Podcast: Designing an EWS race course with Zermatt Race Director Nik Wicki

We sat down with Nik Wicki to talk about Zermatt, hosting an Enduro World Series event and how to design a course that is not only fun to ride and race, but also safe for everyone, from elite racers, spectators as well as for the numerous volunteers. As the Race Director and Course Designer for Traillove Zermatt, Nik not only has a unique perspective on how the race in 2020 went down, but also some very interesting insights into the risk management of an event held in the alpine, how to adapt to and overcome challenges along the way, and how to select suitable trails for top-level Enduro racing. We also get into Nik’s personal preferences when it comes to riding and racing, his favourite spots in Switzerland and, of course, how his skiing fits into all of this.

Unfortunately, we didn’t point out enough during the recording how incredibly important all the volunteers are for an event like Traillove, especially during a year like like last year and conditions as they were in Zermatt. Big thank you from Nik, Pascal as a racer and Bryson as a spectator from afar!

Have a listen to the episode below or find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or any of the other platforms where you find great podcasts! For more info on the podcast, check out the Skids & Giggles website.


We also republished the episode to our Youtube channel. If that's where you listen to podcasts, you can just click on play below!


The Enduro World Series in Zermatt in 2020 has been a topic on a number of episodes of the Skids & Giggles Podcast already. Make sure you have a listen to our conversation with Anna Newkirk to find out how her race went and what she learned in Zermatt for the equally as challenging World Championships in Leogang. We also sat down with Jan Cadosch and Dario Lohner. They travelled to Zermatt to watch the pros but also managed to take the Pinkbike Photo of the Year after the race.

@thebryson