← All eventsTour des Stations — Ultrafondo
242km Alpine ultra-cyclosportif from Verbier, Valais — 8,848m of climbing (Everest height in a day). Billed 'the toughest one-day bike race in the world'; ~5% finish rate in bad years. Shorter Superfondo/Granfondo/Mediofondo options. Next edition ~late Aug 2027 (approximate).
The Ultrafondo climbs 8,848m in a single day: the exact height of Everest, on the resort roads above Verbier in the Swiss Valais. \n\nIt is billed the toughest one-day bike race in the world, and the numbers back it up.
In a bad year, 33 of 612 starters finished. \n\nThere is no valley to recover in. Every long descent drops you straight onto the next climb, and the final ascent to Thyon 2000 comes after 8,000m are already in your legs.
Is Tour des Stations — Ultrafondo for you?
- Experienced Alpine riders with real big-day history. If your longest ride is under 5 to 6 hours and 3,000m of climbing, the Ultrafondo is a multi-season goal, not a first attempt.
- Disciplined pacers. This is an intensity-discipline event, not a power contest. Ride the early climbs 5 to 10W too hard and your day ends by hour eight.
- Durable diesels over pure climbers. Sub-threshold power that survives ten hours matters more than a high FTP.
- Riders who want a sane entry point. The Granfondo (133km, 4,700m) and Superfondo (186km, 7,000m) let you prove durability before stepping up.
Training plan for Tour des Stations — Ultrafondo
A training plan for Tour des Stations — Ultrafondo isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- 8,848m of climbing over 242km, with almost no flat to spin the legs out and recover
- A ~14 hour cutoff and a low-single-figure finish rate: most Ultrafondo finishers are out 12 to 14 hours
- Valley heat of 25 to 32C low down, cold on the high resort roads near 2,000m, and afternoon storm risk
- A final climb to Thyon 2000 ridden on comprehensively empty legs, where the day is won or lost
- Long Z2 climbing rides of 4 to 6h with 2,500 to 3,500m of climbing, building to 7 to 8h and 5,000m rehearsal days
- Sub-threshold climb reps: 3 to 4 x 25 to 40min at 88 to 92% FTP to build the sustained climbing engine
- Back-to-back big weekends (6h Saturday, 5h Sunday) to teach the legs cumulative climbing fatigue
- Pacing rehearsals ridden strictly at Z2 the whole way, plus heat sessions and post-ride sauna in the final weeks
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
