TORTOUR – CYCLING FOR A GOOD CAUSE
Schaffhausen, 21 August 2017 – The multi-day Tortour cycle race took place for the ninth time last week. One of the hardest cycling competitions in the world, IWC has been supporting this ultra-cycling event since day one. Also pushing the pedals hard at this year’s Tortour were Christoph Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, and IWC brand ambassador and double Olympian champion cyclist Fabian Cancellara. Their team, Laureus-IWC, cycled to 6th place in the "Challenge" category. By taking part in the Tortour 2017, they also helped to raise funds to the total of CHF 60’000 for a charitable event run by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
The Tortour is regarded as perhaps the hardest non-stop ultra-cycling event in the world. And not without reason: in the most difficult category, the athletes must ride up to 1,000 kilometres and ascend 10,000 metres over several Alpine passes across the whole of Switzerland. The solo cyclists and teams taking part have to ride non-stop, day and night. The Tortour thus not only demands absolutely everything from its cyclists, but also from their crews. This unique non-stop cycling event was held for the ninth time between last Thursday and Saturday. Once again, it started and finished in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and was kicked off with a prologue at the Rhine Falls.
Joining Christoph Grainger-Herr and Fabian Cancellara on the Laureus-IWC team at the starting line was Samuel Vuillemez. The watch designer is a keen triathlete in his free time. Together with other teams from Laureus, the three helped to raise funds totalling CHF 60’000 for Laureus Metro Sports by Blindspot. This inclusive project brings together young people with and without disabilities or behavioural issues, allowing them to integrate and play sports together. The Laureus Metro Sports events are offered in various cities in Switzerland.
IWC Schaffhausen is the Engineer of Watchmaking. In 1868, the American watchmaker and engineer Florentine Ariosto Jones established the ‘International Watch Company’ in Schaffhausen in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. By combining the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge industrial technology and processes, he laid the foundation for IWC’s unique engineering approach to watchmaking.
IWC’s distinctive and pure design is brought to life through collections ranging from elegant dress watches to sports and luxury sports watches, notably the Portugieser, Portofino, Pilot’s Watches and Ingenieur. Over its more than 150-year history, IWC has earned a reputation for creating professional instrument watches and functional complications, especially chronographs and calendars, which are ingenious, robust and easy to use.
A pioneer in the use of titanium and ceramic, IWC specializes in performance materials such as Ceratanium®. IWC’s advanced engineering division XPL develops technologies that enhance the durability of mechanical watches and extend their applications to environments with extreme conditions such as jet aviation and human spaceflight.
IWC is a leader in luxury watchmaking, crafting timepieces built to last for generations and continuously improving every aspect of how it manufactures, distributes and services its watches responsibly. Empowering the next generation of engineers, the brand also partners with organizations that work globally to support children and young people. IWC. EngineeredTM.