TOUR Transalp: 17,000 metres in altitude, 15 passes, 1 unforgettable grin
Sandra Schuberth
· 20.04.2026
What awaits you: Get up, have breakfast, get on your bike, get your heart rate up, sweat, challenge yourself, ask why - and then arrive at the finish line with a big grin on your face. And that up to seven times in a row. Sounds good? That's the TOUR Transalp: seven stages, around 750 km, almost 17,000 metres in altitude, 15 passes - from Lienz in East Tyrol to Riva del Garda.
What makes a stage race different
Stage races have a rhythm that a single day of racing does not have. You organise your strength and grow from day to day. A new goal every evening, a fresh start every morning.
If seven stages are too much for you: You don't have to cycle all seven days. With the 3-day challenge (around 350 km, 6,000 metres in altitude) or the 4-day challenge (around 500 km, 8,000 metres in altitude), you can get right into the action - with the same feeling, only condensed. If you want to get a taste of what it's like, this is perfect for you.
A new route every year
The TOUR Transalp offers a new route every year, so even regular guests always have new views, new passes in their pass collection album and new stage locations. The 2026 route brings fresh passes to the programme that even old Transalp hands don't know yet. Passo Staulanza and Passo Duran - two Dolomite classics, which incidentally are part of the Giro d'Italia stage four weeks earlier - will be part of the Transalp for the first time. Falcade returns as a stage location after 14 years. Monte Grappa offers a panoramic road that has never been ridden before - probably the most beautiful on this mountain, according to the organisers.
Combined with classics such as Passo Giau and Passo Rolle and the finish directly in the harbour of Riva del Garda, this results in a route that makes you look forward to it on paper. Even more so on the bike.
Why TOUR Transalp 2026
- What could be better than road cycling in the Alps?
- Cross Alpine passes off the to-do list
- Pushing your own limits
- Pushing your own boundaries
- Unique experience
- Breathtaking scenery
- Road bike race with a holiday feeling
Honest assessment: what to expect
The TOUR Transalp rewards you - and challenges you. Long climbs, fast descents, changeable weather. At the end, you proudly jump into Lake Garda - if you choose the 3-day challenge, you'll have to make do with a shower or a hotel pool.
What makes the difference is less the material than the behaviour on the bike. A steady pace instead of a heroic start. Eat early before you get hungry. Sleep at night. Ride technically clean descents instead of risky ones. Sounds simple - and it is. But it takes discipline when your legs start to complain.
By the way, you don't have to be extremely light - consistency beats heroism, especially over seven days. And a well-maintained racing bike with the right gearing is perfectly adequate.
Who the TOUR Transalp 2026 is for
The TOUR Transalp is a race for everyone - for anyone who wants to give it their all, who understands type 2 fun, who can't spend their holiday without a bike, who is looking for a new challenge. In short: for people who don't want to google Alpine passes, but want to ride them.
It is less suitable if you want to cycle without time pressure or need a coffee stop in between instead of afterwards. That's not a judgement either - perhaps 2026 is the year to lay the foundations for things to go right in 2027. Maybe you're not the competitive type.
Overview: TOUR Transalp 2026
| Start | Goal | Kilometres | Altitude metres | Passports | |
| Stage 1 | Lienz | Sillian | 114,8 | 1933 | Staller saddle |
| Stage 2 | Sillian | Falcade | 134,9 | 3296 | Passo Cimbanche, Passo Giau, Passo Staulanza, Passo Duran |
| Stage 3 | Falcade | San Martino di Castrozza | 47,6 | 1727 | Passo Valles, Passo Rolle |
| Stage 4 | San Martino di Castrozza | Possagno | 141,7 | 3265 | Passo Gobbrea, Passo Brocone, Monte Grappa |
| Stage 5 | Possagno | Semonzo | 100,5 | 2305 | Monte Grappa |
| Stage 6 | Semonzo | Lavarone | 125,2 | 2803 | Sette Communi plateau, Passo del Sommo |
| Stage 7 | Lavarone | Riva del Garda | 85,9 | 1851 | Passo del Sommo, Passo Bordala, Passo S. Barbara |
2 months - I am registering now
If you are fundamentally fit, you have enough time. The strategy is simple: first foundation, then quality, then specificity. Long, calm sessions for the foundation. Mountain intervals for strength endurance. Actively practise descents. Test nutrition strategies during training, not just in the race. A fixed evening routine during the race - sleep, mobility, easy rolling - makes a noticeable difference over several stages.
The TOUR Transalp crosses Alpine passes off your to-do list, takes you to your limits and beyond. It starts in 2 months - log in. I'm also at the start.
Sport, nature, challenge and a real sense of achievement - all in one week. Intense, honest, unforgettable. And you still have eight weeks to prepare for it. >> 8-week training plan
| 3-Day-Challenge | 4-Day-Challenge | TOUR Transalp (7 stages) | |
| date | 21 to 23 June | 24 to 27 June | 21 to 27 June |
| Start | Lienz | San Martino di Castrozza | Lienz |
| Goal | San Martino di Castrozza | Riva del Garda | Riva del Garda |
| Kilometres | approx. 350 km | approx. 500 km | approx. 750 km |
| Altitude metres | approx. 6,000 hm | approx. 8,000 hm | approx. 17,000 hm |
| Solo / Team | solo | solo | solo / two teams |
| Price (normal price) | 449 € | 599 € | from € 1,299 |
Sandra Schuberth
Editor
