Lael Wilcox and her 2021 Hope 1000 Race Rig

Words by Lael Wilcox (@laelwilcox), photos by Rugile Kaladyte (@rugilekaladyte)

The Hope 1000 is a 1,000-kilometer self-supported mountain bike race across the Swiss Alps with just over 30,000 meters of climbing. It’s possibly my favorite route in the world. Willi Felix, the Swiss-born race organizer, spent decades scouting terrain in his home country and organized 20 unique week-long mountain rallies. As a result, he has an intimate knowledge of the great number of mountain passes around his country.

The route is a masterpiece and a real beast of an effort. It begins at Lake Constance in German-speaking Switzerland and finishes at the statue of Freddie Mercury on Lake Geneva. Resupply is easy. There are fountains of fresh water nearly every 5 or 10 kilometers, every town has a bakery, and stores stock fresh, high-quality food. The real challenge is purely physical. When I last raced it in 2018, I finished in 4 days, 10 hours—that’s nearly climbing Mount Everest every day, four days in a row, on singletrack, doubletrack, gravel roads, and quiet paved lanes.

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Willi says, “There’s a lot of descending too!” He’s 60 years old, he rides his own race every year, and has the record for most finishes.

The route makes a great tour as well. It’s hard and spectacular regardless of pace. Willi recommends starting at Lake Constance because much of the climbing is on quiet dirt and paved roads, while the descents generally start on alpine trails.

There was a lot of snow in the Swiss Alps this winter and some still remains at higher elevation. We’ll definitely be pushing our bikes a little. The weather is looking really hot this year with thunderstorms forecasted nearly every day. I’m looking forward to a huge, beautiful ride. We’ll see how it goes.

I last raced the Hope 1000 on a Specialized Epic Hardtail. This year, I’ll be riding full suspension with a dropper post. The descents should be much more fun!

Lael’s Hope 1000 Race Rig

Bike

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Luggage

Lighting

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Navigation & Electronics

Maintenance

Clothing

Sleep

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Personal Items and Nutrition

2018 Hope 1000 Route

You can head over to komoot to see more from Lael’s previous effort on the Hope 1000 route in 2018, including more photos, a full route map, and elevation profiles. Additionally, Lael and Rue also thoroughly documented their 2018 ride for our full Hope 1000 route guide here.

The 2021 Hope 1000 race begins at 6 a.m. tomorrow, June 19th, in Romanshorn, Switzerland. Follow along live here. We’d like to wish everyone participating in this year’s event a safe ride and good luck out there! Stay tuned for more from Lael’s ride soon…

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