End of career - it's over: What makes exceptional talent Nino Schurter tick
Laurin Lehner
· 22.09.2025
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Nino Schurter was visibly overcome with emotion. "It's a lot right now. I definitely underestimated my retirement," he shared with his Instagram followers during his last World Cup weekend. In the end, he finished 24th in his very last XC World Cup. A disappointment for the 10-time world champion in purely sporting terms. But the Swiss rider is not deterred from celebrating and can clearly enjoy his final laps. The Swiss fans celebrate him like the winner of the race. - The following reels show pure emotion:
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Nino Schurter - the GOAT
Nino Schurter, born in Switzerland in 1986, is probably the most successful cross-country mountain biker of our time. With ten world championship titles and nine overall World Cup triumphs, he has made sporting history. His 2016 Olympic victory in Rio crowned A career that will end in style in 2025 after home races in Crans-Montana and Lenzerheide. We take a look at perhaps the 6 most important stages in his life to date.
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1. grew up
Nino grew up in a small mountain village with two older siblings in Tersnaus in the canton of Graubünden. His father worked as a ski instructor. He was on skis from an early age, but soon discovered mountain biking and was already taking part in regional races as a teenager in the mid-1990s.
2. early successes
Ralph Näf and Thomas Frischknecht became aware of the young Nino and recruited him to the Swiss national team. His talent on technically demanding routes soon became apparent. In 2003, Nino received his first professional contract with the Swisspower MTB Team under the management of Thomas Frischknecht. The following year, he promptly became XCO Junior World Champion.
3 Nino private
In 2014, Nino married his childhood sweetheart Nina Candrian and gave birth to his daughter Lisa with her. They announced their separation in 2023. Nino is currently in a relationship with Danish XCO racer Malene Degn, who previously dated DH racer Loïc Bruni.
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4. recipe for success?
Nino is regarded as one of the first riders who not only trained meticulously on the bike, but also in the gym - under the guidance of Nicolas Siegenthaler. At a time when coordination exercises and life kinetics were ridiculed by many racers, Nino was already balancing on the bike. Pezziball.
5. style is a must!
Nino can not only ride his Scott Spark impressively fast over the World Cup tracks, but also with great style. He is one of the few World Cup riders to be able to swing his rear wheel elegantly to the side for a whip - much to the delight of the photographers, sponsors and, of course, the fans.
6 What's next?
Nino wants to stay involved in the sport - no wonder, as he is still comparatively young at 39. In the future, he will probably pass on his experience to the next generation. However, Nino did not want to reveal exactly what his new role will look like when asked by BIKE.
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Laurin Lehner
Editor
