News and views from Philippe Rochat

A boiled egg

With a name both famous and commonplace, Philippe Rochat is well aware of the confusion it often causes: “Can I cook? I can manage a boiled egg but that’s about it. But people have rung me to reserve a table! It doesn’t happen every day, fortunately.” What does occur on a daily basis, on the other hand, is this constant need to be out in the fresh air: “Sport is life.” That’s his personal definition. “I started with bike patrols over in Lutry between 1957 and 1962, which was really ideal for me.” More recently, Philippe Rochat underwent an operation on his femur. The doctor put in some plates following a bad fall, from a bicycle as it happens. “But it’s getting better now, I can run how I want to.”

The ambiance of Sauvabelin

Apart from the Lausanne 20k, Philippe Rochat has contributed to several sports projects in Lausanne: “There is the Spiridon Romand with the new second edition of the Tour de Sauvabelin and the Lausanne Marathon. I also used to be on the Run & Bike committee, but I had to let something go,” he confesses, his blue eyes filled with laughter. “I would quite like to stop doing the 20k, but I love it and Patrice Iseli, the City’s head of sports, doesn’t want me to give up.” And what is so special about the city in the eyes of Philippe Rochat? “It’s a life without equal. The sports facilities are magnificent and efficient. For me, it richly deserves its title of Olympic Capital. Some years ago I remember taking photos on the same day during the month of March, with racquets at Chalet-à-Gobet and wearing trainers on the grass by Lake Geneva. That sums up the contrast and richness of Lausanne.” More into pounding the tarmac than regular partying, Philippe Rochat enjoys the setting at Sauvabelin: “A special ambiance with the lake, the forest and the restaurant.”