middle of the week. But each day I got a little bit better, and by Saturday I was okay again. I didn't know how strong I was going to be, and I was just hoping to get on the podium."

"But it was good for me when the three of us went away, because I was able to rest a bit at the back. I think Stander was the strongest, but maybe he did too much work, and then made a little mistake that allowed Nino and I to get away. At the finish I tried to control it, but Nino was just to strong."

For Geoff Kabush Maxxis-Rocky Mountain), it was a disappointing day to finish 28th, after riding so strongly a week earlier at Sea Otter. "I definitely didn't have the form that I had at Sea Otter. I had a good start, but then I just didn't have the power to keep up. Maybe it was because of all the travel problems to get here; it took me three days, and that didn't help."

Kabush was the second North American, behind Todd Wells (Specialized) in 19th.

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