Trans Portugal Race

The Journey Begins

TransPortugal / 12.05.2014

The long sought for day finally arrived. At 7h55 AM the north-American Greg McKennis was blessed as the one to officially open the starting line of the 12th edition of TransPortugalRace on the stage between Bragança and Freixo de Espada a Cinta. This is a stage that’s becoming mythical because of the consecutive record breaking times.

All athletes use their acumulated energy to achieve a very positive performance, rewarded at the end with great times. Last year, Vítor Gamito broke the record for this stage that belonged to Luís Leão Pinto, and this year, the winner José Silva finished with a time very similar to the former record. This seems to show that the Portuguese hegemony is going to last on this competiton.

But it was no easy task for the Portuguese rider, as the Norwich Kate Aardal was overcome by José Silva only on the last third of the race. Behind these two, arrived the Belgium Peter Roelands in third place. The other Portuguese that fought, but failed to get, a place on the final podium was Luís Cordeiro that finished in fourth, followed by the New-Zealander Malcolm Bruton. In fact the high pace showed a great will for cycling, climbing and going downhill with the adrenaline pumping to the limit, rolling afterwards to regain power while enjoying the beautiful granitic landscape of Trás-os-Montes, that is characterized by the unique flair of some remote villages like Palaçoulos, where the best Portuguese knifes are made.

With the power up again, the competitors were again pursuing their goals whatever they were: winning the stage or simply finishing it! On the main group of riders, some episodes happened that clearly showed the great will for overcoming all obstacles, whether they were the trail or the bike components that probably were not the best ones for this demanding path. Some of the riders struggled with fever and others faced the fury of the bees on their helmets. All of this was overcome and is now just stories of achievement that each and every one will keep telling their friends.

Sílvia And Kate

The most outstanding episode of the day was the one in which Sílvia Pissarreira was the main character. She had high expectations for her debut on the competition but she ran flat twice on a short period of time right on the beginning of the race, even tearing one of the tires. Unfortunately for her, the tire type was not probably the best choice for this kind of ground. It was a hard lesson, but this episode touched the hearts of the other Portuguese riders that are aware that she could have done a lot better than the last places of the overall classification. At the end, the consolation prize for Sílvia was to know that she did not have to forgo the pleasure of keep on going competing.

On a brighter side, Kate Aardal, second place, rode the bicycle at a very high pace, even outstanding, showing that she is in great shape. She climbed strong and came downhill with quality, only failing to resist the attacks by the winner José Silva. Even so the performance by the Norwich rider was remarkable!

Good Reception

When the athletes arrived to Freixo de Espada à Cinta, home land of the bygone Portuguese writer Guerra Junqueiro, they had waiting for them everything needed to rest and regain the strength needed for tomorrow. On top of that, the locals were there applauding and cheering every single rider at the finishing line no matter what their classification was. Between the smiles and applauses the fatigue started immediately to fade away!  

Family

The great weather felt during all the stage allowed the athletes to overcome themselves and at the end the classification chart was in high demand. The question was only one: ‘What was my time?’ Regardless of each one's goal, everybody wanted to know what their position at the end of the stage was. Challenge is the nature of TransPortugalRace, as well as overcoming one's personal limits, but competing is something that's part of human nature!

One caring word for the athlete’s companions. After the touristic tour through the region, during which they followed the stage on the ground, they waited on the finish line for their friends and family, supporting them in that special way that a rider needs after one of the most demanding stages of the race that will take all the entourage to Sagres. 

Heading To Guarda

Tomorrow’s stage will connect Freixo de Espada à Cinta – that says farewell in mirandês like this ‘adius até a la próssima’ – to the city of Guarda, the highest city in Portugal. This second stage travels for 110 km with an overall accumulated climbing of 2134m+. The track to get to the city of the five F’s (that stands for Forte (strong), Farta (plentiful), Fria (cold), Fiel (faithful) and Formosa (beautiful)) is characterized for cobbled stone paths, for the harsh climbs and great downhill for the bolder one’s.

The order of departure follows a handicap system. Basically, it is a system of allowances that grants discounts in time according to athlete's age and gender. 10am is the time at which all athletes with no handicap start, then time of departure is set earlier according to predefined percentages; for example, all female participants = 14%; athletes aged between 41 and 45 = 2%; 46 to 50 = 5% - and so on.

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