A look behind the scenes of the TOUR Transalp - Interview with TOUR Transalp route manager Marc Schneider

Interview: Kirsten Elschner

Question: The 2020 route not only leads over famous passes, but also into hidden corners of the Alps. How do you still find them after 17 years of the TOUR Transalp?

Schneider: Read the map, talk to the locals, just go for a ride. Sometimes roads come to mind that you travelled a few years ago. But it's true that after almost 20 years, there aren't that many roads in the area of the Alps where we are travelling that have never been there before. In the main Alpine ridge with only a few pass roads that lead over the very high mountains, the options are more limited than further south, where there is a more extensive network of mountain roads.

Some people think that this is no longer a real Transalp, but rather a Dolomite tour.

When we rode from Mittenwald via Crespano to Arco for the first time in 2012, no one initiated this discussion. But the Transalp in this narrow sense was long over after day 5. In Crespano the Alps were over, in Arco not quite yet. So we rode across for two days, even back a little. In addition to the idea of travelling from north to south across the Alps, the Transalp has always criss-crossed the mountains. The basis of the experience is to cycle over the most beautiful passes and explore the most beautiful regions in seven days. And anyway: if you cover 800 kilometres and 18,000 metres of altitude in the Alps in seven days, nobody needs to tell you that you haven't done a proper Transalp!

This has never happened before: Possagno is the starting point for two stages. How come?

Together with our partner from the tourism association "Vivere il Grappa", we pursued the idea of making two stops in one region. In the end, Possagno and Asolo were two places that were keen to host the event and offered us great options. Asolo offers a marvellous finish, Possagno offers the better starting area. There are various points from an organisational and sporting point of view that lead to this unusual sequence of events.

Single riders have also been allowed to start since 2019. Will this change the character of the race?

Not really. Even in the past, groups were formed, larger and smaller, that stayed together over long distances. It was the same in 2019, except that teams and individual starters rode together in the groups. And there used to be breakaways too. Whether two riders break away as a team or an individual sprints away makes little difference to the organisation. The important thing is that team and individual riders who are riding at the same level treat each other fairly. And that was my impression last year.

At 784 km and 17,795 metres in altitude, the route is slightly shorter than in 2019. Did you consciously shift down a gear?

No. The route planning depends on the stage locations and the roads in between. Sometimes you can organise your route because you have options, sometimes you are at the mercy of the road situation. Sometimes the shorter route is more attractive than the longer one. Sometimes the shorter route is cancelled because it is too difficult in terms of traffic. Many factors come into play. In general, we orientate ourselves on the character of an "everyman" stage: a standard stage has around 120 km and just over 2,500 metres of climbing. A queen's stage can be significantly longer, but it's also nice to have an easier stage. That way you can usually achieve a reasonable Transalp standard. A week that is selective for the top riders, challenging but doable for everyone.