Gallery: Frischknecht and Giger set record for amount of descending in one day

Image 1 of 28

Thomas Frischknecht and Thomas Giger set a new unofficial world record for the descending in one day on a mountain bike. They dropped 13,572 vertical meters on singletrack in one day during 14 different descents during a ride time of more than 13 hours.

Former professional mountain bike racer and Scott Swisspower team manager Frischknecht and tour guide Giger set their record in Davos Klosters this past Monday.

The effort pushed the limit of what can be done on a mountain bike. Frischknecht and Giger set off before sunrise on top of Davos' Jakobshorn (2590m), and they arrived at the little village of Küblis just after it had gotten dark.

"I am still a mountain biker with heart and soul. The ride today was just breath-taking, almost an overdose of superb alpine mountain biking," said three-time world champion Frischknecht. "And it is a very special feeling having mastered a project that no one has ever tried before."

The "Bahnentour Davos Klosters" served as the basic framework for the record ride, as this mountain bike tour already offered 10,000 vertical meters of descending on a single day by making good use of the various cable cars, gondolas and chairlifts in the region. While many riders fail to complete the entire loop and end up doing far less descents, Giger, the inventor of the Bahnentour soon realized that the limit of what could be done had not been reached yet.

"Davos Klosters has way more singletrack descents than I could integrate into the original Bahnentour. I knew I could set a new world record up here, and it did not take much to convince Thomas Frischknecht to join me on that record attempt," Giger said.

Rather than setting a new world record, he was looking for the unique experience of going to the very limits of what is possible. "The first descent in the early morning and the final descent from the top of the Weissfluh were so impressive that I will remember this particular day for the rest of my life."

During their record-breaking ride, neither Frischknecht nor Giger were slowed down by any mechanical issues, despite the chosen route being extremely demanding regarding the necessary riding skills and the terrain.

Frischknecht and Giger started their record ride on top of the Jakobshorn above Davos and managed to integrate an additional three descents into the standard route. As all cable cars and chairlifts quit operating in the late afternoon, the two riders were flown to the top of the Weissfluh with a helicopter to tackle the last descent to Küblis as dusk was falling. At their arrival, they had logged 13,572 vertical meters of descending and an overall distance of 125 kilometers. Almost all of the ascents were handled by Davos Kloster's cable cars and chairlifts, but 830 vertical meters of ascending still had to be done by their own effort.