The 5 fastest MTBs of the 2021 Snowshoe XCO World Cup

In Snowshoe we experienced one of the most intense finishes of the season. A historic race in which Christopher Blevins achieved a historic victory for him and for his country, as the USA had not won a men's XCO World Cup since 1994. Let's take a look at the 5 mountain bikes ridden by the fastest riders at the 2021 Snowshoe World Cup.

The 5 fastest MTBs at Snowshoe

5. Luca Braidot's Santa Cruz Blur

Luca Braidot finished the World Cup season in the best possible way, the Italian had his best race of the year and made it onto the podium with fifth place. Braidot led a hard attack with two laps to go that left him in the lead for a while, but the race was very convulsive in the final stretch and he settled for this fifth place. His first World Cup podium of the season.

Under his feet the new Santa Cruz Blur that came out this year and that the Santa Cruz FSA team was testing in competition before its presentation. Here you can see all the new features of this new model.

4. Nino Schurter's Scott Spark 2022

Nino Schurter was on the verge of a World Cup victory that would have equalled Julien Absalon's record, but the Swiss suffered a flat tyre in the final kilometre, just when he was about to fight for the win. Still, Schurter finished happy with his fourth place and knowing that he has regained his spark in competition.

After his victory in the Val di Sole World Championship we have enjoyed again the best Nino Schurter in the race and under his feet the new Scott Spark 2022 that he himself contributed to develop. In addition, in Snowshoe he rode a prototype of SRAM brakes that you can see in detail here.

3. Ondrej Cink's Kross Level

Czech rider Ondrej Cink was one of those who suffered the most at Snowshoe. He led the race for a large part of the course but he also had to suffer with Schurter's changes of pace that left him practically separated from the leading group. But his perseverance was rewarded and he finally finished third.

Cink once again managed to get his Kross Level on the podium, a mountain bike that has lost some of its presence in the World Cup but which, thanks to the Czech, is still among the best in the world in competition.

2. Vlad Dascalu's Trek Supercaliber

Romanian rider Vlad Dascalu, based in Spain, is making a solid transition to the Elite category. Last season was his first in this category and he has always managed to ride very close to the front of the race, but in Snowshoe he has made an important leap in quality, finishing in second position.

Only Christopher Blevins was faster than him after doing a great race management and reaching the end fighting for the victory. Surely this second place will help him to negotiate his next contract, as the current Trek Pirelli rider signed a two-year contract that expires at the end of 2021.

The Trek Supercaliber was on the podium for the second time of the day after Evie Richards' victory in the women's race. A bike that has remained on the opposite side of the current trend inaugurated by the Spark with its 120mm of rear travel (the Supercaliber has 60mm) but that doesn't seem to be doing badly in competition either if we look at the number of podiums it has achieved this year.

Here you can see in detail the Trek Supercaliber World Champion special edition with which Evie Richards competed.

1. Christopher Blevins's Specialized S-Works Epic

American Christopher Blevins surprised us again this year. Just a few weeks ago he became the first ever World Champion in the Short Track category and in Snowshoe he won his first Elite XCO World Cup, something that had not been achieved by an American rider since 1994, when John Tomac did it.

Blevins won in front of his home fans, in the country where mountain biking was invented and on a Specialized S-Works, a bike from the brand that was born in 1974 at the dawn of mountain biking. You couldn't ask for more.

Here you can see the review we did of this Epic S-Works 2021 and here the comparison we did with the Cannondale Scalpel and the Scott Spark.