Hill climb: Nothing works without an audience
HOPE FOR A MIRACLE Whether there will also be no hill climb in La Roche and Hemberg after the cancellation of Reitnau depends on the further Corona measures. Decisive are spectator quotas. Those who want to see such scenes as from Ayent-Anzère live or hear the sound of the mountain race cars will have to be patient. Last year, Thomas Kohler from the ACS [...].
Those who want to see such scenes as from Ayent-Anzère live or hear the sound of the mountain racing cars will have to be patient.
Last year, Thomas Kohler from ACS Mitte was the first representative to cancel a Swiss mountain race because of the pandemic. Because he did so very early in March, an unfair shitstorm descended upon him. His foresight was vindicated, although for the sake of other organizers, he would have liked to have been proven wrong.
Reitnau in a dilemma
Kohler also saw the black for this year weeks ago, but waited until the end of the month to cancel the Reitnau hill climb.
Thomas Kohler: "The main problem is that almost all communities around cancel their village festivals. A mountain race without spectators would be unrealistic, and moving it to the summer would be impossible. And to compete with other organizers in the fall would be unfair."
Thus, after three years, the next Reitnau hill climb will not take place until June 26, 2022.
Freiburgers back - but when?
The La Roche-La Berra and Hemberg hillclimb races, which are scheduled for the first and third weekends of June - i.e. before Reitnau - are also threatened with cancellation.
Last held in 2015, the newly organized Fribourgers, however, do not want to hold the race at any price. Although in the past there were never many spectators lining the beautiful course in the Gruyère region, a race to the exclusion of the public is out of the question for them.
OC member Marcel Magnin: "We are fully preparing and hope that on April 14 there will be good news from the Federal Council. Then, at the latest, we will make a decision. At the moment, the trend is positive. But without spectators, there are no sponsors and no race."
Toggenburgers hope for a miracle
The same tenor strikes OC president Christian Schmid for the Hembergrennen. He and his team also wait for April 14. What can be prepared without costing much is done. Ideally, they would have two months after that.
Christian Schmid: "We hope for a miracle. After that, we would get it right with an enormous effort from all sides, including the sponsors. But a few thousand spectators would have to be allowed."
However, the St. Gallen team is realistic enough and sees its chances as zero. But because they have nothing to lose, they wait until the last moment to cancel.
Season start at the end of July or in August?
The other organizers of the Swiss hill climbs have more time to make a decision. It would be Ayent-Anzère's turn on the last weekend in July, Massongex, St-Ursanne-Les Rangiers and Oberhallau in August, Gurnigel and Les Paccots then in September.
The people of Valais could perhaps live with spectator contingents of 1,000 or 2,000, but not the people of the Jura and especially not the German-speaking Swiss. In good weather, Oberhallau and Gurnigel and Reitnau attract more than 10,000 spectators each, but they are not swimming in money because of it. They need large audiences to cover their budget.
So it takes a good portion of optimism to believe in the realization of big Swiss hill climbs in the second exceptional year (besides Arosa, Ollon-Villars and Bernina for the historic ones).
