Transalp - stage 5

Livigno Italy as viewed looking back from the course

July 23
Livigno Italy to Naturno Italy
Stage 5: Transalp

"Die, Die!" the Italian fans yell. This translates to "give, give" & is certainly fitting. The Italian fans may be the most enthusiastic of any we have yet seen. Certainly the finish area food is the best. No bars or gels here. There is fresh bread, cheese, meat & pastries.

Let me point out again: Transalp is not a road bike race. I heard many times from Colorado riders, who have never ridden the race, that "I don't want to do that. It is all road riding" Todays stage is just another perfect example running through the Stelvio National Park. Mike Hogan put it best. "Imagine riding your bike over Longs Peak"

Mark & I got a little lazy today & did not get our bikes on our preferred start line one hour before the race. Thus we ended up about 250 riders back. As this is the longest stage & starts up a very steep climb we figured it would not matter. Wrong! The race immediately shot up a path that was 6 ft wide, greater than 20% grade & continued for 40 minutes.The field was so backed up that we stood at the bottom & when it was finally our turn to ride we were over 6 minutes back. We then rode 3 side by side, wheel to wheel in granny gear. I am getting better & better at riding a straight line at slow speed in granny.

photo: transalp.de

The end of this climb was followed by technical single track where we have been excelling. We then entered the magnificent Parc Nationale Stelvio. The climb through the park was a life long experience. This is ridden all on a very narrow single track that is switch backing up the face of a cliff. I cn't count the switchbacks but t was certainly over 40. As with almost every climb here it goes on forever. Over the top there were dozens of switch backs going down, but the course went absolutely straight down the grassy mountain face.

View of the "Parc Nationale Stelvio"

We eventually did hit a road about 3 hours into the race & were actually grateful for the fast "free kilomters" The expected fast run in to the finish was anything but easy or fast. In true Tranalp fashion they threw in 3 more big climbs & lots of technical trails to slow us.

Mark was strong all day & I felt great until 5 hours & had a minor "bonk". Nothing serious but I could not hold the wheels in a group & cost some time in the last 15k. We dropped around 5 - 10 minutes but felt conserving for the next day was important. This was a long day in the saddle at over 6 hours for us. We finished 21st & moved up to in 18th in G.C. Our other team - Hogan/Dooley had a great day & moved into 11th in G.C. They both had great legs today.

Each pair has found our "physiological groups". We tend to ride near the same riders each day & are getting to know their riding styles. It is interesting how in a multi-day race your real form shows. You can have one outstanding day but day after day your base fitness & abilities show well.

Tomorrow is the "queen stage". Today was the longest but tomorrow has the most climbing. I need to work on my legs tonight - massage & stretching. We have been eating well on the local food. How can you go wrong in Italy?

Our bikes are working extremely well. This is critical as a mechanical can cost hours. We have only had a single flat. That happened on day one, just one hour into the race. Mark had a puncture that self filled thanks to Mr. Stan. We carry more than a typical XC race. We have a full multitool with chain tool. We have a master link, derailleur hanger & spare suspension link bolts. No other mechanicals for 4 bikes & 5 days of hard racing.

photo: transalp.de

The Racers of the Transalp:

There are over 500 teams entered in this race. There are still 277 mens teams, 15 women, 59 mixed, 140 masters (combined age over 80 years) and 28 senior masters (combined age over 100 years). The riders are generally very friendly & will talk to you if they recognize you from a previous day. We tend to ride near the same riders each day. They will often touch you on the shoulder as they pass to warn you they are there. This is a cool move & really helpful but we don't see this much in US MTB racing. On day one, Mark took this as a shove & started to chase the guy down until I informed him this is fine.

Drew Geer
Chipotle Titus Velonews

I am now learning to read the official profiles better. This is my post race profile & shows the actual climbs better. What looks like little "rollers" or "bumps" on the profiles are actually huge steep climbs. After the large climb in this profile the 3 smaller blips on the descent were extremely hard.