Meeting Fabian Burri
Fabian Burri has a long history with cycling but has only recently started bikepacking and racing Ultra races. Fabian has travelled all over the world racing throughout 2019 and as the most recent addition to the Hunt team we thought it was about time we found out more about the man. So without further ado lets meet Fabian!
Photo: Ryan Le Garrec
Hi, Fabian, welcome to the Hunt team. Tell us bit about yourself. How long have you been cycling and what brought you to the world of Ultra cycling?
As far as I can remember the bike was always by my side. It became more serious when I was a teenager with BMX and Dirtjumping. When I was 14 I raced 4x for a swiss team and later started with triathlons from sprints and Olympic distance to half Ironman all over Europe.
The love for long distance riding came about 4 years ago when I was bikepacking with a friend. We called it the Hammocktour through Italy and France. In 2019 I started ultraracing at Bikingman Oman.
You have had a crazy year of travel including Oman, Chille, Taiwan and Japan. What has been the highlight for you?
Chile was amazing, for me the most beautiful country in South America so far.
The conditions of Bikingman Taiwan were just perfect for me and I could show what I'm actually capable of with a second place!
I heard a rumour that you recently completed Bikingman Portugal on a cargo bike! Is this true and how did this come about?
It is true yes and it was fun! The story is simple, when I wanted to fly back from Colombia, the airline refused to take my bike as I didn’t have a reservation for it, so my bike is still in Bogotá.
With only a track bike and a mtb at home my dear friend mario (@mariolovevelo) suggested that I raced in Portugal on his titanium prototype cargo bike from Omnium. We took all the heavy parts that I didn't need off and it weighted in under 9kg!
It was a strange feeling to ride it because it is so different not only because of the geometry and the wheel size etc. I knew it's not a bike to win the race on, but it made people aware of me and my story and was very comfortable to ride.
Photo: Ryan Le Garrec
You have recently returned from Across Andes. How was that experience?
Across Andes was a wonderful experience to end the year. Traveling to warm and lovely South America was just amazing. The organizers were so friendly and helped me in any way they could. The route was in the North of the country and the landscape was dry and rough. Next year it will be in the south of the country with a lot of forests and lakes and I’m really looking forward to it. A good friend from Argentina had a bad accident with a drunken car driver at night during the race and when I heard about the accident I went to the hospital to visit him. After that I decided to take it easy and not risking anything - stay safe!
Finally looking ahead to 2020 what are your plans. Any big rides coming up or is it time for a rest!
I will take some rest in January but already confirmed is the Race Around Rwanda at the start of February and Alaska divide in august.