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I was looking at the race schedule a couple weeks ago, trying to decide how to fill the gap between World Cup #2 and #3. There
was a UCI E1 Coupe De France north of Paris and an E1 Swisspower Cup in the Alpenregion of Switzerland, just outside Interlaken. I figured I’d look into the Suisse race first, as the scenery
seemed like it would be better. It was. This is the most beautiful place I’ve ever raced, which is a tall order. The flaming green valley floor fades quickly into a cliff face, broken by t! oo
many waterfalls to properly appreciate them all, on top of this escarpment is another layer of bright green fading into a muted evergreen forest which gives way to the craggy peaks that dominate the
horizon. From the hotel we can see dozens of 3000 meter plus snowcapped mountains weaving into and out of the ever present moisture. It’s crazy. I arrived here on Friday after a solid 20 hours
of traveling from the States, including planes, trains and an unplanned taxi ride. Checking into the hotel, perched 800 meters up the hillside, and walking out onto the balcony to look across the
moonlit spread before us was worth every second of travel struggling. The 100 meter waterfall across the valley from our balcony is actually lit up at night, Shangri La! for this kid.
Anyway, I don’t want to bore you with how sweet it is here, if it’s any consolation, you can’t even see the tram tower that’s twenty
meters away right now because of the fog that has rolled back in. So let’s talk about non-world cup racing in Europe for a moment. Swisspower Cups are pretty much like doing world cups without
the filler. The top ten guys are generally pretty darn honch. This is nice because there aren’t that many people to get in the way, so you can actually race with the big boys and see what
you’re made of, sometimes, if you get a callup… I didn’t get a callup, I guess they couldn’t find my name in the UCI rankings… Starting pretty much at the back of 83 guys
kind of amused me, although I had been looking forward to trying my luck racing at the front to see how long I lasted. I figured I’d give ‘er anyway and see what happened, especially since
I had taken a very Glacial (read: horrifyingly cold) ice bath in the creek down the street last night and knew my legs would be fresh for a while. It also had rained that night and morning, and slick
is usually a good time for me.
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Photo from USA Cycling |
I decided to have a go and see what happened. Only Sauser stayed with me, and he seemed a bit taxed, which seemed too good to be true. It
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After some amusing starting chaos and standing around in the singletrack, which was a rarity for Swiss races, as there isn’t usually any proper
singletrack, I settled into the task of charging through the field. I guess that ice bath was the ticket, because on the main climb on lap two I had somehow made contact with the lead group? I wasnt
sure I believed it, but it seemed to be the case. Christoph Sauser was heading things up, with Kashi Leuchs, Frederick Kessiakof, Florian Vogel, Silvio Bundi and Balz Weber hanging on the best they
could. Balz was the first to drop, just as I made contact, the pace stayed high and Bundi was the next to go. On the fourth lap, as the track was getting pretty much dry in the afternoon sun, I
decided to have a go and see what happened. Only Sauser stayed with me, and he seemed a bit taxed, which seemed too good to be true. It was. With two to go he made it clear to me why hes a favorite
to win in Houffalize next week, attacking proudly on the paved climb that had been so good to me all day and getting a solid gap. I kept the pressure on, but he soon disappeared into the woods, only
to be glimpsed here and there, and just long enough to keep me chasing hard and looking forward. In two laps Christoph had put a good minute into me as a good lesson that I still have some getting in
shape to do before I win a World Cup. Thats fine with me, Ive got time..
Kashi, Florian and Silvio rounded out the podium, which was an event in itself. The national TV station that had been covering the race for a program later
that day did some interviews, then we all were called up to the Box, where we got our cheese, our ridiculous amount of prize money, and a fairly decent interview each for the crowd, which was
impressively sized for a tiny village on a Swiss hillside. (over 500 people raced over the course of the weekend). I’m definitely impressed with the series the Swiss have put together for
themselves, great competition, beautiful settings, TV coverage, and a ton of people who are fired up on bike racing, it’s great to be a part of every once in a while in your “spare
time”.
Thanks for reading, and to everyone who helps make it happen.
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