THE SWISS EXPERIENCE - Kyle Ward Talks

AMB: After World Cup XCO Racing, exploring and training in Spain, what brought you to the Swiss Alps?

Kyle: My plan was to travel to Switzerland and do some XCO racing prior to returning to Australia at the end of August. However after looking at the Swiss calendar two events that really caught my eye were the Eiger MTB Challenge and Grand Raid.The two races are held in the Swiss Alps which is a region that had remained unexplored for me, since I began racing abroad in 2010. The discipline of marathon racing is no longer new to me, having raced a few longer one day and stage race events over the last few years. But I still feel I am learning to race the longer events – gaining experience and getting smarter about the differentt style of racing. In the end I believe mountain biking is mountain biking and I love it, so some longer events such as these are a nice touch.

AMB: The Eiger Bike Challenge, was also the Swiss XCM Champs. What were the similarities or differences to an Australian Marathon, both for the course and how it was raced?

Kyle: Marathon MTB racing is tough no matter where in the world you are racing. however for me some differences in the racing include: depth of elite field (high quality riders), tough courses with 4000m+ (although the Atherton XCM Champs in 2013 was close!), simplicity of the course (straight up / down), and feed zone support! I never would have expected them to be serving up warm soup.

AMB: What was your race plan – did you have any troubles or surprises in the race?

Kyle: Eiger MTB Challenge was a daunting task to face – 90km and about 4000m of verticle metres was not going to be an easy day out but I planned on making it as enjoyable as possible. I thought I would have a steady start and moderate tempo throughout and get to the final and biggest climb of the day as fresh as possible. After chasing the leaders (at full gas) for 10-15km worth of climbing after one hour i just couldn’t go any longer, so I put on the not so serious face and went about enjoying one of the most amazing rides through the picturesque Swiss Alps. For me, being smooth, calm and composed resulted in a conservate tempo but without any trouble apart from lack of brakes on the – 30% gradients that seemed to go on forever, causing my brakes to know about it!

AMB: So now, Zermatt – how would it suit most Australian MTBers?

Kyle: Zermatt is good for hills – put a Protour sprinter here for a week and they will either not be happy or come home a GC contender! Zermatt has so much terrain and area to explore, it’s sure to be a future MTB hit once they further develop the trail network and perhaps incorporate cycle specific routes as apposed to just a one for all trail network. The location is prime, and the views are amazing. Costs are high but well worth a few days and if you have a group of mates and riding buddies in a self contained facility you could certainly make it work in your favour.

AMB: Your last stop is the Grand Raid, what have you heard about this race – what do you expect?

Kyle: Yep. the Grand Raid is the last stop for me before returning to Australia and I am only just beginning to wonder what a ride of 125k and 5000m+ of climbing is going to feel like…as it is Grand Raid has been described to me by many as – “the hardest thing I have ever done”, “crazy, some what ridiculious and so much up hill” etc etc. But something about these comments makes me want to take it on. A personal challenge perhaps, but lets wait and see if I regret the decision by saturday afternoon!

You can find results from the Grand Raid via Datasport.ch on the live timing, search for bib number 158.