TOUR Transalp 2019 - 800 amateur cyclists celebrate arrival in Riva del Garda

The participants covered seven stages, around 800 kilometres, 19 mountain passes and almost 19,000 metres in altitude from Innsbruck to Riva del Garda - no easy task in temperatures well over 30 degrees. All the greater was the joy of the finishers when they arrived at the finish line. There was also great jubilation for the winning team in the yellow jersey, Thomas Gschnitzer (IT) and Daniel Pechtl (AT), who had not expected this success

The finish at Lake Garda rewarded the participants for all the effort they had put in over the last seven days. The fastest riders spent a total of around 25 hours in the saddle, while the slowest riders travelled for almost 50 hours. And all this in the hottest TOUR Transalp ever.

In glorious sunshine, the Everyman runners reached the finish line on Lake Garda - between melancholy because it was over and relief that it was done. Laughing or crying, the participants hugged each other, celebrated and jumped into the cool lake in their finisher shirts. Team winners Daniel Pechtl (AT) and Thomas Gschnitzer (IT) did not miss out on this opportunity to cool off. "If someone had told us a week ago that we would win this, I would never have believed it," said Pechtl after the final stage. "This is a huge surprise." Second place in the overall standings goes to Dutch riders Erik Franssen and Stefan Verhaaf ahead of Italians Riccardo Zacchi and Christian Martinelli.

The best individual rider in the men's category is the young Belgian Daan Vermeulen. Austria's Mathias Nothegger was the fastest rider in the Masters category. Former pro Udo Bölts took victory in the Grand Masters. German Janine Meyer was the best woman to cross the finish line through the shower of confetti. Werner Hoepperger (AT) can be celebrated as the fastest rider in the Senior Grand. Linda Stuurman and Carla Mellema (NL) finished the race as the best women's team with a large lead. In the mixed classification, the Italian team of Tatiana Guderzo, one of the world's best road riders, and Carlo Muraro pulled away from the first day. Guderzo: "The last stage was incredibly tough for me, but I was still able to enjoy the fantastic scenery in between." The best Masters team also comes from Italy: Paolo Decarli and Riccardo Carlin. "This is such a surprise," said a delighted Carlin about the success. Günter Baringer (AT) and Axel Strauss lead the Grand Masters classification.

But it wasn't just the leading riders who were cheered. The very last riders were also celebrated when they arrived in Riva. Janine Wolf (GER) let out a loud cry of joy as she crossed the finish line with Frauke Gerber. "It's just an incredible feeling," said the 41-year-old, who was always at the back of the field but by no means had less fun on the course.

Safe the date: The date for the next TOUR Transalp has already been set: Europe's most spectacular road bike stage race for everyone will take place from 21-27 June 2020.

All results are available at: https://tour-transalp.de/ergebnisse/ergebnisse-2019/
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/TOURtransalp