What are we thinking about tomorrow's route? Do you think it will take us four, five hours?" my colleague asked me, over a pre-dinner pint about the following day's ride. It would take in the climbs of the Furka, Nufenen, and Gotthard pass, one on top of the other. Here it's called the 'Gotthard Challenge'. I motioned my head upwards, in the universal signal for ‘more'.
"I'm just checking Strava and there's an E Bernal who's done it in three hours. Have we heard of this guy? Maybe five is doable.”
"That's Egan Bernal," I said, spluttering on my drink at the idea that the winner of the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia had been reduced to E Bernal on Strava. "He rides for Ineos. He's one of the best climbers in the world. He must have done that ride in the Tour de Suisse. If we did it in double his time, we'd have had a strong day."
Three is the magic number
The triple whammy of the Furka Pass, Nufenen Pass and Gotthard Pass has few equals anywhere in Europe: around 100km, three major passes, and descents, elevation gain like it's going out of fashion, and no flat whatsoever. A proper, full-fat day on the bike, but not so long that it's going to bully you into a headlock. You can go to plenty of places in Europe and do a similar trio of climbs, but you'll either not finish where you began, rack up a soul-destroying volume of kilometers or it simply just won't be as pretty as here.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2022-Ausgabe von Cycling Plus.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2022-Ausgabe von Cycling Plus.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Air Apparent - Pollution hasn't gone away. It's still there in every lungful, even if we can't see it in the air or on the news. But there are reasons to breathe easier, thanks to pioneering projects using cycling 'citizen scientists'. Rob Ainsley took part in one...
The toxic effects of pollution have been known about for years. 'Just two things of which you must beware: Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air!' sang 1960s satirist Tom Lehrer.Over recent decades, though, pollution has dropped down our list of things to worry about, thanks to ominously capitalised concerns such as Climate Change, AI, Global Conflict, Species Collapse, etc. That doesn't, unfortunately, mean the problem has expired. Air quality often exceeds safe limits, with far-reaching and crippling effects on our health.
No limits
Not every adventure needs to be that epic, says bikepacking Scotland founder Markus Stitz
UNBOUND UNLEASHED
Josh Patterson was one of 34 starters for the inaugural edition of Unbound in 2006. Now, with more than 5,000 riders taking part in today's event, he charts the rise of the most important race in gravel
FOREST COMMISSION
Looking for a goal race in 2025 that'll stimulate the synapses and live long in the memory? You'd struggle to do better than ENID CRV in Finland
15 OF THE BEST ADVENTURES
Featuring Yorkshire, the USA, Sri Lanka and more, here are our picks of the world's greatest gravel races and routes
The stuff of dreams
Ned sings the praises of the Paris Olympics road-race course
"I rode 3,000 miles around Britain on a bamboo bike to highlight our climate crisis"
Recordbreaking cyclist and triathlete Kate Strong, 45, took to the road to raise awareness of environmental issues
FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
We venture into the hidden gem of the glorious Creuse, one of France's least populated regions
STAR TREK
New tube shapes and carbon lay-up makes the eighth generation of Trek's legendary Madone an aero and climbing bike all rolled into one
GOLD RUSH
With conflict around the world, Paris 2024 was a ray of light. Here are our highs of a mighty Olympics
