Friends, mountains and fun - watch José Hermida and Ralph Näf take on the e-Tour de Mont Blanc

MERIDA athlete and ambassador José Hermida isn't just renowned as one the best cross-country mountain bike racers of all time - he also likes to have a lot of fun while he's doing it! That's why when he got in touch with old teammate and friend Ralph Näf, he had something rather special in mind - something that would provide plenty of fresh memories and laughs as well as a real challenge! Thanks to Shimano, the two entered the e-Tour de Mont Blanc, a three-day e-bike event in the Swiss Alps, taking in more than 11,600 m of descending and 190 km of big mountain riding. 

While the '2 Infernale' duo certainly don't lack fitness despite having both retired from professional racing, they still appreciated the helping hand of their Shimano EP8 drive unit equipped bikes plus a whole load of spare batteries to help them up the wild mountain stages - mostly because it gave them more opportunity to catch up and smile rather than suffer as they made their way around the epic loop, with José's eONE-SIXTY making short work of the technical mountain descents too.

If you'd like to check out a feel-good riding adventure, we'd suggest you check out the full video on YouTube here or in the viewer below.

You can also head to the Shimano website to check out their photostory from the event here. Make sure you follow José on Instagram to keep up with his latest adventures too.

If you'd like to know more about the MERIDA range of Shimano EP8-equipped full-suspension bikes, you can see our lineup on the website here.