On Sunday, the BIKE Transalp starts for the seventeenth time. The adventure race across the Alps is one of the oldest in the world. The BIKE Transalp has legendary status. Riders from more than 40 countries will be at the start this time. What few people know, however: The race was originally organised as a non-stop orienteering race.
BIKE reporter Henri Lesewitz came across forgotten documents in the editorial archive. The original advert! Published in 1998 in the January issue of BIKE. Uli Stanciu was editor-in-chief at the time. He was one of the first to cross the Alps on a mountain bike. At that time, the marathon boom was just taking off in Europe. There were no stage races, apart from the Crocodile Trophy in Australia and La Ruta in Costa Rica.
Stanciu dreamed of organising the toughest and most spectacular race in the world. However, he could not imagine that the authorities would grant permission for such an epic race. The discussion about road closures was a hot topic in Austria at the time. Stanciu therefore decided to call for a conspiratorial Transalp Hunt. Fixed start and finish point. Orientation according to the road book. From Mittenwald in Bavaria to Riva on Lake Garda. A chance meeting of like-minded people, or so it should appear to the outside world. "Whoever arrives first is the king of the Alps," was the invitation. For safety reasons, the race was to be organised in teams of two. So that the partner can call the rescue team if one of them crashes.
"The brochure with the announcement had just been published and we were overwhelmed with registrations. When extreme athlete Hubert Schwarz got in touch and said he would ride the thing in two days, I honestly got cold feet," recalls Stanciu, who turned the concept into a stage marathon within a few weeks. Sponsors such as Adidas and Centurion as well as a good contact to an Austrian politician made the impossible possible. On 25 July 1998, 500 teams set off on the route, which demanded everything from the participants with 595 kilometres and 18,400 metres of altitude. The Swabian top racer Markus Reichle and his partner Mannie Heymans from Namibia won after 8 stages. The rest is history.
Now the experiment! How would it have felt? Non-stop across the Alps, with a road book as the only navigation aid. BIKE reporter Henri Lesewitz, who was already in the saddle at the race premiere, will be rushing along the route of the original Transalp to Lake Garda on Sunday together with his mate Dominik Scherer. Not navigated by GPS, but with the help of an original road book from 1998 that Uli Stanciu gave them. Dominik Scherer, who has already taken part in the 4400-kilometre Tour Devide self-supported race from Canada to Mexico, does not dare to make any predictions. Reporter Lesewitz assumes three to four days.
They sleep in the forest and use supermarkets and mountain streams for refreshments. BIKE 10/2014 featured a major report on the adventure. The experiences were also captured in a video, which you can watch below. So this year, two different BIKE Transalp at the same time. One has seven stages. The other has just one.
Information on the route of the original BIKE Transalp from 1998
Route
The BIKE Transalp is known for its alternating routes. The route of the original Transalp leads in eight stages from Mittenwald in Bavaria through the Dolomites to Riva on Lake Garda. 595 kilometres peppered with 18419 metres of altitude. Non-stop mode The term "non-stop" sounds brutal. However, the original invitation to tender primarily meant the self-catering character. It is definitely advisable to sleep every night. The recovery easily makes up for the loss of time. In addition, overtiredness would only increase the risk of accidents. In good weather, bivouac, in rainy weather head to a guesthouse.
Catering
Huts, bakeries, fountains, streams.
Journey time
Henri Lesewitz and Dominik Scherer wanted to complete the eight stages in less than four days and planned two stages a day. This turned out to be more ambitious than expected. Scherer dropped out in the meantime, exhausted. Lesewitz reached Lake Garda after three and a half days. The route data can be found here: www.bike-gps.com
Equipment
Hardtail or all mountain? Just decide for yourself. Sleeping bag and insulating mat should come along, as well as solid rain gear. The company Revelate has clever bag systems with plenty of storage space. They are available from Cosmic Sports.
