2017 Pinkbike Awards: Athlete of the Year

Dec 15, 2017
by Pinkbike Staff  
PB Awards



Athlete of the Year - Athlete of the Year

N1NO. There's a reason there is a Number One in his name – the Swiss rider bagged a perfect season in the World Cup Cross Country circuit and the World Championships. Not only did Nino win every single race, he dominated, putting over one minute and a half of time over the season into the combined second place finishers' times, and minutes into individual riders. Closing the season with another World Championship gold also raised him above the legendary Julien Absalon in terms of rainbow wins; Nino now has six against the Frenchman's five.


World title number six. Nino Schurter s supremacy is complete.

bigquotesIt's now safe to say that it could be a long time before we see a talent like Nino come along. He has sealed the deal for the title of The Greatest.—Irmo Keizer


World Cup cross-country is arguably the most competitive mountain bike discipline. It is the oldest category, with the least amount of variables when it comes to crashes, mechanical issues and weather affecting results (as riders are always on course at the same time). Add to this the Olympic effect that has been in place since Atlanta 1996, which adds a volume of investment and support that few other sports can match. Such a comprehensive winning streak when all of the factors above are reflected upon is astounding.

Pinkbike's 2017 Athlete of the Year winner is the incredible Nino Schurter.





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188 Comments
  • 190 3
 Very well deserved, complete domination all year.
  • 22 7
 Yeah first PB award that i can agree with... its not completely hopeless
  • 45 4
 I am praying that we don't have to apply road cycling logic to cyclist performance, ie when it looks too good to be true...
  • 9 1
 Probably will never be done again, ever! So stoked for Nino. XC is Mounrain Biking, and Nino could probably shred harder than most mortal men.
  • 4 4
 While he deserves this title no doubt about it, I don't think he has the GOAT title from Absalon yet. Its only a matter of time, but like Gwin he isn't there yet, but without a doubt he will be.
  • 9 2
 @IllestT: nah man, you're bang on...it is. It's true of any endurance sport. To think otherwise would be pretty naive. I still dig it though!
  • 14 28
flag SirWonky (Dec 15, 2017 at 19:30) (Below Threshold)
 Total domination ?
#Dopestrong
#Juiced
  • 8 20
flag AlexS1 (Dec 15, 2017 at 19:55) (Below Threshold)
 Well deserved ... but the first thing came to mind was that it got to be someone from gravity, a field which would mirror 90% of PB's content - DH, dirtjump, enduro...
  • 1 0
 Well deserved.
  • 6 0
 @AlexS1: look it up: Ninos father was the National DH coach for a while and he benefitted from that. I don’t remember where I read that but I did and it explains a lot about his DH skills as an XC racer.
  • 4 5
 @CaliCol: Ninos is the greatest XC athlete no doubt. I'm just surprised that someone from XC, which PB hardly has any reviews or coverage on is chosen.
  • 3 0
 @CaliCol: Yes it's true. His father was the DH National coach but Nino dominated also as a young child in the Kids Categories at XC races, so he must beside of that also be a true talent.
  • 2 0
 Still like to see MvdP vs. Nino in a UCI Cyclocross event. C'mon Nino!
  • 3 0
 @ninerrider: or van der pole putting a full XC season in!
  • 3 0
 @IllestT: I had the same thought... for now... lets just enjoy it
  • 78 3
 I could take him #humbled
  • 4 1
 would be funny.
  • 8 0
 when's that episode coming out?
  • 22 0
 @mikelevy

I'm not sure Mrs. Schurter would be happy about that Mike Wink
  • 2 0
 In baggies?
  • 9 0
 Nino would be far too starstruck to perform adequately.
  • 5 0
 This would be an awesome episode of humbled.
  • 8 0
 @UncleAnti: Especially in baggies.
  • 7 0
 @BenPea: You're right. He's used to pack fill like Absalon, so he probably wouldn't know how to handle the heat I bring.
  • 4 0
 Just edit the video when he is lapping you, to present that you are in front. At his speed though, that may be a short clip.
  • 53 0
 Dude's a legend, for very good and well-deserved reasons. And geez, I hope he's clean. I hope they all are. I hope that the road racing insanity around PEDs has not gotten a hold of MTB racing. Please...
  • 33 13
 As nice as that would be, deep down i dont truly believe any of the athletes in these type of sports do not have some sort of "assistance".

I just wish they would stop even trying to police it / telling the general public they are all clean, then a few years later oops, we missed that.

f*ck it, let them inject whatever they want, and let us enjoy the show.
  • 6 2
 @onemind123: I would be curious, how many athletes die from doping compared to race/event caused injuries, and how many have issues after retirement from doping compared to injuries. I doubt the biggest risk factor at top level racing or competing is doping. I don't agree with doping, but i would be curious of these statistics.
  • 4 3
 @H3RESQ: Great point. Also...all of the bullshit they have to do to avoid testing positive, like cycling on and off, talking sketchy/barely legal supplements, and other methods to "test clean" are probably much more dangerous than just doping and not having to worry about testing positive.

I don't know what the answer is, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find many top-level athletes that aren't experimenting with some kind of performance enhancing supplement (it's fine line between what is considered "doping" and what isn't).

If you haven't...check out "Icarus" on netflix: www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/08/icarus-review-netflix/535962
  • 24 0
 I hope he's not asthmatic.
  • 5 0
 @onemind123: yes! Like WWE! Nobody cares how blown out those dudes are!
  • 2 0
 I certainly hope Nino's clean, but there's no way the sport is entirely clean. I'm sure there's a sport somewhere that hasn't had doping, but I can't think of it. With people willing to use PEDs down to low category amateur races... jeez. Anyway I really hope Nino's not one of them; and sadly we'll never know unless he gets caught. That's the really sh!tty irony of this stuff.
  • 6 0
 @number44: Snooker. Although do ciggies and pints count?
  • 1 0
 @Grosey: Ya those man grapes just get in the way lol.
  • 2 0
 Missed the story about last year's US womens MTB marathon champion getting busted after her ex dobbed her in? He was on PEDs too. MTB ain't clean.

www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/us-riders-gets-four-year-ban-ex-boyfriend-supplied-drugs-361247
  • 2 0
 @iamamodel: or the one using a secret hidden e motor lol
  • 2 0
 @number44: Curling
  • 4 0
 @number44: We all know that Lance Armstrong and Chris Fromme are just the fastest dopers, why could we possibly believe XC is any different than its on road counterpart. This aint freeride or DH events he is racing.
  • 2 0
 @metaam: Savage AF
  • 2 0
 @number44: Darts!
  • 1 0
 @uphill-blues: I would have thought so...just watched the US Olympic qualifier. They were talking about heart rates getting up to 180 and needing to be back down to rest for a throw in 25seconds. If they aren’t doping now, they will be.
  • 2 0
 @number44: So he's supposedly being TOTALLY DOMINANT in a field that we agree probably isn't clean....?
I want to believe in Nino, and Van Der Poel, and road cycling as a whole, but I'm having a hard time.
  • 1 0
 @BenPea: Bowling? or maybe ping pong although those guys are moving pretty quick. Oh wait Curling?
  • 2 0
 Slopestyle. Although Rogatkin talks very much like a dude at a drum and bass night circa 3 am. No aspersions cast. Love you Nicolai.
  • 1 0
 Nicholi?
  • 1 0
 @BenPea: wasn't there a cocain scandal in snooker some years back?
  • 1 0
 @nojzilla: ah yes, you're right. Canada's finest got done for it, funnily enough. Ronnie tested positive for weed too...
  • 1 0
 @Schralpedrubber: exactly
  • 1 0
 @Schralpedrubber: Exactly. That's what's so worrying, and sucks.
  • 28 5
 XC is not really Pinkbike's flavor but if you consider what he did and how much effort and talent that takes it's incredible.
  • 9 8
 Careful, I got downvoted into oblivion for mentioning Pinkbike's roots the other day on the topic of Nino. He is a beast and had a stellar season...kudos all the way for him. But .....
  • 11 5
 @bman33: Except if you go one level deeper, Pinkbike is about mountain biking, and mountain biking's roots lie squarely in cross country. So why isn't this recognition appropriate for Pinkbike?
  • 12 4
 @mammal: You just proved my point. Yes, XC was a bike part of MTB origins. So was Marin County Klunker races down fire roads. Nothing wrong with XC racing, nothing wrong with recognizing Nino as the badass he is. However, Pinkbike's roots are a bit of an alternative to the XC race/MTB Action scene. You should be very familiar being from the BC area if you profile is accurate. Seems the sight is moving away from those roots a bit with this honor. Again, NOTHING taking away from Nino.

Ok, I will wait for the inevitable downvotes. But as a note, I live in Colorado, climb more that most on this site, I do clip in and none of my bikes are 26" with exception of my DJ.

Thanks everyone, congrats Nino
  • 5 1
 @bman33: No downvoting here... But I disagree with the "moving away from it's roots" sentiment. This site has always provided a fairly broad range of mtb content, but mostly focused on the gravity fed parts. If you take a cross-section of the content these days, I bet you'd find the same ratio of gravity/XC . The only difference is that now they provide about 400% more content than they used to be able to provide... So you end up seeing more things the don't align with what you think this site should be about. Ratio is the same, quantity has sky-rocketed.

Nino dominates in more than anyone, and it's not even close. It would be silly to give this award to anyone else, unless PB is going to proclaim themselves as a "gravity-only" site.
  • 2 0
 @mammal: I'll give you credit where credit is due. That is the best response I've seen on pinkbike in a while. Well thought out and presented. Kudos sir
  • 20 2
 N1CE!
  • 16 2
 So with an XC racer being athlete of the year (well deserved), is Pinkbike going to start reviewing more XC bikes, provide more XC news, and help steer the sport back into the limelight?
  • 5 0
 XC race bikes seem rare these days in shops and on the trails. They've turned into purpose-built race machines and, like DH bikes, don't seem to have mass appeal.
  • 29 0
 Yes, there will be more XC content on PB in 2018, including more cross-country specific bikes. We ramped the XC race coverage up this year and it looked like most readers enjoyed it, so they'll be even more next year.
  • 2 1
 @mikelevy:
hope that doesn't mean that there is less of gravity biking in replacement...just more over all.
  • 2 0
 @dthomp325: Très bonne analyse!
  • 1 0
 XC and marathon are big down here. It's hard to find a decent trail bike in the shops.
  • 4 0
 #bringxcback
  • 2 0
 well done PB this is the correct choice!
  • 16 4
 Pinkbike got it right!
  • 11 0
 It doesn't happen often, but every now and then we get it right.
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy: Just so we can put the argument to rest - of all the mountain bike disciplines, how many perfect seasons have we had vs. How many debut comepetitors took a series championship?
  • 6 0
 I would love to see how he stacks up at an EWS event. My guess is at least top 10 finish. His fitness level on a mountain bike is rarely achieved by any human. I'm sure there are some freaks out there that could hang with him on an average 20 mile ride. But if he was pushing his hardest I don't think anyone would stay with him for more than a couple minutes. I mean if Julian Absalon can't stay with him, nobody can! Wonder what his Strava times look like?...LOL!
  • 3 0
 I bet he has better bike handling skills than most of the PB crowd. www.pinkbike.com/photo/10095634
  • 2 0
 He's one of the best XC descenders, no doubt with a little practice he'd take a top 10 in an enduro
  • 7 1
 @DrPete: I'm certain he has better bike handling skills than 99% of PB members
  • 5 1
 @freestyIAM: 99%? As he's the Olympic and World Champion I'm pretty sure you can say 100%.
  • 1 1
 @BorisBC35: Surely not, on pinkbike, there are professional downhill or enduro riders as well, and they have better bike handling skills. Not the same fitness tough
  • 4 0
 @DrPete: @preppyrider: His father was the coach of the Swiss DH National team. Go figure why he's such a good decender Wink
  • 5 0
 Nino vs Kuhlavey at World Champs was the most exciting race of the whole year: XC, DH, or EWS. Go watch it if you haven't. Full-on battle within a couple of bike lengths bthe entire race down to the last 5 minutes.
  • 5 0
 There was really no other option. Nino is an incredible athlete who put in performance this year second to nothing we've seen before.
  • 6 0
 Not even the Pinkbike comments section can disagree with this one. Mark your calendars, boys and girls.
  • 8 0
 Hell yeah, Nino!
  • 3 0
 well deserved. so damn dominating the xc circus
would like to see him in a enduro or dh race, think he got the skills to ride into the top 30 or so easily... maybe in a few years just for fun ?!
  • 8 1
 He would absolutely make the top 10 nervous if he lined up at an EWS.
  • 1 1
 Nino won the megaavalanche back in the days if I'm not mistaken!
  • 3 2
 @brianpark: Finale Ligure, 2013, 174th: www.cyclingnews.com/races/enduro-world-series-finale-ligure-2013/results

Although don't get me wrong, I think Nino is incredible and a well deserving winner of this award.
  • 6 0
 @mattwragg: He placed top 20 in 3 of the stages thought, perhaps a mechanical put a damper on his race

www.rootsandrain.com/race2023/2013-oct-20-enduro-world-series-7-finale-ligure/results/#hopenm
  • 4 0
 @Gilo: Shit, I've been looking for 2013 EWS results for a while as they don't post em on the EWS site, I remembered his result sucked, but didn't remember his stage times. And yes, 2 top 20, one top 10 is impressive, not to mention a 6 minute penalty. It's more impressive than I remember his result being.
  • 2 0
 @mattwragg: without the penalty he would have been 40th. And only 4 seconds off Josh Bryceland
  • 2 0
 Easy pick. So impressive to watch this year! It would be great to see somebody rise to his level, or close to it, and make the racing tighter at the front. Mathieu van Der Poel is putting on a similar show in CX World Cup this season, and pushed Nino a bit last season. Maybe...
  • 5 0
 nino did not win the swiss sport award ... guess who won it for the eighth time...
  • 3 0
 Thank you Pinkbike. The Swiss Sport Award was a joke, but you got it right!
  • 9 4
 I come here to get away from ebikes an XC. PINKBIKE go to hell for exposing me to something new.
  • 12 0
 Sorry.
  • 8 3
 Anyone hating on him for being an XC guy, rest assured he would probably whoop you on and Enduro or DH course.
  • 1 0
 Had to be Nino or Gwin...Nino for the incredible endurance and power to dominate...Gwin because he can do things on a bike that nobody else can...and DH is a lot more dangerous and risky han XC...but that’s not Nino’s fault! Well deserved no doubt
  • 1 0
 Really enjoyed watching the XC this year even though Absalon was out for a bit, good to see Mathieu van der Poel crossing over to test Nino (well, a little bit at least!). Racecraft is just excellent for this fella, knows exactly what he has got in his tank, such as worlds when he just lurked until he sensed a little weakness in his opponent and BLASTED him on the toughest climb late in the race. Jedi Master Rank #1.
  • 9 6
 Meh... Sam Hil is boss as far as I'm concerned. Pretty sure he's not doping...
  • 1 0
 Nino is the reason why I watch XC~ Congrats to a living legend~

I think if I had a perfect season like that I'd retire on top...the pressure for next season would be too high, I'd prolly $#!t my pants while riding.
  • 5 2
 Oh shit, a clean xc racer! now that is funny.
  • 4 1
 He wins too much. Not normal...
  • 2 4
 P.
  • 2 4
 E.
  • 2 4
 D.'s
  • 3 0
 I never tested positive...
  • 3 1
 He really is something else isnt he. Incredible athlete
  • 5 4
 If xc has any street cred on pb where's the 'xc race of the year award' Sam wss robbed, again.
  • 2 0
 The man is an absolute machine. Well deserved accolade.
  • 7 5
 Sam Hill. The people's champ!
  • 1 0
 It had to be Nino or Sam. Nino is a legend. Anyone who can jump onto a swiss ball and juggle deserves it.
  • 1 0
 Can't Nino just bask in the glory of the moment? Why taint this with questions about doping.
  • 1 0
 It's good to see an award finally go to someone who deserves it rather than who paid the most in advertising for the year
  • 1 0
 I'd have picked Kyrie erving
  • 10 11
 So apparently Sam Hill didn’t get any award. Not the comeback of the year and not the athlete of the year... shame on you PB!
  • 14 4
 There's zero shame here, sorry. Sam was impressive in both EWS and at DH World Champs, but Nino's season was UNREAL.
  • 5 26
flag otto99 (Dec 15, 2017 at 17:47) (Below Threshold)
 @mikelevy: he's a nobody in this world..

Who are you trying to kid??

Take a poll see how many people knew who this guy was before today..
  • 5 1
 @mikelevy: Sam should have got the award of the comeback of the year!
  • 1 1
 @mikelevy: "impressive" is as much as you get if you win a series championship in your first season?
  • 7 0
 @Rubberelli: He has years and years of racing at the pointy end of the Word Cup downhill field... so no, I'm not overly surprised that Hill won the EWS overall. He killed it, but I'm also not surprised.
  • 2 3
 @mikelevy: And you were surprised by a guy who had 3 Olympic medals, 5 world champ wins and 4 world cup series overalls having a perfect season?
  • 2 0
 @Rubberelli: Am I suprised that you are pouting about a Pinkbike award? Winning Pinkbike athlete of the year is about like participation trophy at a tball game.
  • 1 1
 @rumblefish87: that would mean everyone would win one and everyone did not.i am just asking for some justification here. Perfect seasons clearly happen every so often. We've had two in the past two years. But Sam Hill has changed the sport this season. How many less DH bikes will be sold as people realize an Enduro rig can handle what they ride just fine. Pretty much every DH fan is now an EWS fan, which certainly was not true last year. And this is probably the most remarkable year in the career of one of the most remarkable riders ever.
  • 4 0
 @Rubberelli: Nope, but Nino won essentially everything there is to win for his chosen discipline. Have you seen what he won in 2017? It's insane. Sam took the EWS overall with a single (I think) EWS win and many top finishes, as well as a top-10 at the DH World Champs. That's nothing to sniff at, of course... but if you wrote down all of Nino's results for 2017 and had all of Sam's next to them, I'd hope you'd change your mind. Maybe not! Either way, both dudes killed.
  • 2 3
 @mikelevy: Fair enough, Mike. Now, how about running your award nominees on your right hand poll to see what the community thinks? I bet good money Hill would have two to three times the votes for AoY than Nino and there would be virtually no other votes for anyone else on Comeback of the Year.
  • 3 3
 @mikelevy: on flat pedals??? Come on!!! You guys have made some weak selections this year, but this one is over the top.
  • 1 0
 @Rubberelli: Hill would likely come out on top as PB's readers are likely more familiar with his accomplishments, as well as Hill being the "cooler" racer of the two.
  • 1 1
 @Golden-G: What the heck does pedal choice have to do with anything?
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy: I dunno, geez... hmmm... last time I checked I was pretty sure one is significantly less energy efficient than the other.... not sure though... let me check.... oh yeah I was right. Quite surprised that PB would choose athlete OTY from such a controversial racing discipline as WC XC...
  • 1 0
 @Golden-G: So you're saying that what Hill did impresses you because he was on platform pedals? And that cross-country racing, which has been around for a very, very long time, is "controversial"? Are you alluding to doping?
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy: absolutely on both points. Sam Hill's performance is incredible, all the more so since he achieved the feat on flat pedals. Not a disadvantage descending but definitely much more tiring on a long day in the saddle with multiple climbs. Nino is a machine but much like pro road racing I highly doubt the top 40 are clean. To think otherwise would be naive. Do I have proof? Absolutely not. Does it level the playing field? Probably. Am I wasting my time arguing a difference of opinion with you? Definitely. All due respect,
I love PB, but on the athlete of the year (and bike of the year) you guys dropped the ball. BTW, I've done plenty of xc racing back in the day. You may recall the Bell helmets video featuring John Tomac, read between the lines as to what he thinks of xc racing and why he put Eli onto moto instead.
  • 3 0
 @Golden-G: You know those guys pretty much walk or pedal as easy as possible during the transfer stages, right? Pedal choice does not matter, and it comes down to what the riders think they're faster on during timed stages... Hill clearly believes he's faster on platform pedals, therefore it's not a disadvantage. And as for Nino not being clean, do you know that the EWS leaves drug testing up to the local federation and that there has been essentially zero testing since day one of the EWS? Meanwhile, Nino pisses into a cup after every win, which in itself doesn't mean he's clean but it makes your statement sound a bit ironic given that one has never been tested during EWS racing and the other gets tested all the time.

Anyway, we're obviously not going to agree on this one, which is great. Pancakes > waffles.
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy: you might want to check on the notion that EWS racers have all the time in the world to make their climbs. Definitely check on that. At several EWS races, participants must smash a climb out red lined just to make their start times. Watch the movie Icarus on Netflix if you haven't already.
  • 2 0
 @Golden-G: Yes, they have a time limit. No, they're not racing cross-country to their next stage. Icarus was great.
  • 1 1
 @Golden-G: And to Mike's point on the EWS, it is physically obvious when someone is on steroids and one of the very top EWS riders was clearly on steroids.
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy: Nice!
  • 1 0
 @Rubberelli: using your steroid vision? Wow! Impressive...
  • 1 0
 @Golden-G: "Steroids preferentially increase the size of the muscles that attach to the shoulder joints: the lats, trapezius, pectorals, deltoids, and upper arms. (Interestingly, that’s also where steroid-induced acne is most likely to appear.) A guy who’s “yoked,” with traps big enough to support their own ecosystems, almost certainly had pharmaceutical assistance." - www.menshealth.com/fitness/signs-steroid-use
  • 1 0
 @Rubberelli: that must be proof! He looks guilty, therefore he is! Round up the lynch mob!
Anyone else look guilty?
  • 1 0
 @Golden-G: Do you just like to hear yourself argue? Here is a quote from you just a few posts ago in regards to WC XC." I highly doubt the top 40 are clean. To think otherwise would be naive."
  • 1 0
 @Rubberelli: 'I suspect' is different from 'guilty'. Now I do suspect the top 40-50 UCI competitors are using sime type of doping to be competitive just like in the TDF. I suspect. I do not have proof. Now you are pointing the finger at Richie Rude (assuming) because he is built like UFC fighter... Curtis Keene is pretty jacked, so is Graves, do they pass your 'steroid vision' test? Is Sam Hill doping? I doubt it! Is Nino doping? I think 100% that he is. Do I have any proof? Absolutely not. Strictly my opinion, nothing more. Are you going to get bent out of shape about my opinion?
  • 1 0
 @Golden-G: I wasn't disagreeing with you. You were proclaiming a host of XC guys were doping, then getting bent out of shape at the suggestion that some EWS riders do it too, even though UCI tests and EWS does not.
  • 1 0
 @Rubberelli: I'm not about to get bent out of shape about anything on PB.
  • 1 1
 Can there be a PB Most Controversial Award?

This guy can have another one..
  • 1 0
 I meant a PB Most Controversial Award - Award
  • 1 0
 He is an abassador for mtbking..he made xc look fun
  • 3 4
 This one was the most clear cut no-brainer of the awards. Nino’s a straight up robot.
  • 1 0
 very well deserved!
  • 1 1
 Good nominations, but Nino really was the standout... ????
  • 1 0
 Yawn - WADA -end.
  • 2 3
 what in the Sam Hill PB!!!!!!!
  • 2 3
 Who ?
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