The climb up the Pad de Lona, one of the most difficult sections of the course, takes racers up to 2,788 metres. (Keystone/Jean-Christophe Bott)
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Hike-a-bike: Whether to ride or to carry your bike through certain sections is a game of nerves and strategy. (Keystone/Dominic Favre)
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Snaking up the Pas de Lona, 2007. (Keystone/Dominic Favre)
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More than six hours of suffering for these mountain bikers in 2001. (Keystone/Fabrice Coffrini)
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Just a man and his bike moving through the immensity of the Valais Alps in 2002. (Keystone/Laurent Gillieron)
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Despite the hellish conditions, 2,884 racers left the starting line in 2006. (Keystone/Olivier Maire)
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In 2005, more than 1,800 people had to be turned back from the Pas de Lona because of snow. (Keystone/Olivier Maire)
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Racers roll along Lake Lona, 2008.(Keystone/Jean-Christophe Bott)
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Twenty years of pain in the Alps.
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The Grand Raid counts as one of the pioneering mountain bike marathon races and remains a fat-tire sufferfest. More than 3,000 racers face each year 120-plus kilometres of rocky trails and steep descents as they grind from Verbier to Grimentz. Here is a look back at some of the more recent races. Sometimes contestants even get to ride their bikes.
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