This year I participated in BIKE Transalp, the legendary seven-day Alpine crossing on MTB that has been organized since 1997. Many readers will also be familiar with the road version, TOUR Transalp, which was added in 2005. Together with editor Ella, I was at the start of the MTB version this year, both competing in the solo category. It became an epic adventure with seven days of perfect weather. A day-by-day report will be published soon. In this piece I answer some practical questions intended for anyone considering ever participating in this fantastic event.
The race starts on the north side of the Alpine main ridge. The starting place is not always the same; this year it was Ehrwald, but last year it was Nauders. In seven stages, you will ride to the finish at Lake Garda. From there, you will be transported back (if you wish) to your car which will stay behind in the starting town. The organization will arrange daily transportation of your luggage. In total you will cover over 500 kilometers and more than 17,000 meters of elevation.
For this, you have several options.
Originally BIKE Transalp was a duo race, but for some years now individual riders have also been welcome. Among the teams, there are categories for men, women or mixed. There are categories for both individual riders and teams by age (individual only for men). There is also a class for elite license holders.
Very diverse, both in terms of nationality and in terms of objective and level. We have riders from all over the world, from Costa Rica to Australia. I see three categories: the top riders, the tour riders and the grinders. The top riders are men and women competing for wins. Especially the elite category often has a camper with them and their own support. On the other hand, you have the tour riders who are not at all concerned with the result and just want to finish. And in between, you have the grinders, the riders who won't win but do want to get the most out of it within their own capabilities.
Good to know: there are certainly not only trained little 50-kg males and females competing, although the top competitors do get by far the most attention on social media. There are also people just like you and me riding along. People who really haven't trained for 10,000 km and maybe carry a few kilos too much. So don't let that stop you!
All participants (regardless of level) have one thing in common: they have prepared well. Anyone who is well trained can complete the tour, but obviously you're not going to make it with a few laps around the church. An app like JOIN can help lay out a solid training schedule.
Preparation goes far beyond proper training, of course. A solid nutrition strategy (before, during, after) is also crucial during such a multi-day event. If things like 100 grams per hour, 2:1 ratio, carb loading and protein shakes don't mean anything to you, you really need to brush up on your knowledge beforehand. Also, your equipment should be in good order and you should be able to fix things yourself along the way.
You don't have to do all your training miles on an MTB. Personally, I barely did 15 rides on my MTB in preparation. The majority of the 6,000 training kilometers I did on my road bike and gravel bike. MTB'ing in the Netherlands is not at all comparable to riding MTB through the Alps. A good endurance condition is most important and endurance training is the easiest to do on a road bike.
95% of participants will choose an XC fully with a dropper. A hardtail could possibly do, but without a dropper, it will be really tough. It can be done, but it's not very nice (and safe). The course has become increasingly technical in recent years, which is something to consider. In terms of tires, you see everything passing by, from very light and narrow XC tires to fat enduro tires. A nice light gear is not a luxury, because almost all climbs contain (long) sections above 10%, or even steeper. For the slightly lesser gods, a 30T chainring is really no luxury. Tubeless is, of course, a must. Make sure your brake pads are new and bring an extra set.
Most of the climbs and descents will be on what are called in German Schotterwegen—wide gravel paths with fairly small, loose gravel. What I had underestimated a bit was the gradient. These gravel roads were often very steep (10-15%). This meant that riding slowly uphill often proved difficult.
More than I had thought beforehand, you also ride quite a bit on asphalt, both uphill and downhill.
Of course, you join such a tour also primarily for the single tracks. These come in all shapes and sizes: from downhill flow trails to root paths to tough enduro trails (up to category S4!) where only a handful of participants manage to ride at all. Moreover, be prepared that you will have to push your bike uphill for stretches every stage. Sometimes only a few hundred meters, but some stages more than a kilometer. Finally, you will encounter all sorts of other surfaces such as roads with larger stones, duotracks, grassy fields, riverbeds, cobblestones, ridged paved roads, forest paths, and paved bike paths.
The technique required varies considerably from stage to stage. There are stages that you could almost ride on a gravel bike, but also stages that will put even very good riders to the test.
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I slept in hotels myself, my alarm usually went off at 6:00. After a quick shower, I quickly put on cycling clothes, applied sunscreen, gathered gear, and packed my bag. You get a large sports bag from the organization which you have to put down at the reception no later than 6:30 (so before breakfast). A small backpack (daypack) can be handed in later at the start and will be returned to you at the finish. I put my toothbrush, boardwalkers, compression socks, a dry shirt, and a recovery shake in this.
At 6:30, breakfast follows. If your hotel is close to the start, you will have time to relax after that. If not, you'll have to board the shuttle to the start pretty soon after. Pick up your bike at the bike park and drop off your daypack. At the Maxxis stand, there will be time to get some more tire pressure. At 8:00 the line-up will begin; in practice, most will not walk to their start box until around 8:30. At 9:00 follows the start, except for the queen ride which starts an hour earlier. Depending on the length of the ride, I was always about four to seven hours along the way, though of course that depends on your level and stop time.
After the finish, you collect your daybag again. On the grounds, there are all kinds of opportunities to eat some snacks and drink something for free. There is also a daily "big" evening meal that you can decide when to have. CAMP participants usually chose to have this as dinner. Many participants who were within walking distance in a hotel returned for this meal. Sitting further away in a hotel, the large meal was often used as a recovery meal and something else was eaten in the evening at or near the hotel.
After a shower in the hotel and something to eat, I usually went to bed pretty early.
The organization will give you a sports bag of 100 liters to put your stuff in. If you are in the CAMP, you may additionally bring a mat and a sleeping bag. A lot fits in the sports bag: seven sets of clothes are basically possible. Of course, you can also choose to wash along the way. Take a large amount of sports food and some off the bike clothing. Also, bring the usual stuff: toiletries, passport, chargers, earphones, and so on. Something to eat is handy if you get an unexpected attack of hunger in the evening. My secret tip: electric shoe dryers. That allows you to clean your dirty cycling shoes with the pressure washer for a while and dry them overnight.
Every ride there are two feed stations provided. For the short stages, this is very generous, for the queen stage it is a bit tight. In that case, it is definitely advisable to bring some powder for sports drinks, as water can be found everywhere along the way. The feed stations are good, offering sports drinks, water, cake, fruit, broth, and salty snacks. It is important to note that there are no bars or gels. So bring a good supply! Also, there is no technical support at the posts, so make sure to bring your own breakdown gear. A (TPU) inner tube, pump and/or CO2 cartridges, a multitool, and plugs are the minimum.
When the weather is nice, most participants opt for lycra with long MTB gloves. A few ride in a baggy outfit (sometimes even with flats), which is of course fine too. For when the weather turns bad, you should also bring arm warmers, a windstopper, and a rain jacket to Austria. Good to know: if the weather gets really bad, the organization will cancel the stage. This has fortunately not been necessary in 2024.
The drink backpack/bidons ratio is about 50/50. If you have multiple MTB shoes, take the ones you can walk best on because every day you'll have to walk uphill bits.
Even in nice weather, you can assume your bike will get dirty. You can opt for a premium package. Part of this is that your bike will be polished after every ride. They also put the bike in storage, so you don't have to wait for it. But of course, you can also do it yourself. At the finish, the organization will provide high-pressure sprayers. Lubricants and polishes you have to bring yourself, for example in your daypack.
You finish at Lake Garda, as mentioned above. One year it will be in Arco and the other year five kilometers away in Riva. After the finish, you hand in your bike for transportation back to the start. In the evening there will be a meal, party, and awards ceremony. The next morning, the bus will leave at 9:00 a.m. back to the starting point. The ride back to Ehrwald took about five hours, including stops. In my case, that meant I wasn't home until around 11:00 p.m. So, a long day!
You don't have to use this (incidentally paid) service. You can also arrange your own transportation home. The nearest airport is Verona (about 60 minutes away).
To this, a resounding YES. I see Transalp as a bit of a Mecca: a trip that MTB riders definitely want to have done once. Yes, it was terribly hard. But the suffering, the fantastic landscapes, and the riders from all over the world made it an experience never to forget.
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