The Diasporal Alpen Challenge team will probably not be able to see as far as the Geiseltalsee (cover photo) during the TOUR Transalp, but the Alpine panorama will be impressive.
Liveblog from the TOUR Transalp
The Diasporal Alpen Challenge team
A brief review: Together with Magnesium Diasporal, we have been looking for a team to take on the Diasporal Alpen Challenge. What does that mean exactly? A team that has never ridden the TOUR Transalp, but would definitely like to take on this challenge. We were overwhelmed by all the applications and were spoilt for choice. Of course, we would have loved to give every single team that tried their luck this unique opportunity. We sat down together and picked out a good handful of team applications. In the end, it was the drawing of lots that decided which two lucky ones could look forward to a team starting place for the TOUR Transalp.
What are the seat problems?
Anyone who has followed our reporting with interest (if not, a click on the link to the bike fitting above will help) will know that Nina had seat problems. The problems mainly occurred on her bad weather bike, not the one for the Transalp. When she switched to the good bike in late spring, the problems diminished and Nina realised that "it's not that easy to transfer the settings from one bike to the other". For journeys of up to six hours, sitting is no longer a problem, but when it gets longer, it sometimes is. "It should work on the bike we had fitted by SQlab," she adds optimistically.
And knees and hips?
The knee is getting better, Nina reports with relief. However, a trigger ball is a must in her Transalp luggage, because the pain in her knee and hip is muscular, perhaps caused by scar tissue after various operations following a thigh fracture. The ball helps.
Conclusion on the training plan
"It's almost a bit of a shame that we don't have another performance diagnostic shortly before the TOUR Transalp, then we could see in black and white what has changed as a result of the targeted training," says the team. According to Nina, the training plan feels like it's working. One goal, for example, was to get Oliver's basic heart rate down. "It's going in the right direction," reports Nina, with her partner's heart rate data in her head. "A month more training would certainly have been better, but I feel well prepared," she says of her own training plan.
Because there are not many mountains around Halle, at most hills, there is a certain respect for the big mountains, at least indirectly. Directly, the respect lies in being less able to estimate how long a stage will take. "The faster we are, the more recovery time we have," is half-joked - but also meant quite seriously. "If it goes well, we'll get through it well. Let's see what the performance level is like," are the final words on the subject of training status in our phone call.
Are you ready?
"Time is running out. Our biggest worry is actually the weather. We're also worried about how we'll get to the start," says Nina. The journey from Halle an der Saale to Lienz is not the shortest. The team has decided to travel by car, as travelling by train would require even more planning on top of the already huge organisational effort. "It's crazy how much has to be organised," says the long-distance rider in amazement.
Travelling as a team
There are very different ways of tackling a team event like the TOUR Transalp. Some don't leave each other's side, others ride in a loose group and wait for each other again and again. "We don't talk much, we motivate each other simply because our partner is also there and has to go through the same thing. But actually, everyone suffers for themselves," says Nina and reports that up to now, everyone rides for themselves on the mountain and then they wait. This tactic works best for the two of them.
Just one thing left to do: pack
During the TOUR Transalp, luggage will be transported from stage to stage. Each participant receives a bag measuring 85 x 35 x 35 centimetres, which may weigh a maximum of 15 kilos, upon accreditation. Oliver relies on drinks powder and therefore has 4 to 5 kilos of it in his bag. He is worried that not everything will fit in: Seven jerseys, four cycling shorts, a pair of socks, base layers, everyday clothes and shoes for the evening, wash bag, medication and more have to fit in the bags. But we won't be packing until this week.
The challenge partner: Magnesium Diasporal
Together with Magnesium-Diasporal we, TOUR, are realising the Alpen Challenge. Magnesium-Diasporal is a brand of Protina Pharmazeutische GmbH. Protina develops, distributes and manufactures high-quality mineral preparations as medicines and food supplements.
Sandra Schuberth
Editor
