The Route

The first edition of the Léman Gravel Challenge is over. A big thank you to everyone that made it happen. 

About a year ago, a small group of us had a crazy idea: to create a bikepacking event that would showcase our region's stunning landscapes, celebrate the spirit of unsupported ultra cycling, and most importantly, bring all our friends together in the same place for an unforgettable weekend.

The road to making this happen was much bumpier than any of us imagined. But sometimes good things come from sweat and tears, and this past weekend it all came together with the inaugural edition of the Léman Gravel Challenge.

A heartfelt thank you to the Lausanne Gravel organizing team and everyone who stepped up when things got tough and endured many sleepless nights to finally make the event happen. To our partners, thank you for your unwavering support; without you, none of this would have been possible. 

To our volunteers, I am truly amazed by your selflessness and genuine happiness in helping others. If nothing else, I am grateful for having embarked on this adventure just to meet people like you.

And to every rider who took part, your energy and enthusiasm brought this event to life. Personally, it has been extremely rewarding meeting each of you, hearing your stories, and celebrating your achievements. Thank you for sharing this with me.

And thank you to all of you that followed along from home, we are incredibly lucky to have such an amazing community behind us.

I am still amazed over and over again by the ability of our sport to build deep connections through the shared experience of tackling difficult challenges together. Riding bikes is not the answer to all the world’s problems, but at least it's a small step in the right direction.

That's a wrap! 

What a weekend of emotions! From early Sunday morning until the finisher party, participants of the Léman Gravel Challenge steadily arrived at the lakeside beach in Préverenges.

As they crossed the finish line, emotions ran high. Each participant endured the same 360km course, yet their stories were uniquely personal. They came with heartfelt motivations and diverse experiences, making the challenge meaningful in different ways for each individual. It was clear that this journey had a profound impact, creating lasting memories.

Among the many touching narratives were those of first-time participants tackling such a formidable challenge. One standout story was that of Yves Willemin, a surgeon from Fribourg, Switzerland. He reached out to me before the event, expressing both excitement and concern about the upcoming challenge. Yves had never attempted an ultra-distance event before and sought advice on preparation, gear, and managing the physical and mental demands of the race. With meticulous preparation and determination, Yves executed his plan flawlessly. He took every necessary step to ensure his success, ultimately finishing the race feeling strong and refreshed.

Another remarkable story was that of Mischa Flor, a PhD student from EPFL, who ventured into this distance for the first time. Mischa finished in an impressive 29th place. He looked fresh at checkpoint 2 in Aigle and continued with a positive attitude, riding through the night to reach the finish. There is a good chance that he has already caught the ultra bug.

Jeremy Gleason, a teacher from Leysin, Switzerland, with a passion for the outdoors, also stood out. He began joining our Lausanne Gravel rides over two years ago. Initially, the rides were too difficult for him to complete, but Jeremy never got discouraged. With a consistently positive attitude, he made a little more progress each time. Now, he is a proud finisher of the Léman Gravel Challenge. We are incredibly proud of you, Jeremy! 

Thomas Cramatte, a local journalist, signed up for the challenge with significant doubts about his ability to complete it. He had never ridden such a long distance nonstop and lacked confidence in his chances. However, Thomas surprised himself by finishing well inside the time limit, greeted at the finish line by his family. A particularly heartwarming aspect of his journey was his newfound friendship with Lucile Berset, who also tackled this type of distance for the first time. Meeting along the way and sharing a similar pace, they encouraged each other, and reached the finish line together with memories to last for a long time. 

Congratulations to all the particiants! Thank you for letting us share our passion with you and making this event so memorable. 

(*) Photos of the event from the talented Nils Laengner.

Finish line emotions

Julie von Gruenigen and Raphael Schröder win the DUO category of the Léman Gravel Challenge 2024 in 22 hours and 56 minutes! Congratulations to them!

A well matched pair, with Julie taking the lead on the climbs and Raphi on the descents they took the lead from the start and always maintained a comfortable gap to the second place team.

Well done you two!

Our first DUO are in!

Mathilde Germanier is our female winner of the Léman Gravel Challenge 2024 ! Amazing effort from Mathilde who finished the course in 23 hours. She started the day in the last solo block, as she initially planned to have an easy ride and didn't want any pressure on herself. It turned out a winning strategy as she not only caught up all other women out on track, but also surpassed them and maintained her gap easily.

Mathilde started cycling in 2018 after coming from classical dancing, and in her first ever cycling event she already completed an ultra distance. Even though that took her months to recover from, the bug was caught and cycling has become a passion. Based near Sion, Switzerland (as our second place finisher Manu Rudaz) Mathilde showed that the home conditions can be an advantage. Amazing work out there, we are proud of you! 

Second place goes to Marion Dziwnik who finished in 24 hours and 7 minutes. Despite the difficult conditions with the cold and mud, Marion showed that her experience in bikepacking events really pays off. She was able to handle everything the challenge through at her. Good job Marion!

Third place goes to Ellena Brandner who finished in 26 hours 8 minutes. Ellena was one of the freshest looking riders at the finish, as if she just went on a casual strol, no biggie! Congratulations to all the strong women participating in the event! 

And also our queen! 

Justinas Leveinka is the first finisher of the Léman Gravel Challenge 2024! Justinas finished in a total time of 17 hours 15 minutes the 360km and 7000 m of climibing. Close behind, Manu Rudaz takes the second spot in 17 hours 29 minutes, after playing back and forth with Justinas for most of the day. Amazing effort from these two!

The conditions were not easy, with storms and cold conditions in the mountains and a fair share of mud along the way. 

Third place goes to Yoan Dercourt who finishes in 18 hours 25 minutes. Kudos to all three!

And we have our king!

The women's field is equally competitive with a tight battle between Marion Dziwnik and Mathilde Germanier. While Marion is ahead on the route, she started in block 1 a full 25 minutes ahead of Mathilde who started in block 6 and is the leader based on the actual moving speed. If Mathilde manages to catch up to Marion she will have a big advantage of 25 minutes in the bag. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but it is still along way to go.

Not far behind them we have Emma Pooley, who is riding super fast while still managing to enjoy the nice things in life such as stopping for a delicious coffee at our first checkpoint at Rochat Cycles in Geneva. 

Another extremely impressive female performance comes from Julie von Gruenigen who is riding in the duo category with partner Raphael Schröder. The duo teams started behind everybody, and Julie is the furthest ahead female on the course. Together with Raphael they also have a nice lead in the duo category which they seem to be maintaining with no problems. 

Next up ahead are some long and steep climbs in the French Alps.

And the women are flying too!

Wow, that was quick! The front of the pack just flew through the Jura mountains and has already reached CP1 in Geneva with an average moving speed of over 23km/h. First ones to come in were the duo of Manu Rudaz and Justinas Leveinka, both in good spirits and seeming fresh. They resupplied on the snacks and drinks generously prepared for them by Rochat Cycles. Justinas quickly cleaned his chain and mentioned "it's a beautiful race, I wish I could go slower". I guess he will have to come back for more social pace riding with us then :)

Our two leaders are followed closely by a group of 4 frenchmen riding together : Yoan Dercourt, Victor Bouscavet, Johann Rigoulay, and Florian Ponzio, who also made a quick resupply and were back chasing the lead.

Behind them cap number 24 Joel Karolin arrived looking to buy a new bottle, as he lost his on the first part of course. Lucky for him the checkpoint is at a bikestore with everything you need.

One of the event favorites Guillaume Bourgeois (cap 7) came in explaining why he was delayed: he broke his chain but luckily it was close to Rochat Cycles's other store in Aubonne where he could go get it replaced before rejoining the course and chasing back. He said "its a bit hard for the morale, but it's just riding bikes in the end and at least I can continue". The mountains are coming, and Guillaume is an excellent climber we think he still has time for a comeback. 

Olivier Rossi (cap 50) was especially grateful to arrive at the bike store. He explained that he broke his gearing cable, had only two speeds left and was left pedalling either at a 50 cadence or walking most of the way. Luckily for him the mechanics made quick work of fixing his bike and he is now back out on course. 

It's been a blistering pace so far, let's how the longer and steeper climbs in the French Alps might shake things up. 

Men's field is on fire!

Starting from 6:00AM this morning in blocks of 25 at 5 minutes apart each all riders are now off on the course. In the early single tracks their technical skills were already tested with some fun and slippy conditions. Most of the field opted for gravel bikes with but we do have also a few hardtails notably from one of the favorite Justinas. It will be interesting to see what the riders think about their choises post event.

While most of the fast riders started off in the first block, there are also some impressive starts from later blocks. The current leaderboard is based on route speed, as supposed to distance on track, while the final leaderboard will be based on elapsed time. Could we have some upsets with some riders catching up from later blocks? 

So far things are very tight at the front. With local favorite Manu Rudaz setting a blistering pace together with the strong french representation of Yoan Dercourt, Victor Bouscavet, Johann Rigoulay and Florian Ponzio. Justinas Leveinka is right there in the mix as well. Who will reach CP1 first?

In the women's field we have a strong start from both Marion Dziwnik and Emma Pooley who are riding very close together, and not far behind we have Mathilde Germanier who has an impressively fast start from black 6, having the current highest average speed in the women's field. 

The duos field is led by Julie and Raphi, who are off to a great start despite Raphi's sickeness before the event. Julie has almost caught up with the lead women despite starting a full 30 minutes behind in the duos block 7. They currently have a small gap on the rest of the field, it will be interesting to see if they can keep up their impressive pace. 

Riders are expected to reach CP1 in Geneva before noon today. We might see some gaps forming due to different fueling strategies, and ability to minimize stopping time. After that the real climbing starts in the French Alps :) 

And they are off! 

It was a busy day today at the event village. Luckily the good weather turned up and everyone was able to enjoy a nice lakeside pasta party. 

Some joined for the social ride which took the riders through some vineyards, some spicy gravel and even some hike-a-bike to set the mood for the weekend. Riders discussed fueling and sleeping strategies, some tackling this type of distance for the first time, some going for a one-go sprint approach, others planning to take a nap at the second checkpoint in the course during the night. 

The forecast is sunny and dry for the weekend but some trails will still be a bit muddy from the rains during the week. Should make for some fun conditions.

Social ride, pasta party and and sizing up the competition

Hello, dotwatchers! I’m Linda, one of the organizers of the Léman Gravel Challenge and your commentator for the event. This is my first time on this side of the fence, as I’m usually out in the field with a race cap on, or relaxing on the sofa dotwatching other events. I hope to share some exciting snippets to give those following along at home a real taste of the full experience this weekend.

I organize this event together with friends from Lausanne Gravel, a community of gravel cycling enthusiasts based in Lausanne, Switzerland and Rochat Cycles, our partner bike store.

We were extremely touched by the enthusiasm and support from our community, selling out the event in its first edition. There are many exciting cyclists with diverse backgrounds and motivations, making our event truly unique. From the competitive front to the more leisurely participants, there’s no shortage of interesting stories. So, without further ado, here are some of the speedy dots to watch.

__Women’s Field:__

Emma Pooley: A dear friend of Lausanne Gravel and a passionate Swiss-based cyclist who needs no introduction. Some of you might have crossed paths with Emma at local Swiss events like Dead Ends and Dolci or Hope 1000. Here’s what Emma has to say, “An awesome route organized by awesome people in an area I’ve not explored much off-road: the Léman Gravel Challenge is perfect! I love taking the (g)road less traveled, the non-direct path, attempting every climb in sight… and that’s exactly what this route offers. I don’t know yet if I’ll race it or ride at touring-with-pizza pace, but either way, I can’t wait!” We will have to wait and see for Emma’s strategy but we’re betting on a fast loop. 

Marion Dziwnik: No stranger to off-road ultra-cycling, Marion boasts high-end results in epic events like Badlands (which she won in 2021), Trans Balkan Race, and Atlas Mountain Race. Marion describes the route as a “perfect blend of allure and intimidation!” We’re sure she’s bringing her race face for this one.

Charlotte Brandt: A local Swiss rider with an impressive ultra-cycling resume, including first place at SUCH 2022 and first pair with Mathias Jäger at Heading SouthWest 2023. A strong climber, Charlotte will feel at home on the steep gravel climbs, and her home advantage might come into play.

__Men’s Field:__

Clement Mahé: The man behind the idea. In 2022, Clement had the idea to create a gravel route as an adventurous alternative to the classic road loop of the lake, on which the current event is based. Clement is no stranger to ultra-cycling, with notable results worldwide, including third place at Bright Midnight 2023 and top 5 finishes at Bikingman events. We’re secretly cheering for Clement, who knows these trails like the back of his hand—a crucial advantage.

Justinas Leveika: The king of ultra-cycling and to be honest, an inspiration for this event. Last year, Justinas organized Bright Midnight from his home in Tolga, middle of nowhere, Norway. He sold it so well that a big group of us from Lausanne Gravel came to experience gravel cycling in Norway for the first time. We had such a great time, that we wanted to be like Justinas and organise our own event :) Here’s what Justinas had to say “It’s payback time! I put those guys through some stuff in Norway, and now I will get to see how cruel they can be! :) Very much looking forward to seeing all those beautiful faces again, and I hope for a good party afterwards.” We can’t wait for his positive attitude, big smile, and good vibes which are going to light up the weekend.

Christophe Dijkmans: A well-known figure in the ultra-race scene, making a pit stop in Lausanne on his way to the Hellenic Mountains Race in Greece. Christophe’s recent results include winning The Goats 2023, third at Further Pyrenees 2023, and fourth at both Atlas Mountain Race 2022 and Silk Road Mountain Race 2021. Christophe says, “Complicated schedule-wise, but the opportunity was too good to pass up to go ride with friends on their incredible playground!” We’re excited that he could make it fit in his calendar. 

Manu Rudaz: A strong local rider always up for epic adventures. Manu’s top finishes in road ultra-cycling events include winning the Seven Serpents Quickbite 2022 and fifth place at Lost Dot’s Trans Pyrenees. Manu says, “I signed up for the race because it’s a rare opportunity to tackle such a challenge right in my backyard. The course is well-designed, and the organization has kept things simple, bringing together all the ingredients for a memorable day on the bike.” We’re sure Manu will make quick work of it this weekend. 

Guillaume Bourgeois: Another strong ultra-cyclist from our home region, with notable results such as second place at GranGuanche Audax Road and wins at local long-distance road events like Tour des Stations, Alpenbrevet, and Tour du Mont-Blanc. Guillaume says, “I’m excited to participate in the Léman Gravel Challenge because I see this event more as an adventure than a traditional race, and taking on this personal challenge motivates me to find my limits and live this experience in a format that is new to me.” We think he has the right approach. 

Victor Bouscavet: A young French rider with an already successful ultra-cycling palmares, including two-time winner of Desertus Bikus and first place finisher of Race Across France. Victor says, “This year, I’m turning my attention to the world of Gravel after two years devoted to ultra-distance road racing. There’s nothing like the Léman Gravel Challenge to discover this universe, and what’s more, in one of my favorite regions, very close to home!” We’re excited to see how fast Victor can go.

Anatole Naimi: Another strong and passionate rider who is an event organiser himself. We met Anatole last year at the innagural Unknown Race where we shared a few kilometers together before he sprinted to his 4th place finish overall. No stranger to ultracycling, Anatole has top finishes in well known events such as Two Volcano Sprint, Atlas Mountain Race and Mittelgebirge Classic. 

__Pair’s Field:__

Nathalie Baillon and Arthur Dufay: We’re used to seeing Nathalie tear up the solo field for the overall win, but this time she’s entering the duo category. Either way, her dot will be a fast one. Nathalie says, “I decided to join Léman Gravel Challenge because I believe that Switzerland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and I can’t wait to rediscover it on less-traveled paths. I have nothing planned for this day apart from my birthday. I’m in!” We cant wait to celebrate with her.

Julie von Gruenigen and Raphael Schröder: Another mixed pair guaranteed to go fast. Coming off a recent win at this year’s Granguanche Road Audax (ahead of yours truly), Julie has the off-road skills to match with a strong seventh place overall and first female at the 303Lucerne at the start of this month. Even more, this pair really knows each other and how to work well together, an advantage that we are sure will come into play. 

Mascha Wahlig and Adrien Troesch: Mascha is another extremely strong female ultra-cyclist with notable results like first place at The Goats 2023 and fourth female at the Atlas Mountain Race earlier this year. She’s pairing up with Lausanne Gravel’s own Adrien Troesch, whose knowledge of the home trails and participation in last year’s edition zero will be valuable.

Stay tuned for more updates :) 


Léman Gravel Challenge Preview

Léman Gravel Challenge 2024 Tracking and Commentary Switzerland alps gravel ultra bikepacking event

Léman Gravel Challenge 2024 Tracking and Commentary

For this inaugural edition, riders will be guided from the rugged crests of the Jura mountains, to the unique Geoparc du Chablais over in France, the mighty passes of the Alps and a world class finish in the Lavaux Vineyards with a 60:40 road:gravel split. This event promises to leave your legs tired but your souls fulfilled with adventure. 


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