The temperatures are rising, the first flowers are blooming. Spring is on its way, and with it the first races of the 2025 season. Here I take a brief look back at my winter training, my current level of fitness and an outlook on which races are coming up this season.
Winter training
My winter training got off to a very good start this year. I was able to complete many hours and felt good. However, on the first day of the annual training camp in Finale Ligure, I broke a metacarpal bone. This fracture meant that I spent the training camp in trail running shoes rather than on an enduro bike. After further investigations at home, it quickly became clear that an operation would be necessary to fully restore all the functions of the hand. So on January 9th, I put my hand under the knife. After that, I was unable to exercise for around 6 weeks, after which I was slowly able to get back on my bike. These restrictions set me back considerably, even though I was always able to train on the indoor roller. But training indoors is just not the same, and I can hardly last longer than 90 minutes on the roller.
Current shape update
However, I can now train fully again. Due to the position of my hands and the reduced number of strokes, I am currently training almost exclusively on the road bike. I have also already competed in my first races on the road bike. I was able to test my form for the first time at the Hindelbank spring races. The first race was almost summery with around 18°C and sunshine. The second race was rainy and around 3°C… The trained eye can see from the picture below that I’m wearing a new kit. Biberoptik Hausmann has become my main sponsor for this season. When I’m not wearing the jersey of the Swiss-Orienteering national squad, I’m now wearing the black jersey with the green eye. Thank you very much for your many years of support Richard!
Outlook on the season 2025
There are a few races coming up again this season. In the race calendar on my homepage you will find all planned races including results of the races already completed. The Bike-O season starts in a week’s time in Mejannes-le-Claps in the south of France with the first selection races. The highlights for me this year are the European Championships in Lithuania in mid-May and the World Championships in Poland in August. I am preparing meticulously for these races with various training camps and competitions. After the World Championships, I won’t be competing in any more international Bike-Os. I’m doing my last days of community service in Davos from the end of August to mid-December. That’s why the World Cup in Bulgaria is no longer an option for me.
I’m looking forward to finally getting going again. Despite being a little behind in training due to injury, I’m looking forward to the first races with confidence. You will soon find the first race reports for the 2025 season here on the website, stay tuned!