Sichel tackles Swiss 24 Hour Championships

Orkney’s world number one, Six Day ultra distance athlete, William Sichel, drops down in distance when he tackles this weekend’s Swiss 24 Hour Championships in Basel on May 12th/13th.

Still fresh from his Scottish 48 Hour record in March’s Czech Championships, William is looking for another good performance in the 19th running of this popular and prestigious ultra distance event held in the peaceful St Jacobs Park on the outskirts of the city.

The race has attracted a record entry for both the 12 hour and 24 hour events. The entry of 96 for the 24 hour non-stop event is world class and includes former European Champion Jens Lukas from Germany.  The race has been awarded the Swiss Championships for the second year in succession.

“This is one of my favorite events.  Always well organized, a delightful location, a competitive field and I won it in 2000 with my best distance to date – 153.3 miles.”

William heads to Switzerland in good form having just had two weeks warm weather training in the quiet resort of Playa Blanca in Lanzarote.  He will be supported by his regular crew man Alan Young who will tend to William’s every need during the race.

At the Basel event William has volunteered to take part in a scientific field study conducted by Dr. Beat Knechtle from St. Gallen, Switzerland.  Dr Knechtle is one the few researchers to specialise in research associated with ultra endurance athletes.  He has an impressive string of publications to his name and is now focusing on field studies.  The Swiss study will focus on monitoring changes in body composition during a 24hour race and the influence of mineral and vitamin supplementation on race performance.

William is grateful to sponsors: Myprotein & Loganair

End.

8/5/07