At regular intervals, Hans "No Way" Rey teams up with other mountain bike greats who have left their heyday behind them. The former trials champion and his co-pilots show that they can still ride and still have a bit of a sense of humor.

The latest work by the now 58-year-old Swiss rider with a US passport, who still earns his money as an ambassador for various bike brands, shows him in the Gotthard Labyrinth. This is the name of the route around the central Alpine massif, which is marketed as a multi-day tour. Only the tourism experts know why it is being marketed as a labyrinth. In any case, the route does not appear to be particularly difficult to find.

What is less mysterious is why Hans Rey, who grew up in southern Germany and has lived in the USA for over 30 years, has tackled the Gotthard circumnavigation as a film project. He is a partner of the mountain bike destination Disentis Sedrun, which is part of the Gotthard Labyrinth and is involved in its promotion.

Riding yourself makes you happy

At Hans Rey's side this time is Guido Tschugg, who retired together with his discipline, the Four Cross, in 2014. Together, the e-bikers pedal bravely from pass to pass to the accompaniment of cozy guitar riffs and demonstrate their skills on the descents. In between, a few human and animal locals, map excerpts and establishing statements to the camera, and the 20-minute film from the heart of the Alps is complete.  

Boiled by the flood of high-intensity banger videos, you can't shake the feeling that it's more entertaining to ride the Gotthard Labyrinth yourself than to watch Hans and Guido do it. But that's probably exactly what the work wants to achieve: that you write the tour on New Year's Eve on your 2025 to-ride list.

As Gotthard circumnavigation, there is a fairly similar tour in the ride database. The product advertised by Hans Rey and Guido Guido can also be found as routes 84 and 85 at SchweizMobil.