The Raid Evolénard continues its momentum and will again be part of both the West Bike Cup and the Bike Marathon Classics in 2023. The “Team” category, inaugurated in 2022, will be back on the program, as well as a new e-bike category, which will give the possibility to a new public to discover the joys of the Raid Evolénard! The race will be preceded on Saturday by the now traditional Kids Coaching Day, which has been a growing success for several years!
2023 will be a transition year for the organizers of the Raid Evolénard FMV before hosting the Swiss MTB marathon championships again in 2024. The main novelty this year will be the opening of an e-bike category. With this category, the organizers are responding to a demand that has become increasingly pressing in recent years, from a number of electric mountain bike enthusiasts that is growing steadily. However, there was no question for the organizers to set up an e-bike race at the expense of the participants of the traditional Raid Evolénard race. The organizers have therefore set up a new course that takes up most of the second loop of the Raid Evolénard. As the e-bike runners will start immediately after the marathon runners, the interference on the course will be reduced to a minimum.
Kids coaching day to open the weekend!
For the rest, the organizers are betting this year on continuity, and are taking up all the elements that have made the Raid Evolénard a success in recent years, starting with the Kids Coaching Day on the eve of the race, always supported by “Les Bons Sirops Morand”. With nearly 80 participants last year who were able to benefit from the advice of professionals such as Christoph Sauser, Steve Morabito and Arnaud Rapillard, it was a great success, and you should not miss the registration deadline to participate in this activity in 2024!
On Sunday, the usual races will again be on the program, with notably the 24km for the popular, the 35km for the more seasoned, and the marathon course for the best trained! The Team category will again allow runners who are a little less well prepared to run the entire course, but in pairs!
The 35km and 62km courses will count as every year for the West Bike Cup. This will already be the sixth stage of the French speaking series, so the riders at the start will already have many races in their legs!
Opening of the Bike Marathon Classics
In the Bike Marathon Classics, the Ortler bike has been replaced by the Summer Bike in Château d’Oex. It is therefore the Raid Evolénard that will have the honor to open the series on June 18th! In the absence of Urs Huber, who has already announced his absence after having participated eight years in a row in the Raid Evolénard, many contenders will be at the start to succeed Martin Fanger and Carmen Zaugg in the prize list, and at the same time wear the leader jersey of the series!
Free races for kids
The children will be able to compete on courses adapted to their level within the framework of the Raiffeisen Kids Cup. With the exception of the cadets, who will start from Evolène, all the children’s starts will be given at the Hérens Arena in Les Haudères, where the finish of all categories will also be played. As always for the last 26 years, the registrations for young people up to 16 years old will be free of charge, the promotion of the sport among the youth being one of the priority objectives of the organizers!
Online registration is open until June 15. Participants who register before March 30 will receive a discount. On-site registration will still be available on race day, but without souvenir prizes!