Team captain Michel Barge has been rowing for 12 years. Every year, he rows between 1,000 and 2,000 kilometers on Lake Zurich. Having always been athletic, Michel took up rowing because of back pain. A competitor at heart, he takes part in several competitions each year, including the Swiss Masters rowing championships.
Michel’s crew will be taking part in the 51st edition of the BCGE Tour du Léman à l’Aviron: “ There are two of us doing it for the third year running,” explains Michel. ” Guy de Morsier and I row together regularly, we have a certain connection. ”
Two other crew members have already done the Tour last year. Andreas Lehmann is equipment manager at Aviron Romand Zurich and a regular rower. Eric Babusiaux has done a lot of racing in the past; for the Tour, he’ll be in charge of supplies and mobile equipment. Finally, Claudio Prante has never done the TLA, but he recently rowed across the Atlantic (The Ocean Team Spirit); he’s very sporty.
” This year, our aim is to do the Tour in 15 hours or less,” says Michel. ” For this 51st edition, we’re thinking more in terms of racing. We’ll try to see if we can be more competitive by worrying more about the other boats. We’ve also been working on optimizing what we bring on board, based on feedback from other years. .
To do the Tour du Lac, sporting qualities are not necessarily the most demanding, but you have to be able to hold out over the long term. “ It’s like a very long hike in the mountains,” explains Michel. “You need stamina and a mentality of steel. Human qualities are also important: we have to make sure that the crew works well together, that we get along well and that we all share the same goal. .
For Michel’s crew, training began in early May on Lake Zurich. The aim is to do mileage in series of 10 or 20 km. Ideally, the team plans to do a grand tour of Lake Zurich. Michel adds: ” you need to find the right compromise between a certain length to train the mind and not overdoing it to preserve yourself. “The weekend before the Tour du Léman, the team will take part in the Bilac, a 35km race to see if the boat is ready for the 160km of Lake Geneva.
” I’m looking forward to living this wonderful human experience again,” concludes Michel Barge.