TRANSPYRENEES

On June 29, the TRANSPYRENEES ultracycling race began, organized by transiberica.cc.

The route linked the municipalities of Llançà (Catalonia) with Donosti (Basque Country) crossing the Pyrenees, and with it, many of the hardest / mythical ports of the world cycling. Adding a total of 950km of distance and 24,000 meters of positive height gain.

The entire race could be followed by Dotwatcher, also sponsor of the race, who reported live the GPS position of all the participants. 

Riders in this type of test must be self-sufficient and assistance of any kind is not allowed. For this reason they must know how to administer and calculate what they will need during the whole journey.

At 10pm on Saturday, June 29, the riders left north, to cross the border and enter France where they would be pedaling all night and all day.

The first great port that was found was that of Pailheres, where those who were in the lead managed to crown it early in the day when the temperature was milder.

The riders did not have the same luck as they started to climb the port at noon, as record temperatures were recorded and everything became complicated.

In less than 24 hours from the start, the first two riders had already pedaled for 500km and crowned 13 ports. Thus taking more than 3h of advantage to its immediate pursuers. The Germans Ulrich Bartholomoes and Cristoph Fuhrbach crowned the Col de Mente together and did not slow down.

Part of the strategy of this type of races is to calculate when and how many hours to stop to rest, since many times you can take more or less time according to these stops.

The two Germans once climbed the Col de Superbagneres continued pedaling together towards the legendary port Col du Tourmalet.