Florian Vogel

Full-carbon 29ers just keep getting lighter and are appearing more often atop the podium domestically, and, finally, internationally as well. Want proof? World XC champ Nino Schurter and his Scott Swisspower teammate Florian Vogel are checking out two-niners.

An elite crop of European racers lined up Sunday at the second XC race in the XX Maremma Cup, where Marco Aurelio Fontana held off the Swiss duo of Nino Schurter and Florian Vogel.

For the most part, mountain bike racing is a singular sport. But 2009 proves that a strong team can produce results.