Tag Archives: switzerland

1st Place in the Tuggen Challenge

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It’s been a good weekend of racing! My team http://www.stct.ch won the Tuggen Challenge outright, and dominated all races, Time Trial, Road Race and both men’s and women’s categories.

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For me, the competition was not against the other women in the end as the turnout was very poor, so it was against myself, my demons and the men. For that is what Granfondo is all about, everyone together in one big mish-mash of elbowing and fun racing.

Stage 1 – Saturday – 10km Time Trial

I rode my first ever time trial yesterday – 10km at ‘voll gas’ as they say in Switzerland. My goal was to maintain an average of 40 kilometres per hour, and I achieved it! Even better – at 41.15kmph. My finishing time was 14.58 and, because I didn’t have a time trial bike, aero helmet, and wheels – I could take advantage of a 30 second bonus which brought me in at 14.28 and the winner by well over a minute.

The TT on Strava


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TT Results

Stage 2 – Sunday – Road Race

Today then was Stage 2. 4 laps of 14.7 km with a steep, big hill in each one of those rounds. I was nervous coming into the event because it has been raining a lot, the roads are really narrow and it could have been mayhem. Luckily they were dry for us, and the peloton broke up pretty early in the event so I rode in the 2nd group with about 20 riders for most of the way.

My legs were in really great shape and I never really felt uncomfortable, like I sometimes did in Brütten in March. I was one of the first up each of them climbs and far from getting dropped, I actually controlled a lot at the front of the bunch. That however got a bit frustrating towards the end as the bunch slowed down and really lacked some aggressive riders to push the pace on. I’ve seen this happen before and it is frustrating! More reason for me to try to stay in the first group instead of working for the second…
I had great help from teammate Geri Pachinger and my mate Markus Tollert – also from a mysterious rider from Bündnerland in a green jersey – thanks whoever you are!

Finally, the Steiner Team triumphed again, André Seiler took the road race win with Reto Wälchli coming in second and Oleksiy and Bojan working really hard to help make this possible!

The Road Race on Strava

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Final Road Race Results

The event was very well organised! It is clear that christian Heule has a lot of friends in the cycling scene as he pulled together some great support for the whole event, there should be some good photos and video coverage released in the next week and yeah – I would definitely recommend it! But I only wish there were more women stepping up to race. It is a shame and makes me worried about the development of the sport in Switzerland.

CRASH! Shock, Frustration and Some Missing Skin

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The 3rd RMVZOL was on Saturday. Although my legs weren’t fully recovered from Mallorca, I was so excited to race after a really successful training camp and I felt I had a really great chance to get on the podium. Sabrina Baumgartner and Jutta Steinen were the main rivals and I had already beaten Sabrina in the first of the three-race series.

There was a great atmosphere among the team before the race began. Jeannette and Mario Covi were out with cameras and we got some amazing photos.

Warm-Up

The Race

The women started in the same block with a 1.15 minute lead over the Amateurs and Elite men. The first few laps were good. It started off at an ok pace but straight from the beginning I noticed that the juniors were really nervous and giddy. There was a lot of senseless sprinting at the front of the pack and solo break aways. Jutta was in one of these breakaways and I chased her down with the help of Geri Pachinger one of our Vet teammates. Although I tried to ignore the jittery bike handling of the juniors as much as possible it wasn’t always that easy.

After 2.5 laps, our group got caught by the Elites and Amateurs. That meant a bunch of about 60 or more riders swallowed us up. My goal this race was to be better positioned in the peloton and to play a more active role in the women’s race. That meant working harder at the front and being prepared to chase breakaways if they happened. I made sure I was positioned at the edge of the peloton and with Sabrina and Jutta in contact so when that big gang came along I wouldn’t be stuck in the inside of the Peloton where its much harder to get out.

Everything was going great. I felt good and I had strong legs. On the fourth lap Yves rode next to me and gave me some words of encouragement. He said I was going very strong and to keep it up.

Disaster Strikes

Literally, within 5 seconds after Yves had spoken, the rider to my right rode straight into me – at full speed! I have no clue why other than perhaps he was pushed into me by the rider on his right. We were averaging about 40kmph and there was no way I could hold my line. I went down, in the middle of the pack and about 5 riders also came down with me (and on top of me), one of them was fellow team rider Oleksiy Mischchenko, and Markus Tollert a mate of mine. It took me a good few minutes to recover, then check my injuries. I felt really dizzy and I realized that the entire left side of my winter bib tights around my bum had been torn off, skin and all. Left knee, hip, chin, hand, and right little finger are all the worse for wear and I completely broke my 3T carbon handlebars.

Grrr!

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Team Wins

On a much brighter note, Yves Covi triumphed again. After a really unfair 2nd race with some questionable handicapping of riders by the organization, the ST18 boys rode with vengeance to win the overall series. Yves on the podium and Reto Wälchli in 3rd place. Go guys!

Here is a pic of Yves just pipping Jan Keller over the finish line. To see more photos of the team in action check out our Facebook gallery.

582002_509593599086503_1423258125_nOnwards and Upwards

So. Instead of licking my wounds. I’m going to race in the 3rd Frühlungs Cup in Brugg next Saturday with a couple of teammates. Maybe that will help the frustration I feel over Saturday’s race!

Valais I Love You!

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This past weekend was just simply amazing. I have so many more photos to upload but first, I want to share these pics of one of the most thrilling descents I have done yet on ski’s!

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After a freezing cold start we walked through one of the most beautiful glaciated valley’s I have been in, to climb up to a berghutte with a priceless view. This is us three on the walk up:

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If you look closely, you can see us traversing through the rocks underneath the ridge to get to the spot we wanted to drop in…

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Yves on the descent:

 

More of Yves – high speed

 

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Messing up Yves beautiful lines – but considering my novice skills Im pretty happy with it!

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Chris on the descent:

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Thanks to Jean Gabriel Balet for the amazing photos!

Ein Tag am…Pragel, Ibergeregg and Sattelegg with STCT Cycling Team

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Without going into too much detail we had a great day out on Saturday on a team ride in Central Switzerland. The route profile was like this:

Performance was so-so (not sure about the 95.8kmph – I think that was Garmin interference):

And the views were stunning! Check out the full album on our team page on Facebook:

Furggelenstock with Abi and Pezz

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Abi nearing the summitGrosser Mythen (left)

Today we decided to go for an easy tour near HochyBrig. However – most of the route we wanted to walk was closed to preserve nature. Pezz mentioned that most of the birds must have flown their path anyway by now but she insisted we didn’t go there reminding us that it was blocked off for a very good reason. I agree.

So we had to re-route and walk mostly on a piste (albeit an empty one) to the top of the Ibergeregg ski piste and then cut right across the ridge to Furgellenstock.
Once we got to the top we werent quite sure what the best way to come down would be. Going back the way we came up would bring us to the piste which I thought would give us the most consistent downhill, but we would have to put our skins back on to get there. Going down off the West side of the summit meant we would have probably about 20 nice turns and then we would be into forest and have to walk and pole push our way out.
We decided for the former but we ended up somewhere unsatisfied as groomed piste was quite flat and boring and the off-piste snow was sticky.
All said and done, it was a great girls day out! The banter was good and who cares about the rest when you are surrounded by good company and good friends.

Chli Chärpf, Glarnerland, Mar 10, 2012

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I was excited all week long to climb Chli Chärpf yesterday with Mathilde and it lived up to beyond my expectations. We set off early from the car park on the side of the road, beyond the Elm Ski station and made our way up with the summit in sight.

The weather was spectacular and we stopped twice within the first hour to take layers of clothes off.

We pushed it quite hard in the first 750mtrs and paid for that a little in the second half. But it was ok. Getting to the top required some technical work – most people were taking off their skis and boot packing it up but we decided to leave them on. This was one of those moments you really don’t want to make a mistake. We had to edge up a narrow couloir/gully with our skis parallel to the slope and make an exact kick turn on the same +45 degree (est) slope to change direction and carry on up the last 200 mtrs to the summit.

Nothing like a little adventure! But we all managed it without any glitches.

The view from the top was breathtaking and it was warm enough so we took our time and ate a couple of sandwiches.

This tour bangs a lot for your buck – the uphill is challenging and consistently steep and you are rewarded with some of the best snow and downhill I have had yet on a skitour. Its not often that the downhill feels longer than the uphill but yesterday it seemed to go on forever.

Chli Chärpf, Ill be back! Thank you!

Chli Chärpf on Skitouren.ch: http://www.skitouren.ch/gipfelbuch/detail/id/53252

Ski Mountaineering Racing Lesson #1: Wax on

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I took part in my 2nd uphill ski mountaineering race last night, the Ybriger Nachtskitourenskilauf at Hochybrig. It hurt all the way, from the very start, to the second I crossed the line. It hurt even more when all my really hard work to catch the woman in 3rd place ahead of me, went to vain on the flat and downhill sections because I hadn’t waxed my skins! There is a lot I have still to learn about this sport!

The Course

 

The Start Hurt

I got a shock at the start when everyone started off running uphill. Man, that hurt. I tasted blood in my mouth after a minute (anyone got an explanation for that?). Then I knew I had to settle into it or I would blow up horribly. The next major discomfort were the dehabilitating cramps in my calves. I guess dragging the weight of my super-not-light skis at a much faster pace than normal, sent my calves into shock! But after I raised my heel on the bindings and dug in to the steeper uphill section the cramps eased.

The Middle Hurt

When I approached mid-way I realised I had closed in on the woman who was ahead of me at the start. I was determined to try to keep closing on her until, in my imagination, the big sprint at the finish when I would overtake her. Alas, that was not to be due to the problem mentioned in the opening paragraph!

The Finish Hurt

Despite my disappointment at not passing my rival in 3rd place. I was happy to still have some fuel in the tank to push through at a nice pace to the finish egged on by my friend Sylvain over the last few metres to the line.

The Result was Ok

All in all I was happy with my result. I was a long way off the first woman but she is a professional biathlete who has obviously got a lot of racing and experience under her belt. I was within 2 minutes of 2nd and 3rd place respectively, and 2nd place was a well-known ITU triathlete in her day! So – hurray! I’ve got some form again.

Unfortunately I have no photos but here is are the results: http://tourenskilauf.ch/listen/Rangliste12.pdf

My friend Mathilde came in close behind me and that was a great show. We both dug deep.

Ski Mountaineering Races are…great!

I really like these races. You are pushed to the limit the whole way. There is no avoiding it, just getting to the top is a struggle, there is no hiding or drafting and not much tactics involved in the shorter races, its just all go right from the start.

The Ybriger Nachtskitourlauf costs 25 CHF to enter and that includes a meal at the end, so does the Night Attack in Flumserberg. They are usually at night so you have the day to lounge around and relax (unless the race is a longer one)

You nearly always a bag of goodies to bring away and a very high chance of getting a prize for performance or in the raffle (at the Flumserberg Night Attack 2 people out of our 6 person gang came away with raffle prizes). The ski down is nearly always great fun in the dark, although the conditions last night were less than optimal as it was raining and the snow was slush.

The people are nice and friendly and not pretentious at all, this makes a change from some other sports where people are really into fancy equipment but in the end are still afraid of the pain factor. Although there is still a lot of flash gear at the ski mountaineering races, the majority of competitors are quite unassuming characters.

There is a list of upcoming races on the SAC website

Hoch y Brig Skitour Feb ’12

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Hoch y Brig Skitour Feb ’12, a set on Flickr.

Another weekend on the hills, this time with ultra running buddy Christian who was recovering from a 1,600mtr monster the day before (and a concert if I remember correctly)
Hochybrig was just stunning – we summitted Furgellenstock. Safe, sunny conditions and a great day out with a good friend!

Piz Titschal

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Piz Titschal, a set on Flickr.

Photos taken from a wonderful day out in Obersaxen. We went from Surcuolm where were were lodged at the Bundner Rigi gasthaus (fabulous btw) to Frigga Hüs and climbed up to Piz Titschal. About 1,200 mtrs of alt. gain and stunning views. Especially the one of the sky after I fell over while trying to take a video while walking. Not as easy as it sounds when on ski’s!

Snow Shoeing Biel Chinzig, Schächenthal

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Sarah Thompson, who has been my best mate from home since I was 11 years old is visiting!

Yesterday we went for a walk up to the Albishorn which was stunning, a real winter wonderland while we tried to figure out if it was worth sticking to our original plan to go to Glarus.

After a lot of time debating, weather forecast checking and calling the lift station at Brügg to see whether or not we could actually get up to our guesthouse (www.berggasthaus-biel.ch )we bit the bullet and drove down to Altdorf to find it was running (just about) and arrived at the guesthouse at 15:30 in the afternoon.

The fondue was amazing

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The avalanche risk was really high this morning

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So we did a conservative snow shoe tour around the ski resort – we were warned about 3 times not to wander far

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And Sarah got her first alpine adventure experience!

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