What is happening to Nino Schurter: "I hope to find the answer to my problem as soon as possible"

At 39 years old and with a track record that places him as the best XCO cyclist of all time, Nino Schurter is going through one of the most complicated seasons of his career. The Swiss, ten-time world champion and living legend of XCO, started 2025 with promising results, but for weeks now he has been facing an obstacle that neither his experience nor his talent have been able to overcome. Persistent respiratory problems that are affecting his performance race after race.

Nino Schurter battles respiratory problems in one of his most complicated seasons

The season started off on the right foot. In March, he won the Italian race in Albenga, and just a few weeks later he won the prestigious Absa Cape Epic alongside Filippo Colombo. His first major international test came at the Brazil World Cup, where he achieved a solid 5th place in the XCO race, competing against the best in the field: Blevins, Koretzky, Vidaurre, and Forster. Everything indicated that Schurter was ready to continue competing at the highest level.

However, since then, his performance has been alarmingly declining. Nino has not been able to enter the top 10 in any XCO World Cup race. In Val di Sole he was 14th, in Leogang 11th, and in Nove Mesto he finished 18th. He even had to abandon the Short Track in Leogang, and in the Swiss National Championship last weekend he could only manage 9th place, far behind his teammate Colombo, who took the victory.

RECOMENDADO

€1350 for a saddle? That's the new Prologo PREDATOR 01TT CPC chosen by Jonas Vingegaard

Aleix Espargaró fulfills his dream and debuts today as a professional cyclist in the Tour of Austria with Lidl-Trek

A high-voltage XCO World Cup in Andorra 2025 arrives to close the first half of the season

Tadej Pogacar adds his 100th victory in the fourth stage of the Tour de France 2025

The change of Evenepoel is accelerating. INEOS or Red Bull?

Tom Pidcock returns to MTB this weekend, he is confirmed for the XCO World Cup in Andorra

In his own words, published on social media after that national race, Schurter explained: “Tough day at the Swiss championships. I continue to struggle with breathing problems. I started strong but had to ease off when my lungs closed up again. The level in Switzerland is sky-high right now. I have to keep working and try to find a solution to this problem soon.”

His races have followed a nearly identical script for weeks, Schurter starts well, stays at the front during the first laps, but gradually fades away until disappearing from the leading group. A behavior that he himself links to this undiagnosed respiratory problem.

The uncertainty surrounding his condition inevitably brings to mind the case of Julien Absalon, his eternal rival, who also was forced to retire early from XCO in 2018 for similar reasons. However, those who know Nino well know that he is capable of reinventing himself. In the past, he has overcome low moments and returned to the top when many thought he was finished.

This weekend, Schurter will once again wear a number in the Andorra World Cup, a demanding race due to its altitude and toughness. There he will have a new opportunity to rediscover good sensations or, at least, continue searching for answers.