Priska Dörig from the Cycling Team Ost will be competing in the 500 km solo category this year. Priska is a TORTOUR “repeat offender,” having completed the 250 km solo category last year.
Contrary to what one might think, Priska does not have a long history in cycling. She only started cycling, and endurance sports in general, in 2020. What began with a few casual races quickly developed into a passion. Last year, she joined the Cycling Team Ost, where she received tremendous support from the very beginning. It was within this supportive environment that she was introduced to track cycling, and soon she found herself training on the track almost weekly. This is where she met her coach, Marcel Wyss.
There was some doubt about whether she could even manage a 250 km race since, up until the previous year, Priska was far from being a mountain climber. “I would have preferred to ride an extra 20 kilometers than to have to deal with climbing,” she says. And TORTOUR certainly features some challenging ascents.
“But my coach prepared me so well that it wasn’t a problem at all,” she says happily. The support from her team during the race gave her the perfect motivation and almost made her feel like she was flying over the mountains. “After that, it was clear: I want to do this again – 250 km was easy, I need to go for more! So, I asked my coach what it would take to do 500 kilometers.” His answer was, “The training is almost the same, only the race distance is different.”
After just one day of consideration, she signed up. “Now I’m training for the 500 km and I’m really excited. I’m curious to see if it will be as smooth as before or if it will be a battle and push me to my limits.”
We are sure that you will have a lot of fun and that your crew will be the perfect supporters for your adventure. We wish you all the best in your training and look forward to seeing you at the starting line in July!
