MTB legend Nino Schurter to retire at home in Lenzerheide
Nino Schurter has confirmed that the Lenzerheide World Cup on 21 September will be the final race of his career. The 39-year-old Swiss rider had already announced that this season would be his last, but now he has revealed how he wants to say goodbye: on home soil, in front of his own fans.
Between now and then, Schurter will line up at one last World Championships in Crans-Montana. That race, too, will be a homecoming. “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,” he said in a video message.
It will close the book on one of the most decorated careers cycling has ever seen. Schurter has taken ten world titles, nine overall World Cup crowns, 36 World Cup victories, five European titles and three Olympic medals, including gold in Rio 2016. His consistency at the top of the sport stretched across two decades, making him not only the most successful mountain biker of all time but also one of the defining figures of modern cycling.
“Dear mountain bike family and beyond. For the past two decades, I’ve given my body, my mind and my soul to mountain biking,” Schurter said. “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.”
His first World Championships came in Lugano in 2003, when he was still a teenager chasing a dream. “I left with my first international medal. What I didn’t know then was that this dream would carry me through countless unforgettable moments and let me win more than half of all of those championships along the way.”
The Swiss rider admitted that the time has come to step away. “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.”
To his fans and the wider mountain bike community, Schurter offered his gratitude. “You made this journey unforgettable. You were the reason I pushed harder. And you were the magic behind the medals.”
