Say hello to Nino Schurter’s all-new Scott Spark dual-suspension race machine – the exact bike he pedalled to Cape Epic glory. – By Oli Munnik

Since its debut midway through the 2016 World Cup XCO season, Scott’s all-new Spark dual-suspension race machine has been an absolute revelation, with Nino Schurter achieving what could be called the first ‘Triple Crown’ of mountain biking by winning – consecutively – the 2016 XCO World Championships, Olympic gold, and most recently, his and Scott’s first-ever Cape Epic title.

Frame & fork: Schurter rides a stock-standard medium Scott Spark RC 900, constructed from Scott’s highest-grade HMX carbon. His bike sports the same Scott-SRAM team decals as those of his male teammates (Jenny Rissveds’ has blue accents), with his name and the Swiss flag on each side of the seat tube.

For the 2017 season the team has switched suspension suppliers, moving away from DT Swiss to SRAM’s RockShox brand. This sees Schurter taking ownership of a custom-painted red RockShox SID World Cup, with boost hub spacing and 100mm of travel. As befits a world champion, ‘Schurter’ appears on the bridge of the fork lowers.

On the back, a stealthy RockShox rear shock is bolted to the frame – it’s still unbranded, as the unit is something SRAM is developing in conjunction with the team. Both front and rear shocks are connected to a handlebar-mounted, three-phase Syncros TwinLoc cable-activated lock-out lever.

Wheels & tyres: Since its debut midway through the 2016 World Cup XCO season, Scott’s all-new Spark dual-suspension race machine has been an absolute revelation, with Nino Schurter achieving what could be called the first ‘Triple Crown’ of mountain biking by winning – consecutively – the 2016 XCO World Championships, Olympic gold, and most recently, his and Scott’s first-ever Cape Epic title.

Groupset: SRAM’s XX1 Eagle drivetrain parts appear in gold throughout, perfectly suited to an Olympic champion – perhaps they should have reserved the colour exclusively for Schurter, after he won gold in 2016?!

During the Epic, the more observant would have noticed that Schurter ran an XX1 crank with a power meter, but by the time we got his bike into the studio this top-secret crankset had been switched for a standard XX1. In terms of chainrings, the Swiss powerhouse plumped for a 36T.
Schurter’s SRAM Level Ultimate brakes are light in weight, yet stop on a dime – perfect for marathon racing.

Parts: Cockpit, grips, seat and seatpost are all from the Syncros stable. A seriously negative stem and relatively narrow 680mm handlebars caught our attention: the bars are intentionally narrow, for XCO starts, which are renowned for being ridden at very close quarters, while the stem maximises the advantages of Schurter’s aggressive riding position.
Topeak, who sponsor the Scott-SRAM team, supplied the Shuttle carbon cage, saddlebag with tube, and frame-mounted Topeak Peak DXII hand pump for emergencies.

Schurter clips into a set of Ritchey WCS v6 pedals, and keeps track of his data via a Garmin Edge 20 – and the rubber straps of the Garmin mount cleverly secure a set of 12-speed chain links.

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