Sunday’s World Cup XCO in Lenzerheide in Switzerland ended in stunning fashion. After dueling all race, two Swiss riders – Nino Schurter and Mathias Flueckiger, crashed within seconds of the finish line.
The crash happened out of sight of the camera, leaving the audience stunned and holding the exact order of events as a mystery.
The stakes leading into the race couldn’t have been higher. Schurter had the opportunity to win his 34th career World Cup win, and surpass Julien Absalon’s record, at home in Switzerland. Flueckiger was also chasing an emotional win in his home country. And, maybe, a bit of revenge.
There’s some history…
While Sunday was expected to be another showdown between the Swiss, it isn’t the first time that their close battles have had a contentious element.
This also isn’t the first time Schurter and Flueckiger’s rivalry has flirted with disaster. In fact, at the same venue last year Schurter made a clean, but close pass on Flueckiger in a very similar spot, again on the last lap, to pass Flueckiger at take a World Cup second place behind Victor Koretzky.
You can see that pass below.
That wasn’t the only tight inside pass Schurter pulled on Flueckiger that year, either. Just one week earlier, at 2021 world championships in Val di Sole, Schurter passed his Swiss rival on the inside within seconds of the finish line. That time, the move earned the Scott-SRAM racer a world championship title, his ninth.
While Schurter celebrates, Flueckiger can be seen pounding his bars in frustration at the lost opportunity.
After the race, Flueckiger made some strong comments. The following day, he walked those back a bit in a video posted to Instagram, saying “I’m still very disappointed, but I was much more disappointed yesterday. There were so many emotions. which took over me.”
But Flueckiger went on to add “I was really surprised that he [Schurter] cut my line. He didn’t push me out, that’s true. I don’t know if I would do the same. Maybe not yesterday. But it was a smart move, and I’ll learn from it. In the future I will fight to win the world championships jersey, that’s how it is now.”
Heated reactions in 2022
This year, Lenzerheide again brought the two Swiss riders together – quite literally – in a dramatic finale. On the last lap, just before the finish straight, both riders…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…