The GOAT himself, Nino Schurter, will call time on his impressive World Cup cross country career at his home race in Lenzerheide in September.
23 years at the top and Nino Schurter has decided to call time on his World Cup racing at the venue where he took his 8th Worlds title and took his infamous 34th World Cup win. He would ride for Scott for 20 of those 23 years.
Read the full press release below.
Nino’s race stats:
- 10 x World Champion titles
- 9 x World Cup Overall Champion titles
- Gold, Silver and Bronze medal at Olympic Games
- 36 x World Cup victories
- 3 x Cape Epic Champion
The cross-country racing career of the world’s most successful mountain bike racer is coming to an end. After 23 years of professional cross-country racing, Nino Schurter has today announced his retirement and that his final UCI World Cup race will be on 21st September in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
Lenzerheide has held huge significance for Nino Schurter, not only as his home mountain and training ground, but also the location of his most iconic wins. In 2018, Nino Schurter took his 8th World Champion Title at home in Lenzerheide in one of his most emotional victories, and the track was also where he won his record-breaking 34th World Cup, once again delighting the home crowds.
The UCI World Cup in Lenzerheide will follow only one week after the 2025 World Championships in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, where Nino Schurter will race with the Switzerland jersey for the final time – the same jersey he has worn to 5 Olympic Games and while winning three Olympic medals. This unique calendar timing for the 2025 season – with a Swiss double of racing – paves the way for a special end to a career that’s been like no other.
Nino Schurter’s professional career began 23 years ago when he first joined the SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team (then called Swisspower) with Thomas Frischknecht at the helm. Over the next two decades, the young Swiss prodigy went on to re-shape the sport of cross-country racing with historic rivalries, influential partnerships with SCOTT, SRAM and Rockshox, and a fan base that grew the sport of cross-country around the world.
Across more than twenty years of professional racing, Nino Schurter has represented Switzerland 5 times at the Olympics, winning bronze, silver and gold medals at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016, respectively. He has worn rainbow stripes for a combined decade, with his 10 World Championship titles. And, most recently in 2024, Nino Schurter re-wrote the history books (again!) with a record-smashing 36 World Cup victories across his career.
At 39 years old, the rumors and speculation around Nino’s retirement have been floating around for a long time. However, Nino Schurter’s love for cross-country racing and persistently high performances have seen him race at the highest level for more than two decades. Now, rumors become reality, and the UCI World Cup in Lenzerheide will be the last time Nino lines up between the XCO tapes, marking the end of more than 20 years of World Cup racing for the greatest athlete the sport of mountain biking has ever seen.
Following his retirement from cross-country racing, Nino Schurter will remain part of the SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team and as an ambassador for SCOTT, SRAM and Rockshox. He plans to focus on event and charity projects, and turn more attention to long distance and gravel races, including at the 2026 Absa Cape Epic. One thing is for sure, Nino Schurter will stay a part of mountain biking for a long time to come.
Since 2003, Nino has ridden for the same SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team (formerly named Swisspower).
Nino Schurter: “I’m saying goodbye to cross-country World Cup racing, but I will remain in the exciting world of cycling with all the great people involved.”
“I’m incredibly thankful for everything I achieved in my life as a professional mountain bike racer. Now it’s time to take all this experience into a new chapter of my life. I’m sure what comes from here is going to be just as exciting. Yes, I’m saying goodbye to cross-country World Cup racing but I will remain in the exciting world of cycling with all the great people involved,” says the retiring star.
Thomas Frischknecht, Team Director: “The legacy of Nino Schurter will remain forever”
“Fair to say it’s the dream of everyone involved in the sport to be working with an athlete as outstanding as Nino. I had the pleasure of working with him ever since he joined my team 23 years ago. His palmares speaks for itself. Though Nino is far more than the rider who has won the most. His personality, his professionalism and his infinite passion for the sport impress me tremendously.
The legacy of Nino Schurter will remain forever and he will always be a shining example for the next generations to come.”
