How the race format works: you ride together with a partner. The team is assigned a gondola, and this gondola is your best friend for the duration of the race, but also your biggest opponent. This is because the gondola lift gets faster with every lap. This means that time is getting shorter and shorter. While the first gondola ride to Scharmoin takes around 20 minutes, the fastest ride is over in around 3 minutes. For comparison: Jordan Williams needed 2:39.2 minutes for his World Cup victory in 2023. However, he didn't have to run through the gondola hall in the valley, hang up his bike and take it off again at the start and sprint to the start gate.

This unusual race format will take place at the Bike Kingdom in Lenzerheide on July 5. Further information can be found at bikekingdom.ch