TOUR Transalp
IRONMAN World Champions Al-Sultan and Hellriegel To Start at TOUR Transalp
Press Release / 06.06.2018
They are by far the most prominent duo of this year's TOUR Transalp: former IRONMAN World Champions Faris Al-Sultan and Thomas Hellriegel will tackle Europe's most popular road bike stage race for the Average Joe. The German duo has announced to line up at the start of the 16th event edition to cross the main chain of the Alps from 24 to 30 June.
While it's the second participation for Al-Sultan, Hellriegel is aiming for his first experience knowing that things might not always go according to the plan when climbing a total of 18 cols, especially in the Alps.
Last year, Al-Sultan, who came out victorious of the 2005 IRONMAN event in Hawaii, withdrew from the race due to the ongoing bad weather situation with pouring rain and cold.
“I never regretted that decision,” the 39-year-old recalls. “I have been suffering so many times during my pro career, so I didn't want to make my team partner being forced to go through the same sort of things. That's why we opted to keep the exertions on an acceptable level. But I definitely want to finish the TOUR Transalp.”
As a result, he teamed up with quite a leading figure. And Thomas Hellriegel is also a stronger partner to conquer the Alps although he never did compete in a multi-day road bike event. However, the 47-year-old brings in the experience of six IRONMAN wins.
“I'm looking forward to the TOUR Transalp. It will be challenging of course, but also fun and exciting,” the first German to win the IRONMAN World Championships (1997) says.
But despite all the anticipation, team Alte Tribaeren will also line up highly motivated tackling the 827.70 km and 17,797 metres of climbing with realistic ambition as Al-Sultan states: “We are aiming to perform solidly and think that we have a chance to finish in a good position of the masters ranking. It won't be enough to go for the win though as our skills in the descents are too bad.”
Registration Still Open
The 16th TOUR Transalp will kick off on 24 June, 2018. A team entry is still possible on online-registration.de. The entry fee per person is € 999, U23 cyclists have to pay € 799.
SleepMonsters
