It's hard to believe, but 20 years ago the team that is now known as SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing was founded under the name Swisspower MTB Team. In the fast-paced world of sport, it is rare that a team can inspire for so long, especially at such a high and successful level. Champions such as Kate Courtney, Jenny Rissveds, Nino Schurter, Lars Forster, Florian Vogel and Thomas Frischknecht, to name but a few, have contributed victories over the last two decades that can be summed up with impressive palmares:

• 4 Olympic medals - 2 x gold
• 17 world championship titles
• 8 World Cup titles
• 50 World Cup victories
• 38 national titles

"We never lose! Either we win or we learn."

Looking back on the 2021 season, Thomas Frischknecht looks back on the challenges, but also the highs and lows and the stories to tell.

"In the 20 years of our existence, we have never had a bad year. Year after year, we have been spoiled by the victories that SCOTT-SRAM athletes have brought home. However, the 2021 season got off to a bumpy start. With the Covid pandemic still ongoing, some things didn't come together in time for the start of the season. The longer the season went on, the more the team felt their backs were against the wall. With all the work the athletes and the team behind them had put into the 2021 season, they knew it was only a matter of time before they could perform. But patience was required. Not exactly a strength of the athletes and especially their team manager.

In the end, the patience paid off. With Nino's world title and Lars' European title, the SCOTT-SRAM team has two of the most prestigious jerseys on its shoulders. Now we can look back on a tough 2021 season with a happy ending. It's fair to say that the 20th season was just as great as the 19 before it. And, as we learned from Nelson Mandela: "We never lose! We either win or we learn."

Where do success and consistency come from?

You might wonder what makes this team so different? That it lasts longer and is more successful than most other teams? It's the consistency that SCOTT-SRAM relies on. A great network of partners and suppliers that provide the best equipment and support needed to win. Partners like SCOTT Sports, SRAM, SPONSER and OAKLEY have been there from the start.

And of course, the people behind the team are also characterized by consistency. The Swisspower team was founded by Andi Seeli together with Thomas Frischknecht, who is still the team's manager today. Nino Schurter joined Swisspower in 2003 at the age of 17 and is now entering his 20th season with the same team.

"When I look back at what we have achieved in mountain bike racing over the last 20 years, it fills me with pride. In the fast-paced racing scene, it's pretty unique for a team to work with the same people and sponsors for so long. I am very grateful for the support from all sides in the good times and also in the less good times," says Thomas Frischknecht.

Q&A with Team Manager Thomas Frischknecht

20 years of SCOTT-SRAM! How does it feel for you after all these years?
On the one hand, it's hard to believe that 20 years have passed so quickly. On the other hand, these two decades are full of great stories and moments that make me realize that we have been on a long and great journey that is far from over today.

What has changed in these two decades?
A lot! Starting with the equipment and the race tracks themselves, through to the way the riders train, recover and eat. But there are also a lot of things in our team that have remained the same over these 20 years. A good team spirit has always been and still is an important part of how we get along. Very loyal team members and sponsors go a long way towards creating a solid foundation. And consistency inevitably leads to success. Besides racing, we have the great opportunity to work on product development with our partners like SCOTT or SRAM, just to name the most important ones. We feel a great appreciation from our partners when we are involved in the development of new products and technologies. We really enjoy being able to work with the latest products earlier than the rest of the competition and provide valuable feedback to the development teams. We can also rely on our relationships with the product managers, some of whom we have known for 20 years.

2020 was a difficult year. How did the team deal with this challenge?
I am aware that everyone on this planet is struggling with the pandemic, so I don't want to complain about the difficulties we had. A lot of things were planned at short notice and everyone had to remain flexible. A good lesson learned and something we can rely on in the future. Even during this time, driver motivation was never a problem. After not riding much in 2020, everyone was excited to race again, both the athletes and the whole team itself. The difficulty was more in getting through some not-so-good World Cup races at the start of the season. But that's where good team spirit pays off. The team has grown even closer together over the last two years due to the difficult times.

When you look at the team's impressive record over the last 20 years, what are the special moments you have experienced over the years?
The greatest moments don't even have to involve big wins. There are so many great stories about life in the team that you could fill a whole book with them. But in terms of race wins, there are two that stand out: The first is the double Olympic victory of Jenny Rissveds and Nino Schurter in Rio 2016. Having two athletes at the Olympics both winning gold is something you just can't beat! Another event was the final stage of the Cape Epic 2017. We had six athletes in the race, and all of them were the winners on the day. Nino Schurter & Matthias Stirnemann as well as Jenny Rissveds and I (mixed) won the overall classification. The final stage was won by Andri Frischknecht & Michiel van der Heijden. Winning a race as an individual is one thing, but winning as a team and sharing the emotion with others... you can't beat that.

When you look back on the last racing season in 2021, what were the turning points for you?
As we had been spoiled with big wins in previous years, we couldn't take this season for granted. We knew that the ingredients were still the same as in previous years. The quality of the athletes and the work put into the preparation to be successful was always there. We needed patience and that little bit of luck to achieve something big. Sometimes there are pieces of the puzzle that we can't control. To win, everything has to come together. It finally came together at the European and World Championships.

With the 2022 Cape Epic in mind, it must be special for the athletes, the mechanics and the whole team to be back at this race after two years?
We've really missed the Cape Epic over the last two years. In 2020, it was hard to take that it was canceled just 24 hours before the start. We had four teams and a huge entourage ready to race. Now we are desperate to get back to the start in South Africa, an experience we all love. However, the Cape Epic is an adventure every time as so many things can go wrong. But if we're lucky enough to get through without any problems, we'll certainly be able to keep up with the best again.

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