Lake Garda
Woken up by bright sunshine and pleasant temperatures, the more than 600 mountain bikers set off from Bormio this morning on the long and hard road to Aprica. Anyone who thinks that the tough participants of the MAXXIS BIKE Transalp will be given anything in terms of exertion is mistaken. The grace period of yesterday’s stage, which seemed a bit milder with 64 kilometres and 2,030 metres of altitude difference, was already over today.
The sun is shining, the temperatures invite you to swim and the mood is at its best – perfect conditions for celebrating on Lake Garda. After seven exhausting days with numerous ups and downs, with joy and frustration, with luck and bad luck, the 600 or so participants crossed the finish line of the 23rd MAXXIS BIKE Transalp in Riva today – some with arms raised, others with relieved looks and still others with tears of joy in their eyes.
It was an exciting week full of emotions and experiences that comes to an end today in Riva. On the 572 kilometres and 18,800 metres of altitude from Nauders to Riva, more than 600 participants spent many hours together and created shared memories. The weather was always kind to the athletes. The same cannot really be said of the route. The stages were characterised by tricky trails, long and steep climbs and many kilometres. Nevertheless, these exertions never dampened the good mood. The BIKE Transalp offers too many unforgettable impressions and wonderful experiences.
Steffen Thum and Rob Vanden Haesevelde from the Mountainbike Racing Team were in a particularly good mood on this special day. After more than three hours, they were the very first to cross the finish arch at Lake Garda under a golden shower of confetti and with their arms stretched towards the sky. But this did nothing to the overall ranking in the men’s team classification. The podium remains steadfast with Manuel Pliem and David Schöggl from Team Pure HUMANPWR KTM 1 in first place, Roel Verhoeven and Tim Smeenge of KMC in second and Jan-Frederik Finoulst and Lennard Heidenreich in third.
In the individual starters, it got exciting again on the last stage. Giulio Valfre was able to take the day’s win in Riva after a strong performance. Marek Sülzle, however, gave everything to lose as little of his lead as possible. “Giulio is terribly strong downhill. So I had to give everything uphill in order not to lose
too much downhill.” For his bite, the young individual rider was rewarded with the overall victory in the Men in Riva individual classification after a tough last ride. Giulio Valfre consolidated his 2nd place with his stage win on the last stage. Third place overall went to Jens Schuhmann.
In the solo women’s category, Naima Wiesner won the overall classification with a lead of more than two hours. Second place went to Katrin Benz, third place to Olena Novikova. In the women’s team classification, DanieÌ€le Trosch and Lorenza Menapace were happy about the overall victory of the 23rd BIKE Transalp. No less happy were Carina Mohr and Conny Bucher about their 2nd place, and Imke Wiedermann and Anna Schmitt about their 3rd place.
It was clearly noticeable: After the forced break last year due to the Corona, all participants and supporters as well as the organisers were very happy about this year’s event. and supporters, as well as the organisers and all helpers, was greater than ever. Thanks to a comprehensive hygiene concept and the enormous work of everyone involved, it was possible to hold an exciting and at the same time safe event from 4-10 July.
More information about the race, details about the course and the stage towns can be found at https://bike-transalp.de/en/. Here you can also find live results and press images during the seven-day race, updated daily.
