Inside RATA

The first ray of light glances over the rugged summits of the Alps, fir-tips glow in the dawn's red. A cuckoo breaks the morning silence with its striking call — creating the perfectly fitting soundscape.
The beam of the headlights of a support vehicle sweeps through the forest along the pass road climbing the Mortirolo. In it the contours of a female cyclist become visible: Bigi Bless. As if the cuckoo wanted to herald her …

On Wednesday, two days before the race began, Bigi wanted to pack, but she was immediately overwhelmed by the feeling that she had forgotten something important. It wasn't the race itself that worried her, but everything around it: organizing clothing, nutrition, the weather, the support. "I wasn't nervous about my performance. That I could do it was clear to me. But whether everything around it would work out? That did me in."

On Thursday evening the nervousness rose further, accompanied by an almost tangible excitement. Finally the 30-year-old enduro enthusiast wanted to show what she had trained for so hard and meticulously for 18 weeks.
At the official briefing she felt the reality of the undertaking: the information was overwhelming, the upcoming task felt endless. "That's when I first realized what I was actually up against," Bigi says, still visibly under the impression of her Race Across the Alps experience.

At the start she had intended to ride in the group's slipstream. But after only a few minutes the pace was so high that she deliberately dropped back. "I could have kept up, but I knew: that would have been a mistake. I have to ride my own pace."
While large parts of the field pulled away, the trained social worker stuck to her line. At the entrance to the Stelvio Pass the wooden statues seemed to offer silent applause for her decision. She had undoubtedly earned that, even at this early stage. Especially considering the effort of coping with all the mental challenges. And they didn't stop ...

At the Stilfserjoch, bigiii — as the Swiss woman calls herself on Instagram — experienced a moment of deep clarity. The landscape, the silence, her own steady pace: everything seemed in harmony. "I forgot that I was in a race. It was simply beautiful," the trained mountain biker looks back on the race, almost enraptured.

The first larger feed took place on the climb. She tackled the descent to Santa Maria in Val Müstair at speed. There her father was waiting for her. "That encounter gave me so much."

Dusk took its toll. After six or seven hours in the saddle, the first doubts set in: How was she supposed to keep this up for another 20 hours? At the Flüela Pass, Bigi was met by her team. The sunset there became an almost spiritual moment: "I thought about everyone who had invested time, money and energy in me. I didn't want to disappoint anyone."

Then the night began. For the first time, Bigi rode across the Alps in the dark. "It was beautiful. Quiet. Honest. And also a little bit eerie." At the Albula Pass she met friends who unexpectedly cheered her on.
But not long after, the first moment of real fatigue arrived. With the help of caffeine she carried on. A fellow rider joined her; they rode together for several kilometers. "That did me an incredible amount of good."

Until sunrise. It arrived on time. And with it new energy. Even the documentation of her adventure came back to mind: on the descent from the Mortirolo Pass toward Monno she called to the support vehicle at the sight of an impressive mural right by the road: "Go ahead! Take photos!"
But when she realized that the Bernina Pass would have to be ridden again afterwards, the 30-year-old was hit by a mental blow: "I had to force myself to think in sections. Tirano. Then the lake. Then Bernina." At the same time the pains increased: knees, hands, toes, neck. Only the legs held out, Bigi remembers: "My legs never hurt. They just worked."

At the top of the Bernina the RATA debutante finally reached her limit. Mentally. She paused briefly, rested for ten minutes. Then carried on. A little later Fabio, her boyfriend, who accompanied her for a stretch, was waiting: "It meant so much to me. That distraction was worth its weight in gold."
That was the perfect push for the last hours, because they were brutal again: the Umbrail Pass was brutal. 1,400 metres of elevation in one go. Then straight on to the Stelvio. Together 1,800 metres of elevation. Without a break. Plus headwind. "I was at my limit," Bigi admits. But one thought drove her on: if she gave everything one more time now, she would finish in under 30 hours, she remembers: "That motivated me once more!"
She made it. And although the race has long been over, the experience still feels unreal: "I still haven't realized what I accomplished," the content creator admits, almost shyly.

In the end it's not just her performance, but that of an entire team — and from Bigi an endless gratitude that she had such a team and could count on everyone.
Training, organization, support, equipment — everything meshed together. "I am strong. And with a strong mindset you can move mountains." Or in under 30 hours cover more than 540 kilometres and over 14,000 metres of elevation. With exhaustion. With pride. And with a ticket for the Race Across America in her pocket ...