Central Switzerland welcomes Red Bull X-Row this weekend, a rowing contest like no other. We present some incontrovertible truths about this epic battle across two famous lakes…
Zug...
The town of Zug, though relatively small (population some 23,000), is nevertheless the capital of the Swiss canton of the same name, and of course it also lends its name to the adjoining Lake Zug (Zugersee in German) and the 1,039m Zugerberg mountain, at whose foot the town lies. The rowers will begin in Zug, heading across the lake in a south-westerly direction towards neighbouring Lake Lucerne (see below). Incidentally, the main tributary to Lake Zug is the River Aa, thus guaranteeing that the area is represented at the very front and back of any alphabetised Swiss atlas…
Lucerne...
The city of Lucerne, also Lucerna or Luzern, depending on which language of Switzerland you speak, and lake of the same name (though that’s called the Vierwaldstättersee in German) are no strangers to rowing – the World Championships took place here back in 2001. This time around, the dogleg-shaped lake is the second to be traversed, in two legs, by the rowers, and the city welcomes the finishers.
8 + 1...
Red Bull X-Row requires a committed team of eight rowers and one coxswain (or ‘cox’) to drill the athletes as they scud across the Zug and Lucerne lakes and towards their goal. One of the key features of Red Bull X-Row is the addition of three gruelling land sections – one between the lakes, the second to ‘cut the corner’ of Lake Lucerne, and one at the end in Lucerne itself (see map, above) – where the teams have to carry their boat over ground before re-entering the water and paddling away.
National pride...
Very much at stake, with the Swiss national rowing team taking part. Also in a team is the British former World Championship and Olympic rower Toby Garbett, ensuring that Lucerne is welcoming the very best calibre of athlete back to its shores – Toby won a medal here back in 2001.
Lucky dip...
The winners will not only bask in the glory of victory after they rush, no doubt exhausted, over the finish line first, but they’ll also collect a cool €6,000 prize money. They’ll also – forgive the old joke – pull their cox out and dip them in the water in celebration, as is the tradition.
Read more about Red Bull X-Row here
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