March 3, 2022 - In Episode 2. of Trail E-xplorer, Holger Meyer heads to Chur, Switzerland to discover the backyard trails of 9-times World Champion Nino Schurter. Holger meets Nino Schurter in Chur, Switzerland and look for ridable trails in winter. Chur is the capital of Swiss canton Graubünden. It’s a nice little city on the east side of Switzerland; just 1h30 from Zurich and 3h from Munich.
Legend says that it’s the oldest city of CH. But above all, Chur has one thing that makes it very special: An incredible array of mountains with an endless amount of world-class trails to explore. That’s why nine-time mountain bike World Champion, Nino Schurter, feels so comfortable here. Despite his international career, he’s always remained faithful to his home in Graubünden.
The original plan for this Trail E-Xplorer Episode was to ride up to 1500m. With the recent snow fall, however, Holger and Nino have to stay at low altitude. The first tour follows the Rheine Gorge – the “Swiss Grand Canyon”.
GPX for trails around Chur: here
“The nice thing about Graubünden is that all trails are legal to ride. Please stay polite and respectful with the hikers.”
The trail is constantly going up and down along the river. Sun is out, but its freezing cold. We ride our E-MTBs on a hill below the Calanda. The Calanda is a 2804 m high mountain massif in the northwest of Chur, which forms the transition to the Glarnerland.
With Nino in the front, you better hold on to the handlebar and focus on the trail. The terrain drops steeply into the canyon. There are lots of options with some playful technical climbs. We follow the trails and cross the river on the Isla Bella Bridge. Large parts of the deep gorge do not see a ray of sun in the winter months. That means caution on the trail!
We have to climb up on the other side to get to Versam, a little village with a Restaurant and a small grocery shop. From there, we go down the road, cross the bridge and take a trail called 901er on Trailforks.
It’s an exposed trail, so be careful. Sun is down, it’s time to go back to Chur. We will find some charging stations in the nature if you are out of battery. Trains are as also really convenient.”
Follow Holger Meyer on his quest for the best E-MTB trails on Earth. More than just good riding, Holger looks for the best places to eat, sleep and have experience the area on and off the bike. On his search for rider’s heaven, Holger enlisted some of SCOTT’s most renowned ambassadors and athletes.
Read more here.
