Only five riders crossed the finish line at the International Swiss Cycling Marathon last weekend. 720 kilometres and 5800 metres in altitude spread over 22 mountain passes were too much for most of the riders. The cycling marathon is the only qualification opportunity for the legendary Race across America (RAAM) in Western Europe and is part of the Ultra Cycling World Cup, the world championship for long-distance cyclists. In view of the unencouraging weather forecast, 20 of the 44 registered RAAM qualifiers decided not to take part. Heated by the foehn, the afternoon was exceptionally warm and the first participants gave up after the first lap of 102 kilometres, dehydrated and exhausted. It was to get worse: The RAAM qualifiers were on the long, flat straights between Solothurn and Biel when the predicted change in the weather announced itself with heavy squalls, making progress in the headwind almost impossible. After the wind stopped, a violent thunderstorm broke over the participants.
participants. In the end, only five riders reached the finish within the time limit. Thomas Strebel (Switzerland), Marco Costa (Italy), Fabian Sialm (Switzerland), Achim Heinze (Germany) and Andreas Dengler (Austria) qualified for the RAAM.
