Results: South Korea XC World Cup

South Korea XC results: Schurter wins World Cup mud fight in Daegu

Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

Nino Schurter grabbed his first cross-country victory of the season Sunday at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup stop in Daegu, South Korea.

The Swiss star finished 45 seconds ahead of New Zealand’s Samuel Gaze after 7 laps of a rain-soaked course in North Gyeongsang Province.

Schurter’s win vaults him into second overall in the World Cup standings behind French leader Victor Koretzky, who completed the podium in third.

The race began under steady drizzle that turned the Daegu course into slippery clay. Riders pushed their bikes up technical climbs that turned near-impossible to pedal.

“The rain changed everything,” Schurter told reporters at the finish line. “You had to ride smart, not hard.”

Gaze stayed on Schurter’s wheel through the opening 4 laps before sliding out on a rooty left-hander. The mishap opened a gap Schurter protected to the end.

American Christopher Blevins roared from 18th to 5th in the final two laps, recording the day’s fastest split to salvage points after a mid-race crash.

Canadian Mona Mitterwallner captured her second World Cup win of the season in the elite women’s race, attacking on lap 4 and never looking back.

Mitterwallner crossed the line 1 minute 26 seconds ahead of Movistar teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, the French former world champion riding her first race back from injury.

“I came here for training but the legs felt good,” Mitterwallner said. “When the gap grew, I kept pushing.”

Evie Richards of Great Britain rounded out the podium in third, ensuring the overall World Cup leader retained her red-and-white jersey with 2 rounds remaining.

Richards now holds 1,280 points, 140 ahead of Mitterwallner and 210 clear of Dutch rider Puck Pieterse, who missed Daegu after testing positive for COVID-19.

Course shortened
Organisers lopped one lap off the planned women’s schedule when lightning radar showed storms approaching the city Sunday afternoon.

The decision altered tire pressure and feed zone strategies, forcing mechanics to deliver fresh goggles instead of bidons on the last circuits.

Sunday’s results:
Elite Men:
1. Nino Schurter (SUI) 1hr 28min 03sec
2. Samuel Gaze (NZL) +45sec
3. Victor Koretzky (FRA) +1min 12sec
4. Luca Braidot (ITA) +1min 20sec
5. Christopher Blevins (USA) +1min 25sec

Elite Women:
1. Mona Mitterwallner (AUT) 1hr 25min 34sec
2. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA) +1min 26sec
3. Evie Richards (GBR) +2min 01sec
4. Jenny Rissveds (SWE) +2min 11sec
5. Sammie Maxwell (NZL) +2min 21sec

Asian riders shine
Local favorite Song Min-ji thrilled Korean fans by finishing 11th, the best elite result for a South Korean woman at a World Cup.

“I targeted top-20 so this feels amazing,” Song said. “Next year we race in Paris. I want to be there.”

Japanese rider Toki Sawada matched his career-high 14th in the men’s race after dominating the Under-23 category last season.

Rain turns masterclass
Many riders described Daegu as the muddiest World Cup course since Nové Město in 2022, before organizers re-surfaced the Czech venue.

Television coverage showed pit crews dousing bikes with buckets of water to clear drivetrains choked with clay every half-lap.

Schurter praised the UCI for keeping the event on schedule despite forecasts: “Racing in the rain is mountain biking. No complaints.”

Background

The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup has visited South Korea six times but stopped racing in Daegu after 2003 due to lack of local sanctioning and narrow forest tracks. Organisers rebuilt a fresh course around Apsan Park using motocross trails installed for the 2020 national championships. The return brought 17,000 spectators to roadside berms and a reduced-crowd finish arch after Korean cycling officials limited daily gate numbers to 8,000.

Nino Schurter arrived without a World Cup win since Snowshoe, West Virginia in September, a drought stretching across 10 rounds. The 37-year-old Swiss holds a record 34 World Cup wins and 9 world titles, but younger riders led by Koretzky and Pieterse have set a faster tempo in 2026. Sunday marks his 2nd Daegu win; he also won the Korean venue during his breakthrough 2009 season.

What’s Next

The series moves to Pal-Arinsal, Andorra in three weeks where steep alpine climbs replace the sticky Korean soil. Riders must now tally points in just two remaining rounds before September’s World Championships in Cairns, Australia where standings reset. The Daegu venue is already slated to host a World Cup again in July 2027 according to the city’s tourism board, giving Asia back-to-back calendar spots for the first time since 2012.

Lightning-quick Koretzky and Richards still control the elite leader jerseys, but Schurter’s win trims the Frenchman’s cushion to a single bad day. “I have speed again,” Schurter said. “The championship is wide open.”