Congratulations to Simon Ruff for setting the Switzerland East West record in the following categories:

Male 18-49 age group, Standard Bike,

He completed the 505.46 Kilometer attempt in a record 15 hours 52 minutes for an average speed of 31.86 kph

Simon eclipsed the 2016 record by : Philippe Kunzler from Lucern Switzerland who rode the route in 19 hours and 13 minutes.

 

https://www.brunokalbermatten.ch/post/simon-ruff-in-den-medien?fbclid=IwAR3BNc5mQQuHYUGpfjBQQoNjzrtUARnb9O6-KKiBUTCCCGH-IjcqOzpsACA

     

 

Rider’s Narrative Summary

Switzerland East-West WUCA Record Attempt by Simon Ruff on July 11th & 12th 2020 

Start:
Border Station Martina Start Date & Time: July 11th 2020, 17 :00 :00 CET
Finish:
Border Station Geneva Chancy Finish Date & Time July 12th 2020, 08 :52 :12 CET
Distance: 505.46km
Time needed : 15h:52m

The weather forecast for the planned launch on 10 July 2020 was very bad with heavy thunderstorms and a passing cold front. Therefore, we decided to start 24 hours later on 11 July 2020 at 17:00 CET. At the start it was still raining a little bit. But very quickly the dark clouds cleared up and from then on I had wonderful weather for cycling. During the night the temperature was around 15 degrees celcius. On the whole distance a light tail wind helped me to get ahead.

Some years ago I read about the existing record in a magazine. Now, in times of Corona and the few competitions available, I thought it was the perfect time for such an attempt. I also hoped to get a little more attention from the press. What I finally also got.

I did the race with a Merida Reacto with aero handlebar attachment. Perfectly suitable, because the track has, except the climb of Fluela pass was  relatively flat.

I had a liquid diet for the whole of the almost 16 hours. I trust in a “local” Swiss product Woo Nutrition. I drank about 5dl of Woo Endurance per hour, plus 1 Woo Liquid per hour and 1 Woo shape every 2 hours. Further information about the products can be found at https://www.woo.ch/de/ .

The most beautiful part was just before dusk at Lake Walensee. Practically no traffic, perfect temperatures and a beautiful sunset. The hardest part was after about 300km, so I had to take a very short break of 3-5 minutes due to severe back pain and breathing problems. In the end I have to say that it was absolutely right that I took this time. Afterwards, I was able to increase the rhythm again and to improve the record time significantly. 

After 15h 52m I reached the Border Station Geneva Chancy completely exhausted but very happy. Family, friends and press representative waited for me at the station. It was a great arrival.

Looking back, the record attempt was a complete success.

Simon Ruff