Source: press release
The World Champion Nino Schurter is about to embark on a new challenge on the road. He will participate in the Tour of Switzerland and of Romandie with Team ORICA GreenEDGE.
Having won the World Cup and World Championships three times in just five years Nino Schurter is about to throw himself headlong into a new adventure. The SCOTT champion, after receiving the ok from the UCI and the Swiss Federation, will in fact participate in the Tour of Switzerland and that of Romandie with the Team Pro Tour Orica-GreenEDGE.
What's behind this choice? Nino told us that “participating in the Tour of Switzerland is a dream come true. My heart belongs to mountain biking but I have always dreamed of taking part in a stage race on the road and 2014 is the perfect year to do so. I will continue to be 100% committed to mountain biking because defending the world title remains my main goal. Also I would like to add an Olympic medal to my palmares. I believe that this experience with the Orica-GreenEDGE team will enrich me a lot…. "
SCOTT Sports, Nino's main sponsor, is thrilled with the idea and his team manager Thomas Frischknecht added: “Nino is constantly looking for new challenges to help him improve. I think this is one of the secrets of his success. Precisely because I respect his way of being, I can only support this new project. I am sure that this experience will make it even stronger "
Shayne Bannan, General Manager of the ORICA GreenEDGE team: “It is really exciting to accompany Nino on this adventure. We can't wait to see what he will be able to do "
Nino will race the 2014 Cape Epic with SCOTT athlete Philipp Buys
In Nino's calendar there is another very important event: the Cape Epic in South Africa which will run with Philip Buys, the SCOTT athlete who in 2013 won the “best African team” classification.
Immediately after, Nino will be involved in the World Cup in Pietermaritzburg, in the same place where he was crowned World Champion last year. To participate in the Tour of Romandie Nino will not participate in the second stage of Cairns.
This race and the European Championships will be the only events that Nino will have to sacrifice for his road adventure because starting from June he will return to devote himself 100% to mountain biking.
