The Pyrenees cannot boast quite as many superlatives as the Alps. Nevertheless, the wild mountains have almost more to offer adventure seekers. Sparse infrastructure, lonely valleys, demanding trails and unreliable weather pose particular challenges for bikers. But that is precisely what makes it so appealing.
That's what the Spaniard Oriol Sallent thought ten years ago when he founded the Transpyr stage race was conceived. Oriol, an adventure-hungry touring biker, had just ridden the BIKE Transalp. A race over the Pyrenees was an obvious choice. So he worked out a route. 800 kilometres from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, with a lot of altitude gain. Seven stages. Team classification and individual category. The race quickly became an insider tip on the endurance scene.
The mode has now been changed somewhat. Because it is almost impossible to signpost and secure the entire route in the sometimes extremely tightly meshed trail networks, only individual stages are now counted per stage. These are between 10 and 20 kilometres long and all of them are nasty calf-busters. The rest of the route is neutralised. There is even a separate classification for e-mountain bikes. Anyone who thinks that the Transpyr is therefore a relaxing tour is very much mistaken.
Our reporter Henri Lesewitz took part in the race. The big Transpyr story can be found in BIKE 11/2019. A foretaste in picture form can be found here.
You can find the big Transpyr report in BIKE 11/2019 - in stores from 2 October. You can order the complete issue from the start of sales and via the
Kiosk
sales period in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or in our online shop order - while stocks last:
