Distance: 115.17 km
Vertical metres: 2,475m
Passes: Buchener Höhe & Kühtai
Stage 1 Preview
Timmelsjoch Preview (as climbed by Garmin-Barracuda's Christophe Le Mével)
Pre-start...
So on day 1 there is no bag collection; We had to drop bags at the Transalp camp at 07:30. No problem. Except my bag is large, weighs 20 kilos and needs to be taken 3k with my bike and I'm in cleats. Ooops. Fortunately after almost a km of using my bike like a luggage trolley, clip clopping along, some friendly Transalpian took pitty and gave the bag a lift.
Start...
The pens started forming from half-seven - the luck of the draw had put us in the rear pen [D]. But from tomorrow these will be based upon the overall standings, so a good ride today and we can work our way forwards. The tension builds as the clock ticked down towards 8:30. And then we were off. The first 3k were neutralised but from the outskirts of town the road turns right & upwards heading towards Leutasch and the first col of the tour, Buchener Hohe. Fortunately it is a steady gradient up and over the top followed by a very fast (75+kph) descent. After a a short while forging as a pair along the valley floor, a group formed and we were able to power along to the first feed station.
Kuhtai...
The big challenge of the day was always going to be the ascent of the Kuhtai (saddle). 18km at 6% with 15% ramps thrown in for fun; and to break any rhythm. We had decided in advance to ride the climbs to power (at approx 260w / 85% FTP) so as to pace both the day and the start of the week in a sustainable way. And that is what we did, plugging away km after km, steady up the climb generally catching & passing other riders that had started the day too strongly. Soon (an hour and twenty later) we crested 'The Saddle' (largely alone) and started the long fast descent off the back.
Onwards...
We teamed up with another pair at the bottom of the descent to get us to the second feed station of the day. The feeds is somewhere we can improve - whilst we are only taking a few minutes to grab some fruit and fill bottles, there is definately time to be saved by slick stops (and this saves having to re-pass riders again after feeds...). From the feed station we sat-in for the stretch to Lagenfield and from there a group of eight remained that were able to share the work as we pushed the final 10-15k to the finish.
Solden...
Having finished the stage, made the most of the feed for some savoury snacks and a cold beverage it seemed to make sense to find the hotel (where our bags should be waiting). When we eventually tracked it down on the other side of town it was not what I was expecting. Basically, it was a building site. And I don't mean receiving a lick of paint, I mean a full on building site (see pic). Our bags were not here; and neither was the owner. Take it from me, when what your after is a recovery shake and a shower, this is the last thing you need. Fortunately after 15mins we managed to track down the owner, our bags and a bed for the night (elsewhere), but this was hardly ideal.
Stats...
Totals ~ Duration: 4:40:16 ~ Riding: 4:33:32 ~ Dist: 115.7km ~ Elevation Gain: 2324m
Averages ~ Speed: 25.6kph ~ Power: 193w ~ Heart Rate: 144 ~ Cadence: 73 ~ Temp: 23.6
Max ~ Speed: 77.1kph ~ Power: 811w ~ Heartrate: 164 ~ Cadence: 126 ~ Temp: 33.0C
Metrics ~ TSS: 271 ~ NP: 220w ~ IF: 0.763
Conclusions...
Transalp Stage 1 - 115km & 2500m vert - 4:40.00.5 - Pos 348/515. A solid start to what is after all a 7 stage race. Time will tell whether we/everyone else/paced the day correctly. The challenge now is to move up through the field. We started today in Pen D (4th of 4). For tomorrow we have qualified for Pen C. And we need to move up 50 places (approx 10mins) to get into Pen B...
Tomorrow...
Lined up for us in the morning is 124km and two major climbs (Timmelsjoch & Jaufenpass) for 3,000 vertical metres of ascent. Oh, and torrential rain is forecast for first thing tomorrow with the temp expected to be 9 degrees C at the start and 6 degrees at the summits. Yowza. Booties & rain jackets it is then.
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