Few people have shaped the sport of mountain biking in the last 15 years as much as the Swiss Nino Schurter and Ralph Näf. Nino Schurter from Graubünden is the reigning world champion in cross country. The 2016 Olympic champion is now wearing the coveted rainbow jersey for the ninth time. Ralph Näf from Thurgau has been a successful team leader for five years (Mathias Flückiger from Bern rode to Olympic silver in his team) and has been able to call himself world, European and Swiss champion in his career. Now the two are pooling their vast expertise and launching a new mountain bike experience together with René Walker (organizer of the 2013 European Mountain Bike Championships in Bern) and marketing professional Lorenz Luginbühl (GFC Sports Management AG).

"We want to climb to the next level!" says initiator Ralph Näf, explaining this step. New ideas, a focus on organization, communication and technology as well as a lot of love for the sport of mountain biking are at the heart of this. The best mountain bikers in the world compete in a race series. They will benefit from the biggest prize money ever paid out in Switzerland: 140,000 francs will be paid out for the three races and the overall ranking. The series comprises three events in the first year. In the future, the calendar is expected to grow to four to six events. The "ÖKK Bike Revolution" also offers amateur athletes and talented youngsters the opportunity to compete. Various categories guarantee fair cross-country races with a high excitement and fun factor for all participants.

Racing with festival character

Mountain bike fans can experience everything that makes a biker's heart beat faster in the Event Village of the respective regions, from games for children and exhibitions of equipment to personal encounters with the pros. "The tours for amateur athletes will also be met with great interest," co-initiator René Walker is convinced. On the bike, interested parties discover the respective region geographically and culinarily. "Hardly any of the mountain bikes we sell in the store ever take part in a race. But the vast majority are used on tours with friends. This is exactly where we come in and set new standards for mountain bike events."

The "ÖKK Bike Revolution" starts in Ticino on Monte Tamaro from March 25 to 27, 2022, followed by Chur as the second destination with a city event from April 22 to 24. The grand finale will then take place in the canton of Bern in Huttwil from September 23 to 25. "It's great that we are already present in almost the whole of Switzerland in our first year," says Nino Schurter happily. The three locations are also the home races of the Swiss Olympic trio (Filippo Colombo in Monte Tamaro, Nino Schurter in Chur and Mathias Flückiger in Huttwil).

Committed partner

The series is named after ÖKK. The insurance company has been increasingly involved in cycling for around three years. As a partner of Nino Schurter, the cycling association Swiss Cycling, the Swiss Bike Park in Oberried and the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Lenzerheide, ÖKK is committed to professional, amateur and junior sport.

"ÖKK Bike Revolution combines these areas perfectly. The event series reflects our multifaceted commitment to cycling, promotes the fun of exercise and thus contributes to health promotion," says Stefan Schena, CEO of ÖKK.

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