Featured Story

A 48-hour rollercoaster ride in Spain

Fabio Christen went from the biggest win in his career to a big crash in just 48 hours. How does the young Swiss rider look back upon Clásica Murcia and Clásica Jaèn and what did he take from these performances: both physically and mentally. Let’s listen to Fabio take us through 48 hours of his career that featured high highs and deep lows.

28 February 2025

I knew from the training camp in January that I had the shape to win my first professional race sooner than later. After some bad luck in Mallorca, I had set my sights on the gravel race Clásica Jaèn. It’s a hard race with lots of offroad and it suits me. It would be very much man against man and less pure team tactics, is what I thought. That race was on Monday, but I also saw opportunities on Saturday in Murcia, especially because of that climb at 13 kilometers and the possibility of a sprint with a smaller group. In Murcia team tactics would be a bigger factor but for me these were two races with two opportunities in 48 hours.

I felt ready. Sometimes you have these days that you feel the legs are right straight from the start. Some days it takes a while to get that feeling and then you also must not be panicking. I felt good on the long climb and took caution on the descent. It was similar to the one in Mallorca where I crashed on my knee, so it was better to take it easier. My teammates worked hard and got me back to the first group when the steepest climb came.

On the last climb in the final I first thought I could attack early but there were several teams with more riders, and they kept the pace high. No one could attack. My job was now to hold on and stay with them because I know I have a good sprint in a small group. Having teams with multiple riders when you are alone is never ideal, so I had to be smart. I couldn’t attack or chase too much. I had to be patient.

In the final 10 kilometers I felt very focused and not nervous about the chance that opened for me to win. I just felt so determined that day that all the work you do over the winter might just pay off. Michael Albasini and I had discussed potential sprints the day before so in that final he only said some encouraging words on the radio and then let me be. I knew it had to be an early sprint but maybe not as early as I did. In racing it’s always a gamble and this time I gambled well.

When I crossed the line there was nothing more on my mind than pure joy of having finally won that first one. My only thought was I finally did it! In my opinion you should start every race with the motivation to win even when it’s not always realistic. This race it was very realistic, and it was a huge confidence boost for this season and further.

“Michael Albasini and I had discussed potential sprints the day before so in that final he only said some encouraging words on the radio and then let me be.” 

It was great to see everyone at the team so happy for me. They know how hard I work. My younger brother Jan was also super happy. We just love racing together. When he wins, I am happy for him and when I do, he is happy for me. We have been racing together since we were young so getting to share a win now, is just lovely. There were a lot more reactions from outside the team and my family than when I won in Tour de l’Avenir. This is a pro race so it’s so much bigger.

When I went to Jaèn 48 hours later, other riders were still congratulating me, but it was also a new day. I still had those legs and now I had the extra confidence too. Alba thought I was maybe a bit too confident, but I reassured him I would be smart. I am not trying to be Pogacar now I won a race and suddenly do a 50-kilometer solo.

“I felt ready. Sometimes you have these days that you feel the legs are right straight from the start.” 

Racing is about good preparation and confidence which I had but it’s also about luck. That was missing that Monday in Spain. The race came alive early with attacks of the big teams. I was in the right move and then on the longest sector I moved up. I followed a move by Ben Tulett but in following his wheel I hit one of the bigger rocks. My tyre punctured. There was more bad luck because it happened a few hundred meters after I had passed Nacho who was there with spare wheels. You can’t go back in a race. Our car was a few groups back because the race had exploded so I had to rely on Shimano neutral service.

I thought my race was over, but Alba kept the faith and made the team wait. They did an amazing job of closing a minute gap and bringing me back in contention. That gave me extra motivation to continue because I wanted to repay them for their hard work. I moved up and still felt great but when a rider in front of me made an unexpected move, he took out my front wheel and I went down and ended up in a ditch. Now it was game over.

You go from winning to losing in 48 hours. Of course, I was very disappointed because I had this level and then bad luck happened. You work all winter and then crash out. At first you don’t really know what the damage is because a crash on gravel is always worse. I knew straight away I couldn’t do Ruta del Sol two days later. The pain was quite intense, both physically and mentally.

There is no simple trick to get over these disappointments that are part of your life as a pro cyclist. At first you worry about the races to come and whether all the work you did was useless. After being cleared in hospital I started on the rollers soon and I am now already back outside. A few days later I started to get philosophical about it. Maybe it had to be like this: a big win and a big disappointment. It makes me even more motivated to move ahead with the spring classics on the horizon.

No one wants to miss training, but I feel that maybe something good comes from this moment where time stood still for just a second. The feeling of confidence is coming back, the body feels good again. I always enjoy racing but after this win even more so. I know I will never be the underdog again after Murcia, but I hope I can offer up a good surprise in the races to come. Motivation always comes from setbacks so let’s race again!