Chasing Cancellara: Abby Dickens Takes on the Swiss Alps
On Saturday June 27th, our very own Abby Dickens was not just the only Wheeler representing, but also the only British female to line up in Zurich for Chasing Cancellara. Had your alarm gone off at 12.30am that morning, no doubt you would have turned it off and turned over. But not Abby – with a start time of 2.25am, she was getting up when some of us were still getting off to sleep!
Chasing the sunrise from Zurich to Andermat, Switzerland’s premier long-distance cycling challenge requires more than just legs. With an unforgiving parcour of 4,300m elevation gained over just 120 km (and the infamous Klausenpass as the main event!), getting to the finish line requires grit, endless pacing discipline, and a deep love for relentless Alpine climbing. Not to mention a healthy dollop of luck. Here is the story behind the event and how Abby tackled the ride of a lifetime.
Fabian Cancellara’s Legacy
To understand the appeal of Chasing Cancellara, you have to look to the man who inspired it. Fabian Cancellara – or ‘Spartacus’, as he is known – is one of modern cycling’s towering figures. A two-time Olympic Time Trial Champion, four-time World Time Trial Champion, and a dominant force in Classics and Monument racing, Cancellara built his legacy on raw power and absolute determination.
Created to offer amateur cyclists a taste of the pro-experience, the sportive offers a variety of ways to participate. You can ride solo, in pairs or in teams and the cut off times are as brutal as you’d expect in the 312 or L’etape! In order to finish the course within time, you need to be not only a well-rounded rider, but one who adheres to the strict course rules. Otherwise you could find yourself disqualified for doing everything from wearing headphones to drafting other riders.
Abby’s Journey
For Abby, getting to the start line in Zurich was a long road, built on structured interval training, weekend endurance rides and lots of Surrey Hill reps. Anyone who follows her on Strava will recall her epic ‘Box Hill x 30’ bank holiday ride (and 30 reps is 3658m, in case you were wondering!!!)
Abby’s early race mantra was ‘discipline in the dark’, as it would’ve been easy to go out too hard with only the moonlight to mark your progress. Abby kept it sensible, knowing that the real battle lay waiting in the mountains. But before she got there, she had to contend with a block head wind on a 30 km valley road. Her friends in Zurich had warned her it was coming but, unless you own a wind tunnel or cycle in Wales a lot, there is no easy way to train that sector! And all this after an early Di2 issue threatened her first time cut. Luckily the problem was solved by knocking on the car door of a sleeping roadside mechanic and pleading for some help. A bit of gear tweaking later, and she was back on the road again (see what I was saying about luck?!)
But the true test came at the base of the Klausenpass. Spanning nearly two dozen kilometers, the climb is as relentless as it is beautiful. And with daylight overhead, the signature Swiss landscape of dramatic rock faces and cascading waterfalls helped Abby tap out a rhythmic tempo. Nearly 2,000 metres of climbing later, she crested immediately onto a high-speed, technical descent. Up against the clock, there was no time to recover. One final challenge lay ahead – the gruelling haul up through the rugged Schollenen Gorge, towards Andermatt. Those last few kilometers must have felt like the hardest minutes of her life, in the heat of the day and after nearly 11 hours in the saddle. But Abby pushed on, crossing the line within the time limit and being rewarded with a hug from the man himself!
These sportives are hard enough in a group of friends but to attempt them on your own, thousands of miles away from home and in the middle of the night is nothing short of heroic. Chapeau Abby! Thank you for repping with such panache! We are all so proud of you!
