Craft Bike Transalp 2011 reflections

Footage from the final stage from Trento to Riva del Garda. 

It’s worth celebrating racing successes. But it’s all too easy only to focus on when races go well, and not to reflect on them when all doesn’t go according to plan.

If ever there was a race when all didn’t go according to plan, the 2011 Craft Bike Transalp was it for the two MarathonMTB.com teams that were racing.

On the one hand, and much the most seriously, you have the Super Masters team of Hans Dielacher and Craig McKeown. They’d been training hard for months, and were gunning for a win in their category. Having ridden with Hans at least, I’d say that was a realistic goal. Sadly it wasn’t to be, as Craig crashed out, or rather got crashed out, on the first day with a broken femur. Get well soon Craig. And as ever there is always next year…

Rather less painful in a physical sense but equally terminal for our race, the other MarathonMTB.com team of Will Hayter and Lionel Richardson had our bikes pinched from a hotel in Italy, along with 25 other unfortunates. Needless to say, this is a pretty crappy way to end a race. At least we had more or less ceased being really competitive already, after Lio got progressively more ill and less able to recover from hard stages.

Although it was frustrating not to be able to find a spare bike to ride the penultimate stage, with some very big help (thank you Collyn and Jonny) I was able to get a spare bike brought over from the UK in order to ride the final stage. It did mean building the bike at midnight in Riva del Garda, then getting up at 5 and riding on the road from Riva to Trento, before riding the 75km stage back. Possibly one of the more stupid days I’ve spent on a bike, but worth it – the Riva stage was one of the most enjoyable of the race – plenty of singletrack, and some cracking scenery particularly once the early rain dispersed. Hans and I, each a half of a non-completing team, rode together pretty successfully – placing-wise I think we would have been in about the 50s.

Despite the obvious shortcomings of the week, there are always positives:

– It was great fun riding with Lio for the few days I was able to.

– The scenery was incredible – the Zillertaler Alps and the Dolomites were truly stunning.

– I’m refinding my affection for my hardtail – a Charge Duster Ti – after eight months cruising around on a comfy Scott Spark.

– I’m still in the mountains, riding around Scuol in Switzerland this week, on to Luzern at the end of the week and then the Montafon M3 in Austria on Saturday

– As always with a stage race, there are new friends to be had, such as: normally very geographically distant teammate Hans – a real engine to ride with if ever there was one – plus his lovely wife; Dutchmen Peter and Fabian, fans of this site; and super-friendly and helpful Mike from Maxxis, who gave me a lift from Alleghe to San Martino and sorted out an errant tubeless set-up in Trento.