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.
Bu hikaye Cycling Plus dergisinin May 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Cycling Plus dergisinin May 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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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.
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