Hooray, I'm still alive! Impressions of the Bosch eMTB Challenge in Verbier

At the end of the race, my sports watch shows just under 1,500 metres of elevation gain over around 31 kilometres. And my thighs are of the opinion that cycling is over for today. After about four hours in the saddle, I agree with them and make my way back to the hotel. It's Saturday lunchtime and I've just completed the Bosch eMTB Challenge in Verbier.

Flashback: The sun is shining when we arrive on Friday afternoon. Logical, I think to myself. After all, we're in Valais and the sun almost always shines here. My mood is correspondingly good when I meet Ilona Jeckelmann from Bosch. She has invited me to the challenge and is looking after me today. Picking up my race number, adjusting my bike and much more.

The 32-year-old works in the marketing department at Bosch and will be riding the next day's challenge with me. Meanwhile, I start to feel queasy. Because the Fribourgeoise is a multi-talented sportswoman. She skis and snowboards and has also worked as a ski instructor in Zermatt. She also rides a racing bike, mountain bike, e-mountain bike, surfs and plays volleyball. I, on the other hand, am an old man who has just started e-biking. That could be fun.

I want to know when she finds time for all these sporting activities alongside her full-time job at Bosch. "In the evenings and at weekends," Ilona says with a laugh. "If I can't do sport, something is missing in my life."

The thing with the weather

The next morning, the fog creeps up the mountain from the valley. It's 7 a.m. when I stick my nose into the clouds for the first time. We want to set off at 9am. My weather app predicts rain for then. Logical, I think to myself. After all, it always rains when I plan something special like today. My mood is about as gloomy as the view.

For now, the morning meal dispels the foggy, cloudy feeling that has spread since I got up. What the hell, I think to myself. It is what it is. Besides, this is a challenge and the lousy weather makes the challenge even greater.

Bosch eMTB Challenge: competition and fun

The challenge takes place as part of the Verbier E-Bike Festival. After stops at Lake Garda and in the Hochsauerland region, the most successful eBike racing series to date, organised by Bosch eBike Systems, is making a stop in Valais. There are professionals who are taking part in all three destinations. Or professionals, such as Swiss e-bike world champion Nathalie Schneitter, who is "only" competing in Verbier today.

The field is then divided into advanced and amateurs. The advanced category is primarily aimed at experienced mountain bikers, for whom an additional stage demands a lot. A larger loop must also be ridden. In the end, the results sheet showed 80 riders in the Pro, Advanced and Amateur categories. The bad weather probably deterred some from taking part. Around 160 bikers were originally registered.

There is no category for beginners like me. Here it is again, that queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

During the race, a total of five so-called stages - a mixture of different uphill and downhill routes - have to be ridden for time without prior training. The transfer routes in between are not about speed, but rather good orientation is an advantage. Overall, riding technique is just as important as fitness and clever battery management.

On the measured sections, there are also so-called "No Feet Zones", where your feet must remain on the pedals. Anyone who dismounts anyway receives a 10-second time penalty. Here is the entire second stage from the rider's perspective, taken with my helmet camera:

Last place and still satisfied

In the morning, 27 riders including myself had started the race in the "Amateur Men" category. Three didn't make it to the finish. I finished the challenge in 24th and last place. With a time of 42:13.73, I was around 27 minutes longer than the best amateur on the five stages.

For comparison: Ilona finished third on the POD in the amateur women's category with a time of 19:44.44. While she struggled on the first two stages, she won the 4th and 5th sections. Having given away the victory at the start, she was still among the best thanks to a great race to catch up. That probably sums up her race.

And me? I'm happy despite my last place. I had set myself three goals beforehand:

1. Come to the finish
2. Stay uninjured
3. Not to finish last

After the first few metres of the first timed stage, it was already clear to me that "not finishing last" was not going to happen. The trails were too challenging for my modest level and the other participants were all at least one class better than me.

What makes me happy, however, is the fact that the queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach didn't get the better of me. The difficulties of the route combined with the weather made the Bosch eMTB Challenge 2024 in Verbier a challenge that demanded everything from me and yet, or perhaps precisely because of this, left me happy. Or as Ilona called out to me with a smile on one of the trails between the stages: "If you love your bike, you push!"

Maybe a little less at the next edition between 14 and 17 August 2025.