After yesterday's mishaps, bad luck and breakdowns, today could only get better! Even though the altitude profile today was not exactly for bikers of my stature, but rather for mountain bikers, I started the race well regenerated with surprisingly "fresh" legs (as far as that is possible after two stages) and motivated.
The first few metres through Bruneck were neutralised and the start was accordingly leisurely. At the "sharp" start, there were already just under 150 metres of elevation gain. But what are 150 metres of altitude difference when there is a ramp with 1400 metres of altitude difference in front of us to conquer? The longest climb of this year's Transalp Challenge.
Because it was so beautiful (and exhausting) yesterday, we were allowed to push up to Kronplatz again today, but this time from the other side. If there's one thing I've learnt in the last few years of being a cyclist, it's to keep calm and not get carried away with the pack! Because 1400 metres of altitude gain is pretty damn long.
Proud bloggers: David and Torsten in the top 10
And so I orientated myself on my power meter and set my bio-motor to 270 watts of continuous power. That was more or less what I'd done over the last two days without exploding and we crossed the finish line relatively successfully. After all, Torsten and I were in the top 10 of the Elite Men category!
But on the first few metres uphill, I felt like I was in the transfer halls at the airport, where you can use these "speed lanes" (escalators similar to conveyor belts) to move faster - except that I was definitely not in this fast lane! Are they all over-motivated because of the shortness of the stage, or are they just keen on the panorama or the descent? Or ...? My thoughts circled like vultures over found prey. Stop, I said to myself, if I am, then I am the vulture lurking above my competitors when they run out of breath.
At 60 crank revolutions per minute, I sped up to Kronplatz at my own pace. The fewer trees there were around me, the more participants appeared in front of me again, overtaking me at the start. So my plan was working! I motivated myself to keep going and push on. Mountain flea Torsten was a few metres ahead and helped out by organising and providing me with the necessary energy boost from the refreshment station at the summit. So we didn't lose any time and were able to plunge straight into the descent!
Filling the adrenaline reservoirs in the downhill flow
Fortunately, we didn't crash when we emptied our adrenaline reservoirs on the flowing Gassl trail down to the Furkelpass road. What fun it is when gravity presses you into the perfectly shaped berms and compresses the suspension travel of our racing files to a minimum! The feeling is simply: Wow!
In a trance, the trail suddenly spit us out on the Furkelpass road - a change of scene, like switching the TV programme from an action flick to a tearjerker. We were now 400 metres away from the final descent. With our goal in mind, we turned the throttle up again.
With every turn of the cranks, we got closer to the Furkel Pass. The last 100 metres in altitude on the steepest singletrack trail were supposed to squeeze every last ounce of energy out of our muscle fibres. But then we'd made it and were hurtling down into the valley on gravel tracks, where the town welcomed us with applause from the many spectators. This is what makes the Transalp fun!
