One, two, three
sprint!
Everybody is talking about Switzerland’s stunningly beautiful popular cycling routes. And we share this enthusiasm, of course. But tucked away in each of the country’s cities you’ll find little-known routes where you can take off for a sprint. We’ve scoured Strava’s heat maps of Swiss cities for people’s local favourites.
Get started on your pursuit of the next record!
Basel
This city at the junction of France, Germany and Switzerland may not have big mountains, but still has a few high-intensity stretches of road on offer.
Le Pont — Wettstein Bridge Length: 0,31 km Elevation gain: 8 meters Record: 17 seconds Eglisee-Weil — a two-country tour Length: 3,35 kmElevation gain: 13 meters
Record: 5:09 minutes — who’ll crack the 5-minute mark?
Berne
The Bernese are chilled people – until they get onto their bikes. And Berne’s historic Zähringerstadt neighbourhood, which is picturesquely enclosed by a meander of the Aare river, has a number of unique routes on offer.
Aargauerstalden Climb — after visiting the bear pit (or the Old Tram Depot brewery)Length: 0,56 km
Elevation gain: 49 meters
Record: 53 seconds — the one-minute mark was finally broken! Kornhaus Bridge
Length: 0,38 km
Elevation gain: 12 meters
Record: 28 seconds
There are plenty of stunning sprint routes in Lausanne, Berne and St. Gallen, you just have to know where to go.
Geneva
Switzerland’s most sophisticated city also has some outstanding cycling routes.
Le Sprint du Quai de Cologny Length: 2,22 km Elevation gain: 2 meters Record: 1:59 minutes – the 2-minute mark was only broken in 2019 Chemin du Bois Caran Climb Length: 0,5 km Elevation gain: 83 meters — 16%! Record: 36 seconds – wow!Lausanne
Not the place for leisure riders – Lausanne is the city that’ll burn your calves!
Château d’Ouchy nach Croix d’Ouchy – who will finally break the 2014 record? Length: 0,53 km Elevation gain: 38 meters Record: 58 seconds Sprint Bourget – the route with the possibly highest average IQ Length: 0,77 km Elevation gain: 9 meters Record: 52 secondsIt doesn’t matter whether you take off on a sprint to get the gold medal at the Olympic Games, to reach a landmark or to cover the last few metres between you and your coffee stop. If you’ve never faced the pain, you’ll miss the essence of cycling.
St. Gallen
This city nestled in between two hills is where you might find our web developers pushing the pedals hard.
Langgass Bonus SprintLength: 0,65 km
Elevation gain: 9 meters
Record: 49 seconds Riethüslisprint — leave the city behind! Length: 0,48 km Elevation gain: 13 meters Record: 38 seconds — pretty much standard these days
Zurich
Zurich, home city of Hugo Koblet, Switzerland’s greatest cyclist, has essentially everything a cyclist could possibly want, plus a cool fixed-gear race and plenty of tram tracks.
Bellevue-Utoquai sprint — leaving the Porsches for dead at red traffic lightsLength: 0,62 km
Elevation gain: 8 meters
Record: 37 seconds – wow! Schaffhauserplatz-Cooooop – if you’ve run out of cornflour for your fondue Length: 0,38 km Elevation gain: 17 meters Record: 30 seconds – unbroken for five years
Zug
Whenever Zug cyclists feel like a break from the mountains, they head along to the lake.
Zuger Lake 1st half — including William Turner’s favourite viewLength: 12,27 km
Elevation gain: 12 meters
Record: 15:50 minutes – almost over-the-top fast!
