Pretzel rolls and Coke provided Silvio Hug with the energy he needed for 30 hours to cross the finish line as a winner in his category.

The Solothurn native has been on a road bikes since he was 20 years old. After several serious knee injuries caused by playing football, Silvio Hug got to know and love cycling during physiotherapy. Long-distances are especially suitable to him and so a victory at the TORTOUR Ultracycling soon became his personal goal.

As a building services engineer, Silvio spends a lot of time at his desk. In addition to his ongoing master’s degree in business administration, the ambitious Swiss seeks his work-life balance on the saddle. Almost incidentally, this earned him a spot on Marcel Wyss’ cycling team. So it was only a matter of time until Silvio conquered the 1’000 km of the TORTOUR Ultra.

But like so many things, not everything can be planned in such an undertaking. After only six hours and 200 kilometers, Silvio Hug was struggling with stomach problems. The planned half-liquid-half-solid formula did not work out. His supportive team and pretzel rolls with cheese, ham and butter kept him afloat. Washed down with Coke, he fought his way mile by mile through the day and the night that was setting in.

But it was not only the stomach that proved to be a challenge. The lack of experience in such extreme conditions increasingly unsettled the racer with each passing competitor. Find out how Silvio Hug nevertheless proved his mental strength and won a Swiss championship title in his TORTOUR portrait.