Mountain biking

Tortour 2014 – Even More Challenging Swiss Race

Tortour is one of the toughest non-stop-bike-races in the world. It is held annually (since 2009) in Switzerland and it lasts several days. The event combines the best ideas of all existing long distance races and it is designed for professionals and amateurs, teams and solo bikers. The race is the ultimate challenge both for racers and their supporting teams. This year (2014), thanks to the weather vagaries, it requested even more resilience and bravery from all the participants as they had to non-stop-go over 1000 km (and about 13000 meters of altitude difference) to finish in the city of Schaffhausen after between 32 an 48 hours!

19. 8. 2014 Photos: 6

Temperatures of about 2 degrees °C at the top of the Furkpass, snow, rain and dense fog demanded everything from the cyclists and helpers in the race over the three days. Despite the challenging weather, the participants this year again called the TORTOUR a great event, a piece of priceless team experience and a very personal adventure.The exceedingly cold weather, snow and rain probably made the 6th TORTOUR one of the toughest challenges ever for the 554 participants.

The winner in the TORTOUR Solo Men category is Austria's Severin Zotter, clocking in a time of 36 hours, 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The solo racer Nicole Reist from Switzerland managed the 1000 km and 14,500 metres in altitude difference around Switzerland in 43 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds.

"The weather conditions in this race were certainly a borderline experience. This makes my victory in these conditions all the greater a reward. The TORTOUR with its varied stages, from flat sections to breathtaking mountain landscapes, is an impressive event," said solo cyclist Severin Zotter about his TORTOUR experience.