Schurter outsprints Hermida for Mont-Sainte-Anne victory
By Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor
Kulhavy races to third
Nino Schurter (Scott Swisspower) outsprinted Jose Antonio Hermida (Multivan Merida) for the win in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, Canada on Saturday afternoon. No one was expecting the World Cup race to end in a sprint after Schurter went to the front from the start and stayed there solo for most of the race. But a flat tire on the second last lap let a surging Hermida catch Schurter.
"No, I didn't expect to have to sprint for it on a course like Mont-Sainte-Anne," said Schurter. "It was a special finish and when it started to rain - the course was really tricky."
Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) raced to third place. Carlos Coloma (Wildwolf Trek) and Max Plaxton (Specialized) rode career best World Cup performances to fourth and fifth respectively.
Schurter blew apart the field of favorites at the start and jumped into the lead on the first lap. Behind him, Kulhavy, Marco Fontana (Cannondale), Florian Vogel (Scott Swisspower) and Hermida chased together. Coloma was just behind them.
By the second lap, Hermida emerged as lead chaser, 20 seconds off Schurter.
"It's always difficult if you're on the front if you have just 15 seconds, but it's just the same when you are trying to catch a leader who's 15 seconds in front," said Schurter. "Today, I was thinking I have to race my race. It's such a technical track if you go too hard, you make mistakes and you might have to run a section or two. I decided to do my race and not focus too much on Hermida."
Fontana chased after the two leaders at just over 30 seconds while Vogel and Kulhavy worked together at 45 seconds.
Hermida continued his pursuit, keeping Schurter in sight on some sections of the course. His riding was reminiscent of the race he did at Mont-Sainte-Anne in 2010, when he won the world championships. After a tough spring, Hermida was also sending the message that he was back competing amongst the fastest.
Rain started on the second to last lap and the course was suddenly much slicker. When Schurter flatted and Hermida passed him, it was just like the 2010 Worlds all over again.
"With two laps to go, he had the flat tire. I thought maybe I could make my pace alone in front for the last lap, but it was impossible," said Hermida.
"I thought I could manage those two laps alone, but I was missing some speed," said Hermida. "It was like the train was running all season and I just jumped on it this season. When it started raining on the last lap, I thought it was my chance to use more technique and not so much power. Everyone was struggling on the last lap."
Schurter caught back up but today, he didn't flat a second time and the two stayed together until the finish, with Schurter leading Hermida into the final straight and holding him off.
"I like the course here - it's a technical one. I felt comfortable on the course. A flat tire can happen anywhere," said Schurter. "I'm happy I could win even with a flat. I hope it was the only one for this season."
Hermida gave it a good effort, but wasn't fast to come around Schurter in the final dash to the line.
"I'm happy. After a hard season and struggling the first part with physical problems, it's a good feeling to be back, especially in a race like this fighting with Nino," said Hermida. "Right now, he's the best guy in mountain biking so sprinting with him is not so easy. I tried my best in the end with him."
Behind the leaders, Fontana dropped back and Kulhavy stepped up into third, where he would stay alone the rest of the race.
"It was a nice race, but I was a bit like a diesel engine," said Kulhavy. "I did not have the dynamic speed - that was my biggest problem for today. I'm glad for the podium, but I would like to win the next race. I had an amazing season last year and this one is not so good, but I think it will get better and better leading up to the Olympic Games.
"I need more speed. I'm in training for the Olympics, but I need more time."
Coloma moved up steadily into fourth place. "For me, Mont-Sainte-Anne is the best race in the World Cup for the past two years. I was sixth at Worlds. I'm happy to be sitting here with three world champions - Nino, Hermida and Kulhavy."
Freshly crowned Canadian National Champion Plaxton made a huge final lap surge to jump from seventh to fifth. It was Plaxton's first World Cup podium.
"I felt great after winning nationals last weekend and building on my ninth in La Bresse. It was my first World Cup podium and it's in Canada. Maybe I'll get some attention now. It's hard being a Canadian - we don't get as much exposure as some of the other guys."
"It is special to make my first World Cup podium in Canada. There aren't that many guys missing. Maybe Absalon and one other so it's a pretty legit podium. It's a huge confidence builder. Not that there was ever a lack of confidence, but the extra can't hurt."
Plaxton's ride showed a maturity in his approach to racing. "Back in my earlier days, I'd blow up a lot. That's something I try to avoid now. I didn't have the best start - losing 45 seconds on the first lap. I think if I could not lose so much on the first lap, I could finish even higher."
Schurter retained his lead in the World Cup standings, now with 950 points. Kulhavy moved up one spot to second place (785 points) as did Burry Stander into third (688 points). The absent Absalon dropped from second to fourth with 650 points while Hermida advanced from eighth to fifth with 605 points.
Race note
Luk Flueckiger crashed heavily in one of the technical woods sections and suffered a neck injury, which turned out to be a form of whiplash. He retired from the event bitterly disappointed after bring in touch with the podium group. He didn't need hospital care but does need an icepack on his neck for awhile.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 1:41:24 |
2 | José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team | |
3 | Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing | 0:01:49 |
4 | Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing | 0:02:28 |
5 | Max Plaxton (Can) | 0:02:39 |
6 | Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing | 0:02:45 |
7 | Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing | 0:02:58 |
8 | Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 0:03:07 |
9 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:03:09 |
10 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:03:10 |
11 | Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:03:45 |
12 | Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:03:57 |
13 | Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 0:04:09 |
14 | Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry | 0:04:44 |
15 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 0:05:35 |
16 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Roxracing | 0:06:44 |
17 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 0:06:54 |
18 | Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:06:55 |
19 | Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) | 0:07:01 |
20 | Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru - Trek | 0:07:11 |
21 | Raphael Gagne (Can) | 0:07:28 |
22 | Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing | 0:07:47 |
23 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 0:07:55 |
24 | Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 0:08:04 |
25 | Severin Disch (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 0:08:10 |
26 | Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour | 0:08:29 |
27 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing | 0:08:43 |
28 | Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Specialized Racing | 0:08:45 |
29 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 0:09:44 |
30 | Fabien Canal (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix | 0:09:51 |
31 | Henk Jaap Moorlag* (Ned) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 0:09:56 |
32 | Martin Loo (Est) Hard Rock Canossa Merida | 0:09:57 |
33 | Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi | 0:10:34 |
34 | Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:11:08 |
35 | Andrew Watson (Can) | 0:11:21 |
36 | Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3Roxracing | 0:11:39 |
37 | Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | |
38 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 0:12:04 |
39 | Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Spa) Orbea Racing Team | 0:12:05 |
40 | Jérémy Huguenin (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour | 0:12:27 |
41 | Andy Eyring (Ger) | 0:13:07 |
42 | Neal Kindree (Can) | 0:13:24 |
43 | Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 0:13:33 |
44 | Spencer Paxson (USA) Kona | 0:13:34 |
45 | Cameron Jette (Can) Scott-3Roxracing | 0:14:52 |
46 | Adam Morka (Can) | 0:15:35 |
47 | Stephen Ettinger (USA) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:15:37 |
-1lap | Michael Broderick (USA) | |
-1lap | Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team | |
-1lap | Daniel Eymann (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | |
-1lap | Mitchell Hoke (USA) | |
-1lap | David Fletcher (GBr) Orange Monkey-Cannondale | |
-1lap | Matthew Hadley (Can) | |
-1lap | Peter Glassford (Can) | |
-1lap | Pete Ostroski (USA) | |
-1lap | Sid Taberlay (Aus) | |
-1lap | Alex Grant (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing | |
-1lap | Craig Richey (Can) | |
-2laps | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | |
-2laps | Dave Henderson (GBr) | |
-2laps | Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona | |
-2laps | Lee Williams (GBr) | |
-2laps | Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru - Trek | |
-3laps | Luciano Caraccioli (Arg) | |
-3laps | Marc-Andre Daigle (Can) | |
-3laps | Nathan Guerra (USA) | |
-4laps | Filippo Barbieri (Bra) | |
DNF | Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing | |
DNF | Andras Parti (Hun) | |
DNF | Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | |
DNF | Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Multivan Merida Biking Team | 68 | pts |
2 | Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 65 | |
3 | Specialized Racing | 65 | |
4 | Cannondale Factory Racing | 62 | |
5 | Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing | 60 | |
6 | Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 29 | |
7 | Trek World Racing | 18 | |
8 | BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry | 17 | |
9 | Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 16 | |
10 | Scott-3Roxracing | 15 | |
11 | Subaru - Trek | 11 | |
12 | Thoemus Racing Team | 6 | |
13 | Giant Swiss SR - Suntour | 5 | |
14 | GT Skoda Chamonix | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Nino Schurter (Swi) | 950 | pts |
2 | Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) | 785 | |
3 | Burry Stander (RSA) | 688 | |
4 | Julien Absalon (Fra) | 650 | |
5 | José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) | 605 | |
6 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) | 565 | |
7 | Fabian Giger (Swi) | 512 | |
8 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) | 510 | |
9 | Florian Vogel (Swi) | 500 | |
10 | Ralph Naef (Swi) | 485 | |
11 | Stéphane Tempier (Fra) | 404 | |
12 | Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) | 402 | |
13 | Maxime Marotte (Fra) | 392 | |
14 | Lukas Flückiger (Swi) | 385 | |
15 | Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) | 377 | |
16 | Martin Gujan (Swi) | 365 | |
17 | Christoph Sauser (Swi) | 364 | |
18 | Max Plaxton (Can) | 352 | |
19 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) | 331 | |
20 | Mathias Flückiger (Swi) | 316 | |
21 | Rudi Van Houts (Ned) | 303 | |
22 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) | 302 | |
23 | Moritz Milatz (Ger) | 290 | |
24 | Jochen Kass (Ger) | 282 | |
25 | Geoff Kabush (Can) | 266 | |
26 | Liam Killeen (GBr) | 238 | |
27 | Samuel Schultz (USA) | 228 | |
28 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) | 224 | |
29 | Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) | 220 | |
30 | Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) | 216 | |
31 | Karl Markt (Aut) | 214 | |
32 | Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) | 190 | |
33 | Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) | 187 | |
34 | Henk Jaap Moorlag* (Ned) | 171 | |
35 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) | 166 | |
36 | Martin Fanger (Swi) | 162 | |
37 | Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) | 160 | |
38 | Fabien Canal (Fra) | 149 | |
39 | Todd Wells (USA) | 145 | |
40 | Marek* Konwa (Pol) | 143 | |
41 | Michele Casagrande (Ita) | 135 | |
42 | Milan Spesny (Cze) | 124 | |
43 | Tony Longo (Ita) | 111 | |
44 | Stephen Ettinger (USA) | 111 | |
45 | Derek Zandstra (Can) | 110 | |
46 | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) | 105 | |
47 | Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) | 104 | |
48 | Sven Nys (Bel) | 100 | |
49 | Martino Fruet (Ita) | 98 | |
50 | Jürg Graf (Swi) | 98 | |
51 | Jiri Novak (Cze) | 91 | |
52 | Jeremiah Bishop (USA) | 90 | |
53 | Adam Craig (USA) | 87 | |
54 | Chris Jongewaard (Aus) | 82 | |
55 | Andrea Tiberi (Ita) | 70 | |
56 | Matous Ulman (Cze) | 68 | |
57 | Raphael Gagne (Can) | 64 | |
58 | Andras Parti (Hun) | 63 | |
59 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) | 62 | |
60 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) | 60 | |
61 | Severin Disch (Swi) | 56 | |
62 | Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) | 56 | |
63 | Cédric Ravanel (Fra) | 53 | |
64 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) | 53 | |
65 | Piotr Brzozka (Pol) | 51 | |
66 | Martin Loo (Est) | 50 | |
67 | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) | 49 | |
68 | Jérémy Huguenin (Swi) | 48 | |
69 | Umberto Corti (Ita) | 48 | |
70 | Lukas Sablik (Cze) | 42 | |
71 | Lachlan Norris (Aus) | 41 | |
72 | David Fletcher (GBr) | 40 | |
73 | Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) | 40 | |
74 | Marek Galinski (Pol) | 37 | |
75 | Andrew Watson (Can) | 36 | |
76 | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) | 34 | |
77 | Robert Mennen (Ger) | 30 | |
78 | Philip Buys (RSA) | 30 | |
79 | Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Spa) | 29 | |
80 | Alban Lakata (Aut) | 29 | |
81 | Andy Eyring (Ger) | 27 | |
82 | Periklis Ilias (Gre) | 27 | |
83 | Neal Kindree (Can) | 26 | |
84 | Spencer Paxson (USA) | 24 | |
85 | Patrik Gallati (Swi) | 24 | |
86 | Cameron Jette (Can) | 23 | |
87 | Adam Morka (Can) | 22 | |
88 | Michael Broderick (USA) | 20 | |
89 | Kristian Hynek (Cze) | 20 | |
90 | Alexis Chenevier (Fra) | 19 | |
91 | Daniel Eymann (Swi) | 18 | |
92 | Mitchell Hoke (USA) | 17 | |
93 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) | 16 | |
94 | Matthew Hadley (Can) | 15 | |
95 | Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) | 15 | |
96 | Peter Glassford (Can) | 14 | |
97 | Pete Ostroski (USA) | 13 | |
98 | Ruben Almeida (Por) | 13 | |
99 | Sid Taberlay (Aus) | 12 | |
100 | Hannes Metzler (Aut) | 12 | |
101 | Alex Grant (USA) | 11 | |
102 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) | 11 | |
103 | Craig Richey (Can) | 10 | |
104 | Michal Lami (Svk) | 10 | |
105 | David Joao Serralheiro Rosa (Por) | 10 | |
106 | Sebastien Carabin (Bel) | 10 | |
107 | Marc Bassingthwaighte (Nam) | 9 | |
108 | Dave Henderson (GBr) | 8 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Specialized Racing | 360 | pts |
2 | Cannondale Factory Racing | 300 | |
3 | Multivan Merida Biking Team | 295 | |
4 | Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 259 | |
5 | Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 160 | |
6 | Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing | 143 | |
7 | Trek World Racing | 137 | |
8 | Orbea Racing Team | 134 | |
9 | BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry | 76 | |
10 | TX Active Bianchi | 74 | |
11 | Bmc Mountainbike Racing Team | 59 | |
12 | Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 55 | |
13 | Scott-3Roxracing | 50 | |
14 | Elettroveneta - Corratec | 24 | |
15 | Subaru - Trek | 22 | |
16 | Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 20 | |
17 | Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 17 | |
18 | Giant Swiss SR - Suntour | 15 | |
19 | Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized | 8 | |
20 | Thoemus Racing Team | 6 | |
21 | Lapierre International | 6 | |
22 | S&H Superior MTB Team | 5 | |
23 | Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team | 3 | |
24 | GT Skoda Chamonix | 1 | |
25 | Euroone-Waberer's-Cube MTB Team | 1 |
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