A fast start to the Schötz race!

Two new records were set in the 13th running of the race, proving again that it is the fastest of its kind in the world. A short and flat course (10,230 meters with 30 meters elevation gain), a large number of participants, the "drafting allowed" rule and the participation of three-person relay teams are responsible for very high speeds.

And the rain continued at Schoetz!

Christian von Ascheberg set an HPV record of 904.7 km, less than a lap farther than the earlier record of 898 km. Riding his fully faired recumbent Ascheberg stopped only three times for a total of eight minutes during the 24 hours!

Solo and relay riders started in a pack at 4 p.m. Saturday, August 6. After five hours of racing Rolf Angst of Niederwenigen and Florian Egger from Baldegg had a one-lap lead over the other solo riders. Angst raced for the full 24-hours without ever getting off his bike and won the men's race with 939.36 km. Egger made several stops and lost position. Markus Haeflinger, from Zell, crashed early in the race, but fought back to take second with 889.92 km. After the race he could barely walk! Jakob Martin from Rothenburg took third with 880 km.

The winners at Schoetz! Rolf Angst & Simone Grosswiler are members of the same club, Veloclub Niederweningen!

Grosswiler raced 87 laps, averaging 36.1 kph. Only the top three men finished ahead of her in the overall standings! A month earlier Grosswiler had set a women's record at the Radmarathon 600K. Finishing the 600K in 24:22, she broke the old record by nearly one hour! Angst was one of a group of four who finished first in the Radmarathon men's 600K. Their time of 19:10 missed the course record by just seven minutes.

At Schötz Nicole Fehr from Tann was the second woman and the "Iron Lady" from Zell, Verena Kälin took third. The 58-year-old Kälin has won Schötz three times!

47 three-man relay teams competed, guaranteeing a fast pace. After just three hours of racing three teams broke away from the pack. Only the Austrian team VAV Versicherung could bridge the gap. After eight hours it was clear that one of these four teams would win. The race stayed very close, with the Austrian team finally winning by just two minutes! The top four men's teams all completed 98 laps for 969 km.

The course was always crowded with 85 solo riders and 58 teams competing on the 10.3 km loop. Team Blizzard-Ski, including two ex-ski racers, was the first mixed team with 929 km. Team Radsport Gerber Bunnies were the fastest women with 889.9 km.