Race Report: TrailTrophy Flims-Laax 2018

TrailTrophy Flims-Laax
Words // Nina Pongracz & Photography // David Schultheiß

High alpine racing always has a special atmosphere to it. The bare peaks, the chalet villages, the thin air... The Bike Components TrailTrophy Flims-Laax in the Grisons mountains of Switzerland more than delivers on all of these, but also brings together a passionate bunch of riders for a weekend of good times. Many are serial offenders, who appreciate the fun terrain and brilliant views above the Rhine valley in the place the Gehrig twins call home.



It was my second time at this race and I was looking forward to knowing at least some of the trails. As usual, we set off from the event hub in Laax, which is freeride central in winter and has a very relaxed atmosphere in summer. Off we went into the woods around the clear-blue lakes of Flims, for three stages characterized by roots and pine. The elevation is only around 1000 meters above sea level, so the hot air managed to bunch up nicely amongst the trees, making transfers a sticky affair.


Not flat but quite pedaly at times, I managed to work up a nice enduro cough on stage one, shooting into things way too eagerly as per usual. Thankfully the conversations you strike up on the transfers are a welcome distraction and calmed me down again. The trail progression was great - it went from high speed, straight down on stage one, to tricky corners and hard pedalling on stage two, to big roots and short steeps on stage three. The root-laden, more xc-style trails around lake Cauma were a fun way to ease into the weekend and get into things before the high alpine stages on Saturday and Sunday.

The night-ride that evening started with another sweaty uphill, the heat steaming off people's backs in the bright bike lights. The stage itself was probably my least favorite, a bermy highway run with some unexpected tight turns - I'm sure the park-rats were happy. I was happy to get back to my room after what felt like quite a bit of pedal action.


Saturday started with stages five and six on the Flims classic Runca trail - more berms and air-time, followed cheering our friends on doing the stages behind us as we headed our way to the next gondola alongside the trail.




After a hearty pasta lunch at the top of the mountain things got down to business: a 400 meter climb up to the Vorab glacier with spectacular views across the alpine meadows lay ahead. The first part held a few mean steep sections in store, after which I finally found my rhythm with the help of some trusty Bob Marley. Reaching the top we were greeted by a refreshing breeze and could now all look forward to the long descent on stages seven to nine.


It was to be another best-of show of what the region has to offer, with line choice being key. Stage seven has got to be one of the most unique enduro stages out there, laid out across a huge single rock surface shaped by ancient ice over thousands of years. It was physically demanding due to the altitude, with short dips and uphills, but was also mentally challenging as there is no line you can really follow, just a marker here and there. Stage eight across the alpine fields below is about the opposite, with grassy smoothness peppered by oddly shaped boulders. Super fun and fast!

On the last run of the day I laid it down - quite literally and went for a dive in a dust-pit - switching gears in a turn with a hole in it was not a good idea. I lost quite a bit of time on that one and was pretty annoyed with myself - things had been going so well! What better way to forget your sorrows than with a nice drink and barbeque by the lake at the end of the day.



Sunday was funday as they say, nose pointed down the mountain pretty much the whole time, save a short uphill at the beginning to get the juices flowing. On the exposed stage ten, technical rocky sections and a couple of tight switchbacks gave us something to work with. My friend Bigi decided that wasn't enough and rode the whole thing chainless, Aaron Gwin-style, scoring an unexpectedly good time.


Lucky me got to tow her across the flat plateau to reach stage eleven afterwards. But first, breakfast! Some tasty Swiss croissants and coffee before we took the final gondola to the Neverend trail. I had an absolute blast on the last two sections, pumping into high speed through the berms and loving the rocks and dryness - only took me three days to get into race mode.



With a lot of locals and some strong riders from the neighbouring countries racing, it was a tight battle for the top spots. The great thing about the TrailTrophy races is that there is always a friendly atmosphere and I always leave with a feeling of having spent my weekend very wisely.