TOUR Transalp
Strong Field to Battle For Win at 15th TOUR Transalp
Press Release / 20.06.2017
About 1,000 racers – registered as teams of two – will enter the 15th TOUR Transalp with a straight goal in mind: to master the total distance of 867.24 km and 18,233 metres of climbing from Sonthofen, Germany to Arco, Italy in one piece. Some duos however have something more in mind from June 25 to July 1, 2017, as they will give it all in to battle for the victory in a field which has never featured that many favourites before.
Besides some expectably strong men teams, there are also some pairs which will play a major role in the race for glory although they are listed in the masters category and therefore have a combined age of 80+ on the start day of the event. However, with age comes experience which is – combined with some strong legs – the perfect ingredient to pedal fast across the main ridge of the Alps.
Nevertheless, it's the elite racers who are in the focus, especially those who have left their marks in previous Transalp editions already.
The main favourites are coming from Belgium. After injuries sustained in the lead-up to the 2016 event sidelined them from action, Frederic Glorieux and Bob Michels return to Germany to line up in Sonthofen in order to settle a score. Back in 2015, both athletes from Prostyle-Grinta! finished the one-week classic as second overall – only beaten by the tiny mere of 7.2 seconds!
Another strong team comes from Germany. Back in 2016, Christian Dengler and Maximilian Hornung did not only shine with stage wins. The athletes riding for the Hermann Radteam wrapped up things as runner-ups of the men category while also celebrating rank three in the overall ranking.
Michael Markolf (GER), who will compete this year for Team corratec 2 together with his new partner Martin Reisner (GER) landed one rank behind of them and therefore should be on the list of podium aspirants.
Daniel Eisele (GER) is facing similar conditions as the fifth ranked of the 2016 men classifier has also a new partner to ride with. He will aim for another top-10 result teaming up with Norbert Recke as Team Strassacker.
Besides those teams competing in the men category, there are also some excellent masters pairings entering the Transalp. One of them is called www.nom-training.com and features the likes of Mathias Nothegger and Hans Peter Obwaller.
Both Austrians came out successful of the 2015 event and are still hungry to put their mark on the race for the average Joe – especially as stomach problems forced them to withdraw from competition on day six of last years's race edition.
Bart Bury (BEL) is another Transalp champion (2015) who wants to cause sensation once again – this time together with new Team corratec 1 partner Stefan Oettl (GER).
Last but not least, there are two well-known ex-pros whose names stand for great results anyway. Former cycling star and multiple Tour de France participant Udo Boelts (GER) will race for Team Easton together with Carsten Bresser, who is no less than a multi-time BIKE Transalp winner.
While there are many teams with high hopes for a top result on the men's side of things, one lady stands out in the women's event.
Italy's very own Marcelina Dossi came in second twice already (2015 and 2016) and is now aiming for the big shot together with her fellow countrywoman Letizia Grottoli racing for montura garda trentino.
And things could work out for her as defending champion Janine Meyer (GER) of LeXXi SmartSuits powered by Tune decided to race with her husband Michael (GER) in the mixed category.
They will face reigning title holders Daniela Pintarelli and Andreas Traxl from Austria who will go for another win as Team MooserWirt – traxlradsport.at before going down the aisle a few weeks later.
In addition, the mixed category also features Pierre Bischoff who became the first German ever to win the Race Across America last year. One year later, the Duisburg resident is planning another coup together with Nauders team colleague Noemie Chiarello (SUI).
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