Hi All,
my name is Pascal and I’m new here! Must say I love your chat and it helped me already a lot.
I’ve started mountain-biking 1.5 years ago and felt in love with it … now I’ve registered for the 2023 Transalp as well. Might have done a mistake, but would love to pick-up this challenge and these experience and atmosphere in the alps.
Anyone from you registered as well for July 2023?
Cheers
Pascal
Here I am
Did it last year and signed up for this one
It’s ultimate MTB experiance
Hi Blind,
cool … I’m super curious and quite a bit nervous for this experience!
Looking at your picture your much more in shape than I am … my target is just to finish it and this will already be hard! Hope I can get some good ideas and tips here on the preparation, as my experience is quite limited I would say.
Started mountain-biking 1.5 years ago only and my first plan was only to get some weight of, but then I really started to like it being outdoors. When I’ve seen some videos of the Transalp last summer I thought I want to do this as well some day and now I’ve just registered.
When I started 1.5 years ago I was completely out of shape (120kg and my FTP was around 180 or so) … now I’m down 20kg and I’ve started a training plan to prepare for this summer. Last FTP test I did on Christmas was at 304 … so I hope there is still enough time to improve and get ready for the Transalp in the coming 5 months to make it to the finish line.
Hope I can somehow enjoy the “ultimate MTB experience”
I was expecting long climbs but not that gradient…
So you can expect every day to has climb(s) of 1000-1400 meters with grades around 20is %…
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Focus on fuelling, on the stage and also after and before. Feed zones are great and you can find a lot of natural food, my favorite was potato with lot of salt… after the stage just fuel and rest… I was caring 1L bottle and 1.5L USWE and I’m not sure that 1L would be enough…
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Almost every stage has neutral start and that is a very chaotic so if you are not chasing results I would suggest to go easy and calm
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For a training spend a lot of time in the saddle and work on your endurance.
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Have a great bike fit and make sure that you don’t have any problems because any small problem will become gigantic after 40hrs in 7 days
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equipment : don’t risk… take with yourself CO2s but also pump and the tools, use robust tires and teach yourself how to repair common things
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work on your descending technique… there will be everything from bike parks, wild descents, roots, stones, but there will be a lot 30ish minutes gravel descends, and I saw a lot of people in ditches… because on a long gravel descent you have to have focus all the time because every hairpin is different and it is so easy to lose a front wheel
I’ve completed it twcie, 2019 and 2022, it’s an awesome race, my comments are similar to others;
In no particular order my general adavice is;
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Climbs can be 2hrs long, get used to long continuous efforts
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Eat something every 45mins, practice this as you can adapt to it
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Days will be anywhere fron 4-8hrs, You do not have to train this length (my longest day beforehand was 5hrs)
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However get used to doing back-back hard days
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Be comfortable on the bike. (I met someone who had saddle sores on day 2, it was a long week for him ) Note: I used chamouis cream despite not usually using it.
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Be efficient and orgainised (especially if you are in the camp), this can save alot of time and mental effort which will be a huge benefit in days 4,5,6,7.
If you want any specific advice just ask
Sorry for opening up an old thread. Doing it next week!
What mix of average speeds are there? Fitness for many reasons not where it should be so concerned about cut-off times.
I’m very Jealous, you’ll have an awesome time.
There is a mix from very fast to very slow.
Start slow and remember it’s 7days, when I completed it I started seeing alot more riders as the week went on and they become more fatigued and not as fast.
Have a great week
Thanks, I’m drilling slow and steady into my head.
Hey Karl, I have been reading this thread and you seem to be an experienced contributor.
I am a MTB newbie and ready to start my MTB journey. I have a good level of fitness as I come from a running background, despite this I will be giving MTB the respect it deserves by putting in the right amount of training based on your suggestions in this thread.
I like the look of the TransAlp and plan to complete it in perhaps 2026 or 2027.
The most pertinent question that I am looking an answer for is, what type of bike is best suited for the event? Can you recommend a type? A brand and model?
Thanks.
Good choice of event.
Have you ruled out 2025. The event isn’t super technical so if you fancy it, get the bike soon and do plenty of riding you could do next year.
I would recommend a full suss XC bike.
100-120mm travel should be fine.
Re: make/model. Where are you based, what makes do you like? There are several good options.
I ruled out 2025 due to the fact that I am a newbie to the sport despite having done some bike tour holidays, that I know are a world away from the TransAlp.
In terms of the event I just want to complete it and enjoy it, so making sure I have an appropriate level of fitness will be important.
Re bike choice, I have found it hard to find any relevant information from the race organisers of what I should be equipping myself with.
I am based in Belfast Northern Ireland.
I own a Trek cyclocross but don’t own a MTB.
I don’t have any preference for make and model but would prefer something that is well equipped for the event. Value for money, performance, and reliability. Is it to much to ask for lol?
- Trek
- Canyon
- Scott
- Specialized
- Orbea
- Cannondale
are all trustworthy brands I am aware of.
Have you completed it the TransAlp?
How did you prepare in terms of fitness and equipment ?
Hi Ciaran,
It’s a great event, you’ll have a great time.
For bikes most are now carbon, either hardtail or full sus (100-120mm travel). Scott bikes are very popular on the event because the event is sponsored by Scott who will service / fix and Scott bike.
I rode it on Canyon Exceed which I found was pretty much perfect. The terrain isn’t too difficult, there were only 2 or 3 sections which I would have prefered a full sus.
One tip, use Maxis tyres, they also sponsor the event and have a service van there for any problems. I got a tyre replaced after a puncture and it only cost €40 (cheaper than I could buy the tyre in the UK)
Scott Spark with Maxxis tyres is a great shout.
I did the Transalp in 2015, but I believe it is essentially the same (although it used to be only open to pairs, now they have solo
riders I believe).
I rode a Canyon Lux FS (100mm); the bike was damaged beyond riding. Scott lent me one of their spare Sparks for the remainder of the stage. A good insurance policy having them at the event.
Think about what you will be doing re: servicing the bike between stages. Lots/most go with a service package; bike is checked and prepped every night ready for next stage.
Previously Scott provided this for free for Scott riders; not sure if they still do but that would be another £300 reasons to go for a Scott.
Likewise, Transalpine is probably the cheapest place in Europe to buy a Maxxis tyre! And they set it up tubeless for you. And Maxxis have lots of options suitable for Transalp (eg F: Ardent Race; R: Ikon).
Great, thanks for the info Carl.
Did you find any blogs, forums or websites useful for information in the build up to the event? Apart from this one of course.
Ciarán
Ciaran,
No unfortinately not (information is a little scarce)
If you want I’ll do a post here with some tips / useful info collected form my rides (2019/2022), I also have a bunch of photo’s I can link to.
Carl
It is/was quite a European event; there are usually only a few Uk riders (unlike say an Etape) which means that there is usually not much forum chat.
Probably some useful info on Marathon MTB:
Yes that would be fantastic Carl. From the little information that i have read, planing and preparation is key. Thanks very much for your help.
Ah okay, I guess that makes sense.
Have you completed any other similar events that I should be considering as a warm-up?
Transalp is ultimate MTB experiance.
I did multiple Epic events (including Cape Epic) and Transalp is still my favorite race. Mostly because “old school type racers”, at epic events there are so many “instagram riders” but on transalp almost everybody is tru MTBers. Especially if you opt for Transalp Camp.
I would also suggest to take the race seriously becouse it requires pretty big fitness and also skill. It is a safe race and it is not much technical but when you ride multiple hours for multiple days things can become complicated.
Friend of mine who is good bike rider was taken by heli after the crash this year.
Thanks for the advice. Yes of course, from what I have read it deserves to be taken very seriously. Do you know of any events local to the UK that would be good as an introduction?