Nov 22, 2025 Ticino, the Italian-speaking and southernmost region of Switzerland, has been part of my cycling life for as long as I’ve been pinning on a race number. My relationship with this place goes all the way back to the 1990s, when I was an amateur racer chasing early-season form on the other side of the Alps. Back then, …
Alpine Gravel Bikepacking in Ticino: Airolo to Bellinzona
→ 182km↑ 5180m♦ difficultStart: AIROLOFinish: BELLINZONACountry: SwitzerlandCLIMBS: GOTTHARD PASS (2091M) PASSO SCIMFUSS (2244M) PASSO DELL’UOMO (2218M) CAPANNA ADULA (2012M) CAPANNA …
Alps Divide: let the fun begin
September 6, 2024 I am writing this in a train towards the French city of Menton. Tomorrow, I will start the Alps Divide: an ultra cycling race that should take me (if everything goes well) to Thonon-les-Bains, 1’000km and 32’000 meters of climbing later. This sounds daunting, however I feel this is going to be the easy bit. Just getting …
Long distance cycling: yes, but why?
Photos: kuwa.swiss August 1, 2024 About ten years ago, I got into ultracycling: stupidly long stuff that you finish in a pathetic state and that makes you look like an idiot when you talk about it at the family Christmas dinner. It started with a bang, when I signed up for the Transcontinental Race on a whim in 2015. I …
Gravel bikepacking in Valais
August 27, 2023 Over the last few years, I’ve been exploring Valais (Wallis in German) on my gravel bike. This region of Switzerland is already known for its great road passes and mountain bike trails. As it turns out, it also lends itself very well to gravel biking: the Valais is criss-crossed by a dense network of 4×4 roads at …
My gear for the Tour des Stations Ultimate 1000: a tale of compromise
August 1, 2023 As I write these lines, I’m in Le Châble, three hours from the start of the Tour des Stations Ultimate 1000. The last few days have been very busy, between preparing the bike, planning my stops at the reboost stations and frantically studying the weather forecasts. This is the last chance to talk about my equipment! All …
A big scary goal
July 30, 2023 Oops, I did it again: I signed up for a bikepacking race. It all started with a bang in 2015, with the Transcontinental Race. After that, I followed it up with the Torino-Nice Rally (2018), Dead Ends and Cake and the SUCH (2021), then Dead Ends e Dolci this spring. This time, I’ve chosen to take part …
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Le Tour des Alpes vaudoises
→ 211km↑ 4330m♦ mediumSTART/FINISH: Les DiableretsCountry: SwitzerlandCLIMBS: Les Voëttes (1401m), La Forclaz (1260m), Villars (1253m), Les Plans-sur-Bex (11178m), Col du Pillon (1546m), Col des Mosses (1445m), Col de la Croix (1778m)A 4-day tour on quiet roads in the Alps near Lake GenevaEasily accessible by car and train, the Alpes vaudoises, with their characteristic chalets, green pastures and snow-covered peaks, are a …
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Graubünden gravel & road tour
→ 190km↑ 5670m♦ difficultStart: SplügenFinish: IlanzCountry: SwitzerlandCLIMBS: Lai da Vons (1991m), Maigelshütte (2314m), Alp Nova (2079m)A 3 day tour on quiet roads and gravel tracks in eastern SwitzerlandLocated in eastern Switzerland, the canton of Graubünden is home to some of the most beautiful road cycling passes in the Alps such as the Albula or the Umbrail. It is also a …
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Strada dell’Assietta and Colle delle Finestre
→ 139km↑ 4390m♦ difficultStart/Finish: Rifugio delle RaneCountry: ItalyCLIMBS: Colle delle Finestre (2178m)Route: Loop (clockwise)A 2 day gravel biking tour on the high military roads of PiemonteThe Strada dell’Assietta is a gravel road in Piemonte, Italy that will blow your mind. Going up and down between 2’000 and 2’500m for more than 30km, this old military road connects the ski resort …
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