Switzerland open MTB World Championships with Team Relay victory

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Nino Schurter wins for the Swiss - their 3rd in a row (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Podium: Team USA, Switzerland, France (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Switzerland's Jolanda Neff hands off to Nino Schurter (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Poland and Denmark head out before Switzerland (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Catharine Pendrel (Canada) (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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USA's Christopher Blevins at the front (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Riley Amos (Team USA) (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Annika Langvad (Denmark) (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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USA's Kate Courtney setting out in 2nd place (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Jolanda Neff's ride for the Swiss moved them from 5th to 3rd (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Kate Courtney (Team USA) caught Anne Terpstra (Netherlands) just before the start of the last lap (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Haley Batten (Team USA) moved the US up from 3rd to 2nd (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Pauline Ferrand Prevot (France) moved France from 12th to 6th (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Happy Team USA (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Fun with the bubbly (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Canada's Catharine Pendrel hands off to Peter Disera (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Anne Terpstra (Netherlands) sets out in 1st place (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Anne Terpstra (Netherlands) hands off to the last rider (Image credit: Robert Jones)

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Kate Courtney chasing Anne Terpstra (Image credit: Robert Jones)

UCI MTB World Championships

Switzerland opened the 2019 Mountain Bike World Championships on Wednesday by taking their third consecutive Team Relay title at Mont-Saint-Anne, Canada. The USA took silver and France finished third.

This is the sixth Team Relay title for Switzerland, surpassing the record of five held by France.

The Swiss team fell back to eighth after the first rider, with Denmark and the Czech Republic taking an early lead. However, by the third of five riders, Switzerland were up to fifth, and Jolanda Neff, the fourth rider, brought them up to third, behind the Netherlands and the USA.

Nino Schurter was the Swiss anchor rider, and he blazed past the two riders ahead of him at the start of the last lap to give Switzerland the win.

The USA rode consistently in the top-three all race, moving ahead of the Netherlands on the final lap before being caught by Schurter, with France moving up from fifth to third in the final lap.

"When I started, the USA guy [Keegan Swenson] was 16 seconds ahead, and it was hard to catch and then attack him," said Schurter. "But I felt strong and managed to get to him. It's a great way to start the World Championships and get some good atmosphere into the team."

Results
Position	Country	Result
1	Switzerland	1:02:55
2	USA	0:00:16
3	France	0:00:28
4	Italy	0:00:58
5	Canada	0:01:09
6	Great Britain	0:01:31
7	Denmark	0:02:44
8	Czech Republic	0:03:15
9	Austria	0:03:36
10	Netherlands	0:03:39
11	Belgium	0:03:44
12	Germany	0:03:52
13	Poland	0:04:30
14	Hungary	0:04:41
15	Spain	0:06:01
16	Japan	0:07:13
17	Russia	0:07:41
18	Slovakia	0:08:02
19	Colombia	0:09:19
DNF	South Africa