The inaugural Tortour Cyclocross race was a perfect start and a crowning finale of the cyclocross season: From 12 to 14 February 2016, almost 90 athletes from 10 different nations competed in the event in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, the first-ever multiday ultra cyclocross and gravel stage race in the world. The race was clearly dominated by Swiss riders. Lukas Winterberg successfully combined endurance and technique in muddy and snowy conditions: he carried off the victory in the solo men category, ahead of Fabian Obrist and Silvio Büsser. Former pro and cyclocross icon Thomas Frischknecht proved with his victory in the category teams of two that he’s still got it. If there was ever any doubt!
Lukas Winterberg claiming victory in the TORTOUR Cyclocross category solo Men in an incredible chase | Credit: Sportograf
The weather seemed to be straight out of a picture book or photo shoot for cyclocross/gravel racing products: rain showers alternated with heavy snowfall, the ground had already been drenched by last week’s wet weather conditions, the race course was extremely slippery and muddy. After a somewhat dry prologue on Friday, the athletes had to pedal on through the mud and snow and got stuck several times to their knees and wheel hubs in the thick mud on the 96 km courseon Saturday and on the 89 km course on Sunday. These modern day heroes were, therefore, covered in mud when they crossed the finish line.
Lukas Winterberg being followed during a tough climbing section in the fog | Credit: APiX
Lukas Winterberg: Successful Strategy
Lukas Winterberg had already shown on the first stage to be the title favourite and was leading the race over almost 90 km. But a broken rim just 7 km before the finish made him fall back to rank 6. He had to make up for a lost time of 11 minutes in Sunday´s race if he wanted to carry off the victory. His strategy proved to be successful:
“My strategy was to split the group in order to successfully detach Fabian and Silvio from the others. We have been riding together up to Thayngen, this is where I could accelerate and get away. At that moment I knew that I had to keep the pace. On the ascents I could gain some advantage on my competitors. It was hard to keep it up on the flat sections, since they were in two. But I kept pushing hard and could gain even more advance on them. The last 10 km were tough, but it was enough to climb the podium. The event was a big highlight! The wintery conditions with rain, snow, fog and a lot of mud gave me an extra kick, it was damn awesome — just the perfect weather for cyclocross!”
Cycling legend Thomas Frischknecht still on top
The former pro Thomas Frischknecht also proved to be a tough performer in these harsh conditions. Although his participation was just for fun, he and his team mate Urs Gerig were able to gain the victory in the category teams of two. But was it really just fun? “What was fun in the beginning quickly turned out into a torture, or Tortout. Our goal in these tough weather conditions was to get to the finish as fast as possible in order to get out of the that cold and damp weather. We`ve really had no ambitions at the beginning, because we didn`t know what and which competitors to expect at the premiere. But as soon as it was clear that we had a chance to win today, we didn`t let anyone go past us and gave everything.”, said Frischi.
“The weather conditions were really harsh – almost borderline. Without my team partner I might not have ridden the last stage. But riding in a team, especially with my good friend Urs, turned the race into an incredible experience. We motivated each other throughout the entire race and made it on the top of the podium.”
In the women`s solo category Viviane Spielmann took the first place with a great lead over her nearest competitors. In the category of teams of four, the cyclists of the FOCUSRAPIDO Racing team didn`t give his fellow competitors a chance in the race.
Successful Premiere for Tortour Cyclocross
Despite the challenging weather conditions, OC President Roy Bruderer draws a positive conclusion: “Of course, the rain, snow and cold forced some riders to give up, which is not very surprising considering that the stages were rather long compared to other cyclocross races. However, many participants were able to finish the race and were enthusiastic – that makes us very happy. Our goal with Tortour Cyclocross is to provide passionate cyclocross amateurs an innovative ultra-cycling platform, even in winter. And that definitely worked out with this new format!”
Full rankings for Tortour Cyclocross are available online.
The Tortour Cyclocross race is a sister event of the Perskindol Swiss Epic.