TORTOUR 2015 – Nonstop ultra-cycling around Switzerland

TORTOUR – the name says it all: The 7th edition of the Swiss non-stop ultra-cycling race, presented by IWC, was definitely more of a torture than expected. After a prologue with temperatures around 30°C the weather started to turn for the worse on the 1’000km and 12’500 metres in altitude course, bringing in single-digit temperatures and pouring rain. These extreme conditions, however, did not seem to affect Luxemburg’s Ralph Diseviscourt, winner in the TORTOUR Solo Men category. He was leading the field over 900km and kept his position until the end of the race, claiming victory clocking in a time of 36 hours and 51 minutes. Nicole Reist from Switzerland managed the course as the only female solo racer in 46 hours and 28 minutes.