The Zürich Report part 1

Boy, oh boy, these are hectic times. The Zürich report is long overdue, so here goes. Upon arrival, I didn’t even have time for a full breath of fresh Zürich air. Off the bus and on the train to Fribourg. Luckily the reward for all this proved more than satisfactory. The Scott-Sports compounds literally breaths sports, cycling and triathlon. First thing I noticed was a spectacularly shaped dirt track surrounding the building. “This is where our pro-BMX riders test our gear”, my guide - and driver ànd running-and cycling pal for the duration of my stay - Florian Brugger explains.  “But we have several riders working here and they also use the track regularly”. Then he proposes to go for a run through the frozen, snowy and hilly woods of Fribourg. “Not a long run”, he reassures me, “just an hour or so …”. The run is actually fantastic. Continuously changing terrain: hills, flats, tarmac, dirt track, forest, downhill … Wonderful. The Scott building is equipped with numerous showers, there are washing machines to do your laundry, there are running shoes, skis and sports apparel everywhere. And of course: bikes, bikes and more bikes … I’m like a kid in a candy store. There are places where I can’t photograph, virtually all design for Scott Bikes is done here (Florian: "Oh, you didn't know that?? Than give the bike back now, please ...") and I get to see quite a few top-secret prototypes. I see Norman Staddler’s bike, I see the new Team Columbia road bike as well as their amazingly sharp looking TT Bike with the incredibly low aero bars (just as low as the top tube). “It is very, very fast”, says Florian “But too aggressive for Iron Man distances. You can’t possibly stay comfortable on such an aggressive bike for five hours or more. Nevertheless, Norman Staddler wants to ride it in Kona, this year. We want to adapt this model for triathlon, but that is not going to happen overnight…”  And then I’m finally eye-to-eye with my magnificent Plasma 2! Mechanic Frank explains the dynamics of this bike to me, as het adapts and cuts the frame and seatpost to my specifics. This machine is awesome – albeit slightly heavier to what I am used to riding – and its looks are absolutely unequalled. I’ll tell you more about the dynamics of this frame when I post my Fribourg film tomorrow.  But here’s already a few snapshots to get y’all drooling. Tomorrow we talk to Scott-Sports vice-president (and former pro –cylist) Pascal Ducrot, we learn about some new and revolutionary running shoes, we meet the people from Iron Man Zürich, and YOU’ll get some essential and simple but simply inadmissible swimming tips and tricks from world class swimming coach Andrei Iuchotov …

Scott-Sports part 1