BOOM TIMES AT THE 2022 VERBIER E-BIKE FESTIVAL
The successful fourth edition of the Verbier E-Bike Festival and the E-Tour du Mont-Blanc brought together elite and recreational e-bikers for a long weekend of exploring some of the most stunning trails in the Swiss Alps.
The record-breaking fourth edition of the Verbier E-Bike Festival has been a celebration of the power of the e-bike to bring together people of all levels of fitness and skill to share incredible mountain adventures in one of the most beautiful parts of the world.
Surrounded by glacier-tipped mountains and bathed in perfect summer weather, the Verbier E-Bike Festival (11-14 August) drew more than 3’000 e-bike riders and enthusiasts of 22 nationalities to the famous Swiss ski resort.
As the third and final stop of the 2022 E-Bike World Tour, the festival kicked off with the iconic E-Tour du Mont-Blanc, a three-day UCI-accredited stage race for pros and experienced amateur riders.
While the world’s best e-bikers enjoyed the sublime trails and spectacular panoramic views at higher altitudes, the festival village, set in the heart of Verbier itself, was back to its pre-pandemic best and hummed with energy and excitement.
The presence of 45 exhibitors, including 30 leading bike brands and more than 600 e-bikes which were available for testing and exploring, underlined the importance of the e-bike as a booming sector of the cycling industry and as the key driver of a new era of summer-based mountain tourism.
“It’s clear that the bike industry has adopted the Verbier E-Bike Festival and that it’s become a date that is unmissable for them,” said Nicolas Hale-Woods, CEO of the E-Bike World Tour (EBWT). “This brings huge satisfaction to us as an organisation.”
Many of the festival activities such as the sporty Gourmet Tours, the Discovery Trails and the Bosch e-MTB Challenge were fully booked. Another reliable indicator of e-biking’s popularity with seasoned and novice riders alike is the festival’s try-before-you-buy e-bike testing expo: the Verbier E-Bike Festival saw more than 4 500 e-bike tests across a wide variety of test routes.
“The Verbier E-Bike Festival allows consumers to discover and test what we believe is the most important commercial segment within the Swiss bike industry today: the e-MTB,” said Steven Jonckheere from Haibike Switzerland.
“Verbier is a benchmark event because everything comes together here: the destination itself, the infrastructure, the enthusiasm of the EBWT team and the collaboration from the local authorities. Haibike has partnered with the E-Bike World Tour from the very beginning and we are confident of growing together in the future. Last, but not least, there is no better place to ride our bikes than the Swiss mountains and we are very grateful to be here in Verbier.”
The festival village in Verbier itself is linked by a network of curated trails to the neighbouring villages of Nendaz and Orsières. This gives festival-goers three entry points into a massive e-bike playground spanning the Pays du St-Bernard and the Verbier and Nendaz valleys, often supplemented by exclusive access to trails available for the duration of the festival only.
“For sure, the e-bike is a revolution for mountain tourism in summer. It’s extraordinary,” says Simon Wiget, Verbier director of tourism. “Verbier has the right playground for it. Other valleys don’t have what we have – plenty of paths, gravel roads, traverses, singletrack and downhill. The Verbier E-Bike Festival allows Verbier to position itself as the e-bike capital of Europe. So, for us, it’s just an amazing opportunity.”
Certainly, the quality of the trails was matched by the level of racing. The 2022 E-Tour du Mont-Blanc, raced in teams of two over 180 gruelling kilometres and more than 11 000m of climbing, was won by Frenchmen Jérôme Gilloux and Théo Charmes, while Switzerland’s Nathalie Schneitter and her French teammate Laura Charles dominated the women’s race.
The E-Tour du Mont-Blanc result confirmed Gilloux, the reigning UCI eMTB world champion, as the winner of the 2022 E-Bike World Tour overall title, and catapulted Schneitter, the 2019 UCI eMTB world champion, to her first EBWT series win.
E-BIKE WORLD TOUR 2022 – TOP 3
WOMEN
1 – Nathalie Schneitter (SUI)
2 – Alexia Desile (FRA)
3 – Laura Charles (FRA)
MEN
1 – Jérôme Gilloux (FRA)
2 – Kenny Muller (FRA)
3 – Andrea Garibbo (ITA)
The Bosch e-MTB Challenge, the final event of the weekend, pitted 142 e-bikers of all levels against the course, and the clock, in a test of navigation, riding and battery management skills. Charles doubled up by taking the win in the women’s section, ahead of her E-Tour du Mont-Blanc teammate Schneitter, and Bosch ambassador Greta Weithaler (ITA) in third. In the men’s race, Tiago Ladeira (POR) came out on top, with compatriot Emanuel Pombo in third. Swiss rider Joris Ryf went one better than his third place in the E-Tour du Mont-Blanc and finished in a close second.
Thanks to Verbier’s dedicated e-bike infrastructure – plentiful charging points, bike-friendly ski lifts and world-class trails – the superb summer weather, and the Verbier E-Bike Festival’s unique programme of amazing adventures on the e-bike and seriously good times après-bike, most festival-goers came to the same conclusion: definitely come back next year!
The 2023 Verbier E-Bike Festival is already scheduled and will take place from 10-13 August 2023.
