Perskindol Swiss Epic is one of the most challenging yet rewarding races within the ‘Epic Series’ (including Absa Cape Epic and The Pioneer) and also classified as the qualifier event for the legendary ‘Cape Epic’. Perskindol Swiss Epic offers completely new routes and trails in every year and this puts every rider in a comprehensive trial in terms of endurance, skills and will power. The picturesque Alps together with the crystal blue sky formed the sawtooth shaped skyline which make riders forgetting the fatigue from all the endless climbing and descents. Participants ranged from enthusiastic amateur riders (like us!) to top notch professionals (who often pop up in Redbull TV/UCI World Cups) and all riders have to race in pairs which makes the whole race more of a team effort. Me (Ken), as a former Hong Kong national mountain bike cyclist and Kevin, a current Hong Kong national MTB cyclist forms a team of ‘the mix of old and new blood’ to challenge the ultimate multi-stage mountain bike race around the Alps and we came home ranked 40th in men category and 85th in general classification. Let’s see how sparks flied between Ken, the MTB marathon and multi-stage race expert and Kevin, the virgin of multi-stage race.
2018 Perskindol Swiss Epic took off from the car-free village, Bettmeralp, via Grächen and ended in the famous mountain resort lied below the iconic Matterhorn peak, Zermatt. The whole journey brought us an extraordinary adventure in the Alps trails and this is also the last year of Swiss Epic hosting around the Valais region as they are moving to a new venue in 2019 for the next 5 years, so 2018 Perskindol Swiss Epic is definitely a valuable race to be completed.
2018 Perskindol Swiss Epic covered 322 km with total ascent 12,300 m in five days. Compared to this years’ Absa Cape Epic, covering 658 km with total ascent 13,530 m in eight days; The Pioneer hosting in New Zealand, covering 424 km with total ascent 15,124 m in six days. The shorter distance yet similar total ascent means the Perskindol Swiss Epic requires a reasonable climbing ability from the riders compared to Absa Cape Epic and The Pioneer. Due to the high altitude of the race venue, we planned to arrive three days before the race in order to get our body adapting to the ‘thin’ air.
We headed off from Hong Kong with a direct flight to Zurich, then couple of legs on train to reach Betten plus a cable car ride taking us to Bettmeralp. Before departure, 1 thing to pay extra attention is to properly protect and package your bike, anything could happen in such a long journey.
During the three days of adaptation before the race, we got some time to explore the village and the surrounding area. Compared to Cape town, the most noticeable difference to me has to be the remarkable landscape and scenery in the alps, it makes me feel like I am on a vacation rather than facing a hard race. Compared to my past experience, what I felt in Perskindol Swiss Epic was surprisingly calm and unrestrained, maybe due to the massive difference between Hong Kong (1 of the most crowded cities in the world) and the Alps. Get away from the busy metropolitan city to do something you are passionate about, to me, it’s a gift of pure enjoyment.
Here it comes the rider registration day, the heart pumping feeling before a big race finally appeared. The venue wasn’t super crowded, compared to Absa Cape Epic (650 teams), Perskindol Swiss Epic was about 1/3 of the size, yet compact enough to make us feel the competitive atmosphere. Locals and the organizers offered a super warm hospitality to the riders and local bands were performing at the race HQ for the whole five days. Rider registration day is also a very good opportunity for different riders to get to know each other as we are going to see each other a lot in the coming five days on the trails laughing and suffering. This year’s field was dominated by western riders, except the other 2 teams from Mainland China, there wasn’t any Asian face, maybe that’s the reason why the officials and riders spared extra attention to us.
Like Absa Cape Epic, Perskindol Swiss Epic provided each rider a 110 L travel bag with our race numbers and hotel names throughout the whole race. And we have to stuff our essential belongings to the bag so that the organizers can transfer our belongings during venue change. The officials kept our bike bags and other bulky suitcase for us and sent them back in the last day of the race. From my past experience, to avoid overweight issue in the return flight, I chose a feather light yet super strong travel bag, Osprey Transporter 65. Its foldable feature makes it very handy when we have to minimize our bulky item for storage.
Kevin is an old friend of mine who is doing a PhD in Cancer Biology in University of Zurich. We used to represent Hong Kong to compete in Asian Champs and National Cups.
It meant a lot for both of us to get together again and race as a team and we experienced a mix of happiness and bitterness during the race. The most unforgettable one was the last 10 km climb in stage 1 where Kevin’s legs started to cramp. We tried to slow down to ease off a bit, but towards the top, he wasn’t able to ride his bike and had to get off to run. I can tell he wasn’t feeling well at all, both physical and mental. All I can do was to cheer him up and to push him a bit and make the whole situation positive for us to complete the stage. The scenario reminded me 10 years ago when Kevin first started to ride and train with me. 10 years later we are racing in the Alps which feels pretty unreal. This tells me as long as we persist on doing something, doing it day after day, not giving up, surprises would come to you someday.
During the race, what impressed me is the local support to MTB. There are infinite MTB trails along the places we passed by, it isn’t too hard to see why Switzerland has the best MTBers in the globe. From child to veterans, they enjoy the mother nature on their bikes and a lot of kids have very good sense of bike handling telling from their wheelie, pump track riding and cornering. Many of you may have seen the logo of the ‘Toblerone’ from Switzerland, the famous Matterhorn peak. In our last stage of the race, we got the chance to ride very closely around it. The level of breathtaking makes you forget how sore and tired the legs are after all the climbs.
Here is some information about the race official arrangement. Like Absa Cape Epic, riders are gridded according to their GC rankings, divided as UCI, A to F. Each group were set off 5 to 7 minutes apart from each other groups, this prevents ‘congestion’ from happening early on in the race. The famous Swiss muscle pain relief expert and the title sponsor of the race, Perskindol generously provided warm up massage service and post-race 20 minutes massage.
Unlike Absa Cape Epic, Perskindol Swiss Epic offer hotels for riders to stay throughout the whole race instead of outdoor tents. Riders were distributed to different hotels across the villages, catering was also provided by corresponding hotels and restaurants. For luggage logistics, organizer will give each rider a luggage card with our names, race numbers and name of assigned hotels. During venue change, all we have to do is to bring our designated travel bag to the hotel lobby. The organizer will take care of them and bring them to our next hotel before we pass the finish line. The organizer did a fantastic job here so that we can quickly wash ourselves straight after and recover for the next day.
For race photos, apart from our team photographer Fung, the organizer appointed Sportgraf to capture top quality moments for each rider and photos can be purchased online after the race. Trust me, the quality is definitely worth the money.
Below are brief summaries of each stage
1st stage | Bettmeralp >> Bettmeralp | 63 km | Ascent 2700 m
Day 1 of Perskindol Swiss Epic, riders depart from the race HQ in Bettmeralp. Due to the low temperature in the morning, we paid extra attention to the pre-race warm up as a good warm up offers a much better start. After the start gun fired, officials on eMTB leaded us out of the village and soon we entered the 1st off road climb of the day, 3 km with 400 m climbing. From the top of the climb we could see the famous Aletsch Glacier. Riders usually put their hammer down and attack more often in the 1st day of multi-stage race as they are fresh and more importantly to gain a better position in the GC.
We followed the flow of the front pack and managed to stay in the front group. Since the start was located at 2000 m above sea level, ‘thin’ air with less oxygen made us struggled a bit on the climbs. Under the same power output, our heartrate was about 10 to 20 bpm higher than usual. After the 1st climb, coming was a 10 km with 1200 m descent single track which brought us to the Rhône Valley. The overall descent section was pretty technical, combination of tight hairpins, natural rock gardens and multiple consecutive drop-offs. We tried to ride as safe as possible just to avoid losing time from punctures and crashes.
After the long descents, it was mainly rolling terrain, passing through villages and trails around the Rhône Valley. We tried to maintain a fairly fast pace for most of the race, hoping to get a higher ranking in the GC and start in a stronger group in the next day. 1 of the highlights is to cross a valley via a suspension bridge. It was our 1st time riding a bike on a suspension bridge, looking down the river between the valleys with the light shaking of the bridge was a pretty mint experience. The climax in the first day began 45 km after the start, 10 km gravel climb with average grade 15%. Kevin started to fade out at that moment maybe his body still hasn’t adapted to the fast-paced endurance riding style in high altitude and burnt out a lot of the matches in the 1st half of the race. His quadriceps started cramping and forced to slow down. His legs weren’t even able to ride properly when we were 1 km to the top, his only choice was to off the bike and run, it was an absolute suffering for him during that time. I tried to cheer him up and to push him whenever he could back on the bike to ride. Finally, we reach the top of the climb, Fiesch-Eggishorn and smoothly rolled back down to the finish line in Bettmeralp. The moment we crossed the arch finish line, the level of relief was unprecedented and hard to describe.
2nd stage | Bettmeralp >> Grächen | 77 km | Ascent 2700 m
Day 2 of Perskindol Swiss Epic, the A to B venue change from Bettmeralp to Grächen, also the longest distance and time-cut throughout the whole race. Since we pushed hard in stage 1, we managed to move up to group B, start 2 groups behind the UCI group. Heading off from the town of Bettmeralp, we entered a long single track descent, via Mörel (the only saffron cultivation in Switzerland) then towards an ancient city Brig via Rhône Valley.
We steadily entered the 1st 2 climbing sections, 10 km with 1000 m ascent and 4 km with 400 m ascent. These climbs is a mix of asphalt and popular local hiking trails, which means certain sections would be too steep for most of the riders to ride and the only choice is to off the bike and push. This was a tricky bit of a lot of riders as cyclist aren’t trained to quickly switch muscle motions like triathletes such that the rhythm can be messed up quite easily. Learning from the first day experience, we rode in a steady pace to conserve energy. During the long climbs, we were able to vividly look at the Matterhorn which makes the climb less suffering.
Following the climbs were fairly long descents along the Rhône Valley and leading us to another ancient town, Visp. From here on were mostly open flat section, we tried to ease of a bit to let our arms and upper body to recover from the long descents. Grächen is an old town located on a ladder farm 1700 m above sea level, which means riders have to climb up 1000 m to the finish line from Rhône Valley. Fortunately, we saved up a bit energy in the 1st half, we actually managed to slowly pass some of the riders who dropped us early on in the race on this 13 km asphalt climb. Listening to the water sound from the water diversion built 400 years ago along the climb, we reached the finish line in Grächen without much suffering. The thoughtful organizer specifically built a berm before the finish line as a little reward for long day of staying on the saddle.
3rd stage | Grächen >> Grächen | 71 km | Ascent 2750 m
Day 3 was the ‘Queen stage’ of Perskindol Swiss Epic, also the course of 2019 MTB Marathon World Championships, the highlight of the whole race. The climb ratio and downhill difficulty were an ultimate test for every MTB marathon rider. Not long after the start we had to climb up a short hill, 3.5 km with 400 m ascent. A lot of the riders put their hammer down, trying to enter the single track descents in a better position. We stayed in the middle of the pack and paced moderately, again, to avoid ‘hitting the wall’ like day one and lose much more time.
The overall width of the course is significantly wider compared to the last two stages, maybe the organizer wanted to avoid any congestion in world champs next year. This means riders can carry higher speed in most of the sections and the whole race has became more intense. The 1st downhill was 6 km long with 1000 m descent. The rough and technical parts demanded a lot of energy from our arms and upper core and our focus was drastically reduced. Thus, we tried to ride and to pick lines as safe as possible, just to avoid punctures and crashes.
After safely reached the bottom, we started to climb up along Rhône Valley, including 3 gravel and asphalt climbs, 4 km with 500 m ascent; 12 km with 1100 m ascent; 8 km with 800 m ascent. A lot of the riders started to fade out during these climbs. As we have conserved some energy in the 1st half, we managed to overtake riders who dropped us early on and even those who were way in front of us from the other group. During these total 24 km of climbing, apart of pacing, we also focused a lot on nutrition intake by having power gels or energy bar every 30 minutes in order to maintain enough energy source for the muscles.
Following the climb was a 7 km single track downhill with 1400 m descent. This descent to distance ratio means that we still can’t relax but focus even more. Since we are using a hardtail, we had the ‘closest’ interaction with the rough and rocky surface. There is no rear suspension for us to rely on passing through every root and rocks and we need our whole body and motion to safely ride through the obstacles.
After the long descent we reached Matter Valley and approaching the final climb of the day, 10 km with 800 m ascent. We tried to pace up a bit as we felt like we still have some fuel left in the tank. Throughout the climb we were riding at our ‘sweetspot’ (power just below the lactate threshold), we managed to overtake several teams. The organizer added a hiking trail with an average grade over 30% at the top, most of the riders had not much left in the tank and the only choice is to off the bike and ‘hike’. The only words in our heads was ‘Get us Home’. We looked at each other before crossing the finish line and we both let out a sigh of relief as we conquered 2019 MTB Marathon World Championships course after all.
4th Stage | Grächen to Zermatt | 63 km | Ascent 2250 m
Day 4 of Perskindol Swiss Epic, 2nd A to B venue change of the race. From Grächen to Zermatt, approaching our final destination, Matterhorn. Compared to the last two days, the organizer described it as ‘walking in the park’. Things don’t always go too smooth as weather suddenly changed from sunny to cloudy with drizzle. Clothing, nutrition and pacing had to be adjusted to suit the condition.
Same as yesterday, a short hill 3.5 km with 400 m ascent after the start. The difference was riders weren’t as aggressive as yesterday maybe due to fatigue from the past three days. Today’s downhill sections were not as wide as yesterday and the pace wasn’t as high as well which made us lost less time due to the hardtail frame choice. The longest climb of the day was 10 km with 1200 m ascent. 1st half was asphalt and 2nd half was draggy grass climb. We kept the pace steady in the 1st half as usual and tried to pace up a bit in the 2nd half. There was a cliff section close to the top at 2500 m above sea level which riders were mandatory to off the bike.
At this time, strong wind plus rain made the temperature lowered to around 3 to 4 degrees Celsius, a lot of riders who weren’t dressed enough struggled a lot to stay warm. Today’s highlight was the premiere ride of Zermatt bike park – Sunnegga trail which was opening the day after. The landscape of Matterhorn can be seen clearly from the start, following was a 6 km downhill with 680 m descent. Consist of endless berms and jumps, well designed for both novice and experts to enjoy the flow of a bicycle-based rollercoaster. A ‘must-go’ for MTBers visiting Valais region.
After the bike park we slowly entered Zermatt with a 10 km, 700 m ascent climb. We maintained a steady pace and reached the famous mountain ski resort. The town is much more busy and crowded compared to Bettmeralp and Grächen, locals were cheering on the road side and the crowd was amazing. Crossing the finish line here felt like warriors returning home with glory.
5th stage | Zermatt >> Zermatt | 57 km | Ascent 2050 m
Last day of Perskindol Swiss Epic, organizer described it as ‘sightseeing tour’. After the start was a 6 km climb with 500 m ascent. Riders gave everything they have in the tank as it is the final stage. We followed the group and managed to reach the top in top 5. In the coming single track section, Kevin tripped into a grass pit and broke his shifter mount. Fortunately the place he crashed wasn’t far from the 1st service station, his shifter was anchored using zip ties and credit to the light-speed fix from the Shimano service station ladies.
The highlights of today’s stage was 2 of the 5-Seenweg (lakes) in Zermatt, Leisee (2232 m above sea level) and Stellisee (2537 m above sea level). We also reached the highest point of the race, Fluhalp (2606 m above sea level), with a 360° view of no less than 38 mountain peaks – a semi-compulsory photostop! These landscapes made the whole 15 km 1000 m ascent climb became easy and enjoyable. Before the finish line was a 10 km single track descent, it wasn’t super technical but so much flow and fun. Thank God, the zip ties on Kevin’s handle bar snapped again towards the end of the descent rather than in the mid way, he managed ride home with one hand controlling the bike and one hand holding the shifter, that was impressive! The crowd in Zermatt was amazing and super hyper, the tiredness accumulated in the past five days suddenly disappeared. Crossing the finish line was like a dream, definitely an unforgettable one! Received the finisher medal and time to say good bye to Perskindol Swiss Epic.
During Perskindol Swiss Epic, there was another mountain bike event hosting in the same venue consisting of popular brands and different age riders. A lot of 5,6 years old kids wheelie and drifting around the venue, this tells how much the Swiss love MTB. Very lucky for us, to meet Gary Fisher, the inventor of modern mountain bike and 29er, chatting with him plus a photograph was like winning a lottery!
After a several days of being a cyclist in Switzerland, it is obvious that how surroundings can significantly affect our lifestyle, and it isn’t hard to see why Switzerland is able to breed so many world champions. Hong Kong has a similar terrain as Switzerland, but due to overpopulation and lack of city planning, has became a cycling unfriendly city. To all of you, amateur or athletes, who persist on doing what you passionate about under rough conditions, hats off to you all!
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