Gran Fondo Hincapie Bentonville, September 7th - Register Now!
United States | Midwest | Ohio >> Fabian Cancellara to Ride the Swiss Tortour Ultra

Fabian Cancellara to Ride the Swiss Tortour Ultra 

The TORTOUR Ultracycling, the biggest non-stop ultra-cycling event in the world with start and finish in Schaffhausen, Switzerland and take place for the ninth time from the 17th to 21st August 2017. This year, freshly retired professional cyclist Fabian Cancellara will compete in the shorter CHALLENGE format as part of a team of 3. Participants will now also have the option to compete in the SPRINT format in teams of 2 or 3.

Registration for all three race formats TORTOUR, CHALLENGE and SPRINT 2017 is now open.

TORTOUR, the ultra-cycling race that starts and finishes in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, demands a great deal of its participants and crews. Cycling day and night, either solo or in a team, the athletes have just two days to overcome the 1,000 km non-stop route around Switzerland over four Alpine passes. Mastering this challenging adventure takes blood, sweat and tears – but the unique experience and feeling of achievement is worth it! Participants can choose from three race formats: TORTOUR covers a distance of 1,000 km and an elevation gain of roughly 13,000 m; CHALLENGE covers a distance of 525 km and an elevation gain of around 6,800 m; and the short format SPRINT covers a distance of 370 km and an elevation gain of 4,200 m.

Cancellara teams up with IWC director Georges Kern in CHALLENGE format

Top cyclist Fabian Cancellara, who retired from professional sports in autumn 2016, is looking for­ward to taking part in next year’s ultra-cycling event. The multiple-time world champion and Olympic medallist in individual time trials will compete in the CHALLENGE format in a team of 3 with Georges Kern, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen. Both participants competed in TORTOUR in previous years and are keen to tackle next year’s ultra-cycling race together. The third team member is yet to be confirmed.

Defending champion Nicole Reist back on the starting line

Nicole Reist, winner of the women’s TORTOUR solo category for the last three years, has just confirmed that she will be competing in the 2017 edition of the 1,000 km race again. “I just love riding the TORTOUR – I just can’t go without it!” says Reist. The passionate ultra-cyclist, defending Swiss champion and Race Across America winner will be the first female athlete to take part in the TORTOUR Swiss Ultra-Cycling Championships, the World Championships and the European Championships in 2017.

SPRINT: Now also in teams of 2 or 3

SPRINT, the shortest TORTOUR race format, was first introduced last year. Covering a distance of 370 km and an elevation gain of 4,200 m, SPRINT was only open to unaccompanied solo riders – but it proved popular from the start and the athletes hugely enjoyed it. Anyway, tackling 370 km on your own can get pretty lonely, which is why as of next year participants will have the option to compete in the SPRINT format in unaccompanied teams of 2 or 3. Unlike in the TORTOUR and CHALLENGE race formats, team members in SPRINT do not take it in turns; they do the whole race together. Slip­stream­ing among team members is therefore allowed across the entire race course, making it a particularly fast race. Mastering the SPRINT format will continue to require less preparation and significantly less effort than the other two formats, both financially and logistically, as there is no crew involved. That is why SPRINT is the perfect race format for ultra-cycling beginners and participants from abroad.

2017 routes and official Swiss Ultra-Cycling Championships

The routes for the various race formats will remain largely unchanged in 2017, except for a few small logistical improvements. The tried-and-tested courses still offer plenty of top scenic highlights along the way for next year’s participants to enjoy. Once again, all participants will be taking part in the prologue at the Rhine Falls in the same TORTOUR jersey. The 1,000 km TORTOUR format will decide the official Swiss ultra-cycling champions for the third time in all solo, two-person and four-person categories, provided that at least three teams participating in the Championships in the respective category make it across the finish line.

Registration is now open for all race formats and the Swiss Championships at www.tortour.com.