September in the Alps. Autumn is coming and so is the wet season. Against our better judgment, we look way too early at the weather forecast for the first September weekend in Davos, Switzerland. We are going anyway, because the Mondraker Enduro Team race is on the program. A bit of dry weather would be nice. Of course, that 14-day forecast is worthless, so let's ignore it. Still, the first thing I'm packing is a good raincoat...

Photos: Alphafoto & Andography

Fast forward a few days and the weather forecast is fantastic! Sunny, dry and a comfortable 15 degrees in Davos Dorf (located at 1.500 meters altitude). In the best of moods we enter the mountain town. As regular guests of the enduro team race (we are participating for the fourth time), we know our way around.

In the middle of the afternoon – the day before the match – we arrive at Parsenn Resort. A fantastic accommodation. A spacious apartment, big enough to let five mountain bikers sleep, eat and store all their gear. With all the luxury (fitness, sauna, bike room and -wash) that is certainly not standard for mountain bike trips.
In no time we are dressed in front of the building on the side of the mountain. Ready to do at least one run, before we can immediately get into the racing vibe tomorrow.

The Parsenn Bahn takes us to 2.665 meters altitude. We notice that in our lungs when we do a youthful sprint to the first trail start. We already know a number of trails reasonably well and moreover Trailforks greatly expanded from Davos-Klosters with over 150 trails. Bram wants the famous Signal trail explore it sometimes, because he completely “stalled” there in the difficult rock gardens (spoiler…: that will happen again in 2024). That turns out to be a bit too much climbing meters, so with a quick glance at Trailforks we choose another descent. Because we hear the beer in the fridge calling to us…

There are also other Dutchmen on the starting list. Team Terpstra is already getting some attention on social media: XC mountain biker Anne Terpstra has registered together with her brother, a week after she won silver at the XC World Championship in Andorra.
And cycling friends “Gang is alles” are bursting with competition hype. They also feel like blazing and feel the competition among themselves, but on this pre-competition day we see them standing on the side of the trail to fix yet another broken outer tire.

We had that preparation well in mind. Davos = high mountains with lots of rocks. Small, big, round, sharp. Your suspension and tires are all going to get them for the studs. So we all come to Davos with a set of "fresh rubber" on our rims.

Competition day 1: warm up to pop

Our Trail-Addicts team this time consists of: Nico, Bram, Dennis and Paul. “Mister Trail-Addicts” Rik does not ride with timekeeping, but starts solo between the competition teams and looks for a nice spot for the best video shots.

As we already knew and were used to from previous editions, the vibe at the competition and among participants is mega good. Everyone is cheerful. You are treated to a nice goodie bag, the volunteers are many and all fantastic. And the permanent MC hypes you up when you leave the starting boxes. The competition briefing is placed online daily in the evening with a Komoot route and pdf with competition information.
Stage 1 info reports “nothing special, just rocky”. Make no mistake: in Davos you will not find smooth bike park trails, but almost exclusively natural trails. And that is precisely our favorite. And I guess also of the other 400 participants (from 18 countries: even with participants from the Himalayas: Nepal and Bhutan). Yet it is this stage where Nico already falls: he “jackknifed” his bike and has to straighten the handlebars to be able to continue.

I (Bram) am still a bit lacking in race mode. I am not pushing hard and am riding safe, while Dennis – who is by far the fastest of our team, and therefore finishes first on every stage – can taste the blood in his lungs even on the climbs. Still that altitude that you notice.
We all enjoy the trails immensely! High fives and big smiles. And a big bow to the organization, because there are real gems in it again. Also for annually returning riders, there are new trails in the competition every year.

The racing vibe is also coming in nicely. And that is certainly also due to Rik who follows us closely with the FPV drone. The last (fourth) stage of today is our warm-up stage of yesterday. We even start a bit higher on the mountain for this Meierhoftali trail: a black trail. The beginning section is easy and on the open part the speed increases to 50 km/h. Faster is simply not possible with wide and sticky knobby tires. In a train of four, we sit nice and close to each other. Now we could keep up with Dennis... unfortunately I crash in about the last switchback. And apparently my torque wrench at home does not do what it is supposed to do, because I have tightened all the bolts so hard (stem and brakes) that I can't get them loose so quickly to straighten them. So I run.

Done and dusted we plop down on the bar stools at the finish. The pints of Calanda pass by and later we share tall tales in a warm pizzeria. In Bed!

Match Day 2: Can This Please Last Forever?

The fantastic – and fast – lift network of Davos-Klosters is a breath of fresh air as a mountain biker. Even outside the race we see plenty of other non-participants taking the extensive network of gondolas and mountain trains. And almost every lift takes you up to 2.800 metres. You can’t climb those 1.000 metres of altitude difference very quickly on an e-MTB either, so a lift pass is highly recommended here.

Despite all those lifts, we still have about 800 “unassisted” climbs ahead of us today.
The first trail is a familiar one to us. And a long one. The fastest Fun Team (that is our discipline with teams of 3 to 6 people) does 12m35s here. And we do it in a good quarter! Apparently this is a (not extremely technical) trail that is also in the Swiss Epic and is ridden on Marathon fullies…

On stage two of this day (of the six stages today) we blaze through a moonscape after the round of fist boxing and pressing the GoPro button. Full of big rocks and with some sneaky inside lines. Of course with our fastest man, Dennis, in the lead. His wheel gets off the track somewhere and he does a faceplant at full speed. With adrenaline he gets back on and even overtakes me again.

At the stage finish we inspect the damage. His ego in particular has taken a dent. But his hand is also starting to swell up uncomfortably. “Can you hold on to your handlebars? Go ahead.”

On this sunny day we are having a lovely lunch at Madrisa Land. I video call the home front: look, such a mountain playground is a fantastic family holiday destination. High on the mountain, with fantastic views, slides and everything children want. In the meantime, Dennis cools his hand in the ice-cold mountain fountain.

There are still some tough climbs and especially wonderful descents. For his self-confidence, Dennis still starts at the front of our team composition and he is still the fastest, although we are now staying a bit closer. The familiar faces of the volunteers who give us the “GO!” for the stages motivate with cowbells and cheers. I really enjoy the short stage through a loamy forest, with switchbacks and deep compression pits. And for dessert: the Signal trail. Unfortunately, I do not conquer the famous rock garden again. Even though Rik is there waving wildly and pointing out the best choice of line. This is unanimously one of the coolest trails we know. From high alpine, to technical sections to fast forest sections.

And… I will go back here to spend more time on top of the mountain and enjoy the mountain landscape around us. Davos has been known for years for its clean air. And a full-face helmet, goggles and competition feeling do provide a bit more of a limited focus 😉

Competition day 3: from ridgelines to dance moves

Race-ready in a clean shirt and of course in shorts and a thin undershirt. Because today is also a warm, sunny September day. Full of gems of trails. The first stage, Chorbschhorn, has a long transfer to the top. We see MTB pro Tom Oehler nose-wheeling into the stage with the Himalaya Team.

Unintentionally I do almost the same just before, because my rear brake has no brake pressure anymore. I ride this cool stage (of over 11 minutes) with almost only a front brake. But oh, what a pleasure it is. I remember that this was the finish stage of a few years ago. An absolute highlight to end such a fantastic event with. There were beers for sale and… then followed a fairly technical stage through a dark forest (and the reaction speed had, let's say, become a bit less)… That section is now also a competition stage. And what a great one!

From the finish area, after a traditional lunch, we take the Jakobshorn lift one last time, for the famous ridgeline trail. I thought I felt some brake pressure, but I was wrong. This one also only works with the front brake and is therefore a bit quieter. For the very last - and only - bike park trail I switch with Rik's S-Works. Ooh, that's no punishment. With the last banked turns we roll - followed by the FPV drone - satisfied through the finish arch.

If we have to describe the Mondraker Enduro Team event in one way, it would be the relaxed vibe. It is incredibly well organised, everyone is excited and the trails are of course fantastic. Despite the fact that it is quite large with 150 teams, it feels small and familiar. In the “finish coral” all those 400+ participants gather to welcome the volunteers (with or without a beer shower), who are very happy with bags full of competition ribbon. moment of fame to take.

After some cold ones and a hearty pasta it is time for the party. We should be exhausted after 3 days of competition with 14 stages of a total of 10.000 meters of descent, but that is not too bad. The photographer and video maker show their best shots and aftermovies. And afterwards it remained restless for a long time…

The next morning the sunny weather is over. Davos seems to cry with the departure of all enduro riders. In fact: a weekend later there is a huge snow dump in the Alps and all trails in Davos are covered with a thick layer of snow! What luck again.

EDITION 2025: September 4-6, 2025. Registration usually opens in December and sells out quickly: enduro-team.ch/en/

But Davos-Klosters is also perfect for visiting on your own, with its extensive lift network, all the Trailforks trails and many bike shops and accommodations.