It's Switzerland Week on CycloWorld! All week we are putting this beautiful Alpine country in the spotlight. We kicked off with two awesome give aways for the UCI GF Suisse and Gran Fondo San Gottardo. Now it's time to clear up some misunderstandings, before we will come with two additional give ways: NOVA Eroica Switzerland (gravel) and Engadin Radmarathon.
Nowhere in the Alps can you find such beautiful mountain passes as in Switzerland. The Albulapass, Flüelapass, old Gotthard, Nufenenpass, Julierpass, Grimselpass, Col du Sanetsch and, of course, the legendary Furkapass with its abandoned Hotel Belvedere are just a few from a long, long list. You will find so many that you cannot possibly tick off in a week. It will take you years.
Switzerland is the country of the roundtrips over several cols. There are many beautiful bases from which you can ride beautiful tours. Two, three, four or five mountain passes? It's all possible. In high season, famous passes like the Furkapass and the Grimselpass are quite busy, but in the off-season it's wonderfully quiet.
Where in Italy and France you often have to deal with cracks in the road surface, patched asphalt and gravel, in Switzerland you usually ride on razor-sharp fresh tarmac. Success guaranteed!
Switzerland may sound far away. But the facts don't lie. In reality, it's located very centrally. Hotspots like Andermatt or Sion are easy to get to, without the need for time-consuming mountain passes or tunnels. The road vignette is a steal compared to the French and Italian highways!
You don't have to explain to the Swiss how to organize a cycling event. You can count on tight planning, enthusiastic volunteers, clear websites, well-mapped routes and decent feed stations. The Swiss may be a bit reserved, but the cycling blood creeps through their veins, and you can tell.
In our latest podcast, we take an even deeper look at cycling in Switzerland. Listen here (in Dutch)!