Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Rider heads to fifth TransAlp Challenge

Lloyd Thomas returns to world's longest, hardest mountain bike race
13328transalp
Lloyd Thomas in the lead up a gruelling climb as part of the TransAlp Challenge. Photo submitted

There are only a handful of truly epic multi-day mountain bike races in the world: the TransRockies Challenge in B.C., La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica, the Cape Epic in South Africa, and, the granddaddy of them all, the annual TransAlp Challenge.

The TransAlp Challenge was the first real epic, and though it has inspired countless other events it remains the most difficult as teams of two riders work together to complete a 700 km route through the Alps of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy over eight hard days. This year teams will climb and descend over 18 different mountain passes with a total vertical of 22,000 metres (72,000 feet), with the highest pass at an altitude of over 3,000 metres.

In terms of vertical gain that’s the equivalent of biking from sea level to the top of Mount Everest twice, then following up with a bike up to the Roundhouse Lodge.

The course does change slightly from year to year, and according to Thomas the 2006 route is most similar to the course from 2004 with some almost identical stages. Thomas has raced in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005.

With that experience to build on Thomas is hoping to complete a few stages in the top-20 or top-25, mainly on the strength of his technical skills.

"(Past teammate) Ryan (Watts) and I attained a few top 25 stages in the past and I think it’s doable again. With a little luck we’ll have a top-20 this year," he said.

"I’m definitely better later in the week – it’s a little more technical and other riders are getting tired. It just comes from knowing how to pace early on and being aware of what I’m capable of. I’m not the best climber, but I know I can pass people on the flats and on the downhill sections."

Thomas says he considers the TransAlp Challenge to be more of a "sadistic annual vacation" than a race, given that some of the top World Cup mountain bike and road riders are in the field each year, as well as past Tour de France racers. Thomas says he has been in the top-10 before on stages after a technical descent, only to have to the top riders pass him on the uphill like he is standing still. "It’s really pretty amazing how fast the top guys can climb," he said. "You want to do better every year, but when you see who you’re up against it takes away the sting."

His partner in the 2006 race is Tracy Anderson, a doctor from Sun Valley, Idaho. Thomas met Anderson at the 2004 TransAlp Challenge, and believes they will be a good match with similar strengths. Both riders have to start and finish each stage together, and can never be separated by more than two minutes at each checkpoint.

If nothing else Thomas says the race will be an interesting. experience Not only was he not able to train with his partner, his team only recently received new bikes from their sponsors at Mongoose. Both riders are used to riding dual suspension bikes, and the new bikes are hard tails.

"It’s definitely a lighter bike, which should be good for the flats and the climbs, but I notice you do get bumped off your saddle a bit more," he said. "Still, I thought it would feel a lot stiffer on the descents but I’ve been pleasantly surprised, it actually feels pretty good. I’m looking forward to racing it."

Mongoose will be releasing a dual suspension bike next season, says Thomas, and he may have the opportunity to race the TransAlp, TransRockies, La Ruta and Cape Epic in 2007 to show off the new bikes.

As to why he is heading to the TransAlp Challenge for a fifth time Thomas says the region keeps pulling him back.

"(The Alps) are probably among the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, and to top it off you’re riding through towns that are probably a thousand years old, and even older in some cases," he said.

"The town we’re starting in, Fussen in Germany, dates back to 600 A.D. and there are medieval castles everywhere.

"The TransRockies are cool, but there’s a real historical element to racing in the Alps that brings me back – it’s not every day that you get to ride through history, down streets that are maybe two metres wide and covered with cobblestones, or up mountain passes where generations of soldiers have marched and immigrants have migrated so long ago. The whole area just floors me."

The size of the TransAlp field can be intimidating at times, with 525 official teams of two in the race, plus another 75 teams belonging to media and sponsors. At the start of some stages those two-metre cobblestone streets will have to accommodate 1,200 riders.

"Picture the Test of Metal start, then add another 400 riders and cut the width of the road by two thirds, and that’s what it’s like," said Thomas.

Thomas’s only goal is to finish strong. A few years ago he had problems with dehydration on the second and third stages, and he has had technical problems in past years. It gets better, he says, with experience.

To reach that goal Thomas has been training hard since the winter, practicing on his stationary bike. He won the spring road racing series in Langley for a second year in a row, which he says opened his season on a positive note, and has been splitting his training between dirt and pavement since the snow melted and local bike trails dried out.

In the last few months he has ramped up his road and mountain bike training to the point where he now spends up to 25 hours a week in the saddle, putting in rides up to six hours long.

"Consistency is important, it’s everything in a race like this," he said. "The race will be about 40 hours, but you can roll through it if you’re putting in your 25 hours a week. It also teaches you to watch your output… and your stamina, and to be smart about it – it makes no sense to burn up everything you have in the first two stages, and then limp to the finish.

"Having a good group to ride with is also really important, it’s good for motivation."

The race starts this Saturday, July 15 and wraps up the following Saturday.

Thomas will be posting his progress online when he is able at http://transalp2006.whistlercycling.ca. You can also follow the event on the official website, www.transalpchallenge.com.