THE WORLD COMES TO ZERMATT

THE ALPINE TOWN OF ZERMATT IS READY TO WELCOME THE EWS IN 2019

With the EWS visiting Zermatt, Switzerland in 2019, we were keen to put our tyres to the trails that will be challenging the world’s best next September.

And it happens every day. Zermatt and the Matterhorn are alpine icons. Hordes of tourists catch a train to the carfree town in the canton of Valais daily. From the train station, tickets to the Gornergrat are booked, and said horde then boards the mountain train to be taken up to the top station which looks suitable for a Bond villain. The building affords expansive views across to the Monte Rosa, but most importantly to the Matterhorn. Its pyramid shape is said to be the essence of what a mountain should look like. Zermatt is famous the world over for the Matterhorn, and the mix of people on the streets of Zermatt are akin to an international terminal in any major airport, or when taking in the sights of New York or London.

Zermatt is a mountain playground in summer and winter, with year-round skiing, and over 38 4000m peaks that can be scaled in the area. This mix of climbers, skiers (in summer as well, thanks to the glacier skiing at Matterhon Glacier Paradise) tourists and hikers has also had a growing number of mountain bikers. With the Swiss Epic finishing in Zermatt for five years in a row, a Continental Enduro round and the announcement that the Enduro World Series would call Zermatt home for the final round in 2019 and 2020 – it’s clear that this alpine mecca is broadening its horizons.

We first visited in 2014, and the raw trails, huge mountains and full-service infrastructure blew our minds. Unlike some mountain bike hotspots, when you’re off the bike, Zermatt truly delivers on the holiday front. From high quality restaurants and hotels, to experiences in the mountains that are as varied as the people visiting. This is no backwater with some money to build trails. Zermatt is a thriving tourist hub, and their mountain biking hasn’t had the attention it deserves until recently.

There wasn’t too much for a beginner mountain biker to do in Zermatt when we first visited. The trails were steep and often very exposed, where

a mistake could result in a much faster trip to the valley floor than anticipated. But far from just being hiking trails, they were farming trails first. The trails snaked along ridgelines and down valleys, along water courses in the forest and between boulders in glacial moraine. The trails had a really natural feel – and while sections were steep, the overall experience was one where the trails felt like they had been there forever, creating a really immersive feeling when riding. Nothing was machine-built, but you had a variety of trains and lifts that could take you to over 3000m before you descended. And if you wanted to stop at a restaurant for lunch on the way down, you had more options than you could visit in a week of riding.

Zermatt rivals many global mountain bike hotspots not just for how many kilometres of trail are available, but the variety, and the vertical drop that’s possible. And there has been a lot of work going on to make sure they can really offer more riding options for a greater variety of riders. For sure, they can cater to the needs of an EWS race already – but those who want to come and watch will truly enjoy some of the new trails.

As an alpine town, Zermatt is quite high already at 1600m elevation. So the trails aren’t super easy, which is why there has been a focus on making flow trails.

“Right now it’s more for the experienced mountain bikers, as many of the trails are difficult” says Jasmin Marti, who looks after mountain biking at the Zermatt Tourism office. “Now Zermatt is starting to make all the flow trails. When the flow trails are finished then Zermatt will be great for beginners and families.” Two of the flow trails are now finished, with more on the horizon.

Zermatt Tourism states there are 150km of marked trails for mountain biking. The truth lies somewhere closer to 400km as all the trails are open for mountain biking, they’re just not all marked. Add up to 45km of flow trails to this (by 2023) and it’s clear Zermatt is only going to grow as a mountain bike destination. We hear there are even plans to build some more demanding technical trails, for mountain bikes only.

Like most alpine resorts, eMTBs are popular in Zermatt. As the town is car free you’ll notice just about every local gets around by bike, and increasingly it is by e-bike. Sports shops are renting out eMTBs in summer, and often none are available on the weekends. Even with lifts and mountain trains, an eMTB does help riders stay out for longer, and access trails in a different way.

While our visit was to see the new trails – we also wanted to see what would be in store for the EWS next September, so we lined up a ride with some of the guides from Bike School Zermatt, who have played a key role in the event coming to Zermatt.

THE EWS IN ZERMATT

I head out one afternoon to look at two of the stages. I take the chairlift towards Glacier Paradise with guide Nik Wicki. We’ll be going above Schwarzsee, where bikes normally get lifted to, and travel another 500m higher.

The EWS is known for visiting places that will not only test the riders on the world circuit – but also be beautiful places to ride. With the Matterhorn providing a near idyllic backdrop, it’s easy to see why Zermatt was chosen as a new destination. As we ride the gondola up the valley, we pass trails below us. Nik points out some that will be used, that were considered, and ones we will be riding back down shortly.

Thanks to the year-round mountain tourism, Zermatt has the facilities required for worldlevel events. From having enough hotel beds and restaurants through to access to mountain

transport. There are plenty of trails and ski roads to climb to the start of stages, but as Nik from Zermatt Bike School says, “we don’t have to be the hardest to be the best - we have the facilities for excellent uplift.”

At this point, they are planning on having either 6 or 8 stages. And there will be one hard liaison stage up to the Rothorn, with about 500m vertical to climb. But that is from 2500m to 3000m – it will be a challenge! Details on the descent from there weren’t confirmed, but if it’s through the valley off the back of the Rothorn you can bet it will be fast and exposed.

Nik explains that the mix of trails for the EWS will be a true alpine experience in Zermatt. From fast and open ski roads, tight natural trails, fast trails through the larch forests, exposed lines and then what we are about to tackle – lots of high alpine rock with wide taping so riders will be searching for the fastest lines.

We take our bikes out and I start to feel a little undergunned on my hire bike, while Nik’s Trek Slash looks purpose-made for the riding in Zermatt!

We drop in from behind the lift, into eerie silence in the high alpine valley. Clouds are rolling in and it seems like everyone around has sought shelter. Rocks clatter beneath our wheels, as we follow the unmistakeable white and red trail marking paint that is painted carefully onto rocks just often enough to pick our way down. The trail transfers from well-trodden dirt to rock gardens made from weathered rock. Zermatt is ahead of us, about 1300m lower. Sometimes it is steep, sometimes it’s flatter. We choose lines that we can ride blind, but with a day of practice top-level riders will absolutely storm down here.

As we descend, playing point and shoot down the steeper sections, the trail hits a meadow for some awesome lines and corners, with the trail sunken into the dirt over the passage of time. he altitude loss here is so immense that you descend through eco systems. Life is much happier below 2200m.

We pop out onto the top of a ski road, and Nik tells me that what we just rode will be Stage 1. It’s likely to be about 5 or maybe 6 minutes of descending, and leaves riders ready for stage two, a fast, flat out and drifting run down an impossibly steep ski road. I take off after Nik, although we only go partway before making a traverse into a crazy lone line of bench cut singletrack, leaving the proposed stage as what lay ahead would need some work to be race-ready.

The singletrack we ride cuts across the slope in front of us. It is steep enough that you see the

“THERE’S NO CATCH NETTING, NO CAUTION SIGNS, JUST EXCELLENT TRAIL BENEATH OUR TYRES.”

trail drop away but have no idea what lies beyond, you just see it carry on in the distance. There’s no catch netting, no caution signs, just excellent trail beneath our tyres. But with only about the width of your bars to play with, the risk is high for a small mistake. And that is something that is right at the front of my mind as we go down small rock chutes and steps.

We descend into the forest, taking turns through the larch trees, feeling tyres slide in the dry dirt that will quickly become tacky as rain has started to fall. We pass around the back of small huts, drop onto a tiny road and then enter the Moos trail – the short flow trail that was a first for Zermatt. It’s fast, hard packed, and a roller coaster that takes us further down the valley.

“None of the flow trails will be used in the EWS,” says Nik. “the pros will just go way too fast on them – it wouldn’t be safe.” But it’s not like they would need to use them to get enough trail. The flow trails are a great addition to the riding in Zermatt, offering a chance to pump through the terrain on the machine-built trails.

“All the riders in Zermatt are so good at going fast straight downhill, but we learned that plenty of local riders don’t know how to pump!” Nik laughed, about the transition to adding flow trails into the Matter Valley. Given there are 400km of hiking trails open to ride, one of the big benefits is reduced user conflict on the trails.

“It’s cultural,” says Nik. “The hikers still feel like they own the trails, but of course it’s the farmers who made them all.”

The final trail selection will be clearer before the event, but I think the EWS has found an ideal new home for the series final in Zermatt. With so many trails on offer it means that if you’re not racing, just spectating, you won’t be limited on how much you can ride. Sure, the stages won’t be accessible on race day, but you would be hard pressed to ride all the 400km of open trails on a visit here – and best of all, the new flow trails will be yours alone to ride all day long.

BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

The following day we take the train to Gornergrat with Adi Greiner, one of the masterminds behind the trail developments and EWS event in Zermatt - plus he’s one of the bike guides. We stop at a mountain restaurant, where some of the trail crew are looking over the plans as they are working on a new flow trail. We’ve ridden the Moos trial, and some of the Sunnegga Flow Trail, but there are plans for 45 kilometres of flow trails in the valley. It’s a big project as Paddy, one of the trial builders explains.

“The whole project has been going for four years. The Moos trail was the first project. It was a big learning process. We had a lot of trouble with water, and we learned quite a lot on how to drain the trail and make sure the trail would stay in one place!”

The Moos trail is right down near town, and gets so much use that it showed the builders very quickly what they needed to update. School kids even use it for the ride down to school, and adults use it to get to work! But the flow trails higher up the mountain are different.

“In the beginning the corners and berms were small. And we figured out we should build them bigger and make them more fun to ride. It was very interesting. At first we started with the small turns. For the locals it was the first time we had any berms up here. It was great, and then we started to get the turns bigger and bigger. And everyone was coming back with a bigger smile, you know? Big berms means big smiles!” The trail crew are a broad mix of people, but they are constantly checking their work, not just for how it handles weather and riders – but also if it’s fun.

“We always build something, then have to try it. And it means we plan for the next project.

Right now we are building, but we also look at the terrain and have to modify the plans for newer trails to make sure we use the terrain. That way we get a really good, fun trail.” The development is a work in progress, and the 45 kilometres of flow trails might not be finished for a couple more summers. But this crew is Swiss – they’re making sure they do it right the first time.

The Sunnegga Flow Trail is a monster compared to the Moos trail. At 5.8 kilometres long and descending over 500m, the trail is the longest flow trail in Switzerland. Access is by the Sunnegga train, although there is an easy ski road to ride up if you like.

Starting on a ski run, the berms aren’t so high to pop up through the snow. But once the trail hits the forest, all bets are off, and the biggest berms feel like dirt wall rides. This is one of the most sculpted flow trails I have ridden, one where even when you think you have pushed your bike over enough, you realise you could probably tip it some more. The Sunnegga Flow Trail rides like a downhill pump track, with more elevation loss and speed than just about anything you will ride in Australia. But thanks to clever use of the gradients, if you’re not after the thrill of high speeds, it’s easy to ride and use the terrain to manage your speed, and not ride the brakes the whole way down. It’s a really well designed trail, something that a whole variety of riders can enjoy.

We hit the bottom out of breath, despite barely pedalling. It is such a different trail to the raw, loose rock we rode below Gornergrat, or the meadow trails around the alpine lakes. And that variety is what makes the riding in Zermatt so good. While some of the bigger mountain bike destinations are created by locals, for locals, Zermatt is different. They are working to make trails that suit a far rider range of riders than just their local riders who can charge steep and loose trails. The world comes to Zermatt every day, and the world of mountain biking is about to start visiting in ever bigger numbers.