MTB
Nino gives his thoughts on a "superb" 2012 season and the pain of missing out on gold in London.
Age: 26
Nationality: Swiss
Hometown: Chur, Switzerland
2013 Team: SCOTT-Swisspower MTB Racing
Discipline: Cross-Country
2012 Series Finish: 1st
Career Highlights: 2009 & 2012 World Champion, 2010 & 2012 World Cup Series Champion.
Looking at Nino Schurter’s achievements and results in the last few years, there are the hallmarks of a rider that is always there. The big titles he hasn’t won have generally seen Jarolav Kulhavy snap them up. But when not in winning form, Kulhavy has had a tendency to drop back significantly, not really performing a lot of last season especially, not close to defending his World Championship and World Cup titles. Whereas Nino has been ever-present and ever-dominant, always there for the battle and more often than not, triumphing.
Asked whether he targets particular riders or remembers past events to help fire him on during the off-season’s training his answer is equally consistent, “After racing and training for so many years, I know what I have to do to be able to win races. I do follow my training schedule pretty precisely. Just do my job as it would be work.”
“As a cross-country rider I have not that much free time in the winter. The winter months have the biggest load of training. Preparing the season. So it’s not like sitting at home in front of the chimney all day. Usually I have three training sessions a day from December to March. It’s only in October and November where I take my time out. Usually traveling the world with my girlfriend.”
Where a lot of cross-country riders dabble in a bit of cyclo-cross over winter, Nino has no interest, “In the off-season I focus on my training. I’m not looking for racing and traveling in the winter months. This makes me more hungry for the mountain bike races.”
Wrongly suggesting that missing out on gold in London by a matter of metres might have been frustrating, Nino quickly put me straight, “I was not frustrated at all after London. I did what I could and showed one of my best performances ever. Against Kulhavy it was not enough that day. I have to accept this. But it does not keep me away from trying again. Now the golden dream keeps me going until Rio.”
Nino’s earnestness is very clear, “I was just disappointed right after I crossed the line in second. I told myself; hey, it’s not the end of the world and tried to win the rainbow jersey. That’s racing!”
Going on to get that title in the bag along with the series, it was a year that Nino describes as “superb” and leaves him high on confidence, “I think those two titles are the proof who’s the number one right now. It’s going to be tough to maintain this position, but I’m pretty confident the others will have a hard time getting me off the throne.”
“This year has started well with two victories in the BMC racing cup. I’m healthy, motivated and everything went well over the winter. Now we will see what’s coming. But I have no reason to doubt why I should be slower this year than last year...”