Gravel Gruyere

Gravel in Gruyère

The weekend has finally landed. So it’s time to put bodies and equipment to the test on a breakaway in Gruyère. Bringing together athletes from different backgrounds – Annabel Fisher, the pro cyclist and winner of multiple Gravel races this year; Etienne Hubert, the Caravan kayaker; and Adrien Liechti, a Genevan bicycle courier who has become one of the best specialists in long-distance racing. The three of them will feature in this voyage of discovery in the Swiss alps.

La Gruyère is in the canton of Fribourg, and has become famous for its cows, mountain pastures and the cheese of the same name produced here. The small Swiss enclave of just under 500km2 is a favourite place for cyclists who love natural beauty and plenty of elevation. And it is under an almost incessant rain that Gruyère will reveal its Alpine charm to us, if somewhat wet and muddy.

As we begin our journey of a hundred kilometres and 3000 metres of elevation, a curious clamour rises from the adjacent forest. Screams, bells, and hoofbeats. The last Saturday of September in Gruyère is the time of the ‘Désalpe’, the day when the herds descend onto the plains after more than four months spent up on the higher pastures. This time of the year gives locals the opportunity to adorn the cows with their most beautiful cowbells, crown them with flowers and admire the elegance of their somewhat nonchalant demeanour.

The view is the perfect snapshot of the Swiss mountains. The log cabins all look like model homes, the green meadows seem to be mowed weekly, the streams glint and twinkle, the evergreen forests impart a soothing tranquillity upon the landscape, and the cows seem straight out of a casting for the Swiss tourist board. We imagine what this place must look like under sunlight…

This first small, paved road that climbs towards Teysachaux sets the tone. Here all the slopes are steep. These high gradients will follow one after the other throughout the route. It makes the ride even more epic, amongst the beauty of this landscape is the build-up of lactic acid and search for more gears. These are slopes that inexorably attack one’s morale, and in the rain no less. The search for grip on wet stones is constant, the water that runs down the face, onto our Alizée jackets, along the legs to finally penetrate the shoes.

The added wetness plays with the nerves of the less valiant. Annabel, however, climbs the trails with disconcerting ease, and our kayaker seems not even to feel the water. Two sizes that nothing brings together, Etienne is almost twice the weight of our cyclist, the styles are opposite, but their respective efficiency is convincing and also does some damage to the rest of the troop. They'll be waiting for us up the stairs.

We regroup and take a break in the village of Gruyère, the heart of life around here. The imposing modern building we see by the roadside is the dairy. Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) does not necessarily mean obsolescence of manufacturing processes, and we look around the impressive cellar in which lie hundreds of wheels of the world-famous cheese. A small forklift engages in a curious ballet to rotate each cheese horizontally by 180°. We are starving, gobbling up a whole wheel wouldn't scare us. Higher up, beyond the cheese factory, the small medieval city is worth the detour for its quiet alleys reserved for strolling pedestrians, and for its gastronomic appeal of course.

Remarkably, no less than four museums are located here, including the most improbable of them, the museum-bar of HR Giger, the ‘biomechanics’ artist and production designer for Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror movie, Alien. Adrien Liechti is passionate about Giger, throwing his bike down and dragging us inside an otherworldly bar. We couldn’t take pictures here, so you must search for this place yourself. Adrien is so passionate about Alien that he tattooed one of the artist's images on his body, but again you must research this yourself the next time you encounter him somewhere in this treacherous galaxy.

At our evening repose, in an improvised bivouac in the basement of a cable car bay, we preferred to ask Adrien about his long-distance racing experiences. After spending most of the day soaking wet, we feel good in warm, dry clothes. We do not really know what makes the eyes of the cyclists gathered in the darkness of this cellar sparkle, but the thrilling stories of Adrien combined with a small metal flask of Génépi (herbal liqueur popular in the Alps) that passes from one hand to the other no doubt helps.

Our cycling clothing and shoes are not exactly dry in the early morning but is this really a problem? The key is to successfully put them on wet because, despite encouraging weather forecasts, the rain will continue to fall throughout the rest of the day. Col de Jaman, the last difficulty of the day but certainly not the least as, once again, the percentages make you shudder.

And the rain makes the descent to Les Paccots somewhat tricky, with brakes squealing at times. And then, as a final meteorological provocation, the sun appears as we enter the village. End of journey. Tireless Adrien and Annabel have not ridden enough, so they set off again to attack a pass, more at ease on a bike than with their feet on the ground.

Gravel Tour with Etienne Hubert

After the last few months of training and the Olympics in Japan, I find myself constantly craving nature. I’ve thought about doing a Gravel tour of Mont Blanc for so long, so this seemed like the perfect time.

CDC GT Annabel Fisher

In this video we go behind the scenes, speaking to the first of our three athletes, Annabel Fisher at the Traka, Girona - her first ever Gravel race.

Adrien Liechti

Adrien Liechti seems to be in his absolute element whenever he’s outside on a bike. A whirling phenomenon of endurance and speed, we spent two days with him near Geneva, where he lives in-between racing around the world.

Caravan: Étienne Hubert

As a World Champion sprint canoeist, cycling has always been a key part of my training routine but also a great way to socialise and explore hidden routes.