Last year, Christoph Strasser won the Europe’s most epic ultracycling race, the Transcontinental Race (TCR), on his first attempt at unsupported ultracycling.
With a daily average of 477.12km, Strasser covered an estimated 4,578.52km in nine days, 14 hours and zero minutes.
Before the TCR, the Austrian had focussed solely on supported ultracycling, which involves having a team on hand, and he racked up an impressive palmarès winning Race Across America (RAAM) six times.
This year the TCR starts on Sunday in Belgium and ends in Greece, and Strasser is returning to the race and looking forward to the riding from northern Europe to southeastern Europe.
‘Last year was a great experience with lots of highs and lows but overall it was really exciting,’ he says.
‘I wanted to come back this year because the different countries we are visiting are so special. I’ve seen a little bit of Albania, and I’ve been training in Montenegro as well as Greece. I didn’t know these countries before last year and they are very beautiful places.’
Training
Ultracycling might conjure up ideas of training for 12 hours a day but according to Strasser this shouldn’t be the case.
‘I train for about four to six hours a day, so it’s not as extraordinary as most people might think. The most important thing is to build up fitness over many years, and then getting used to being in the saddle for a long time, learning how to deal with sleep deprivation, managing your nutrition and hydration. A lot of these things come with experience.
‘To increase your level of fitness, it’s not necessary to train more than six or seven hours per day. It’s about getting to know your body and your mind on long distances.
‘I also don’t do anything else other than cycling. I’m not good at other sports like running and swimming, I just train on the bike. Sometimes I go kayaking but that’s not for training.’
Well-oiled strategy
‘My strategy last year was quite good so I will not change a lot going into this year’s race,’ Strasser explains.
‘Three hours of sleep each night is a good way to start the race. It might seem like a lot of sleep if you want to aim for a podium finish, but you have to stay clear, focussed and not take any risks. It’s better to be fit and strong in the last days of the race so you can reduce your sleep then, rather than have very little sleep in the first half of the race.
Strasser will be riding a Specialized Roubaix.
‘It’s very durable and gives you a bit more comfort, which is important in the TCR because of the gravel sections. You need a strong bike.
‘You can’t plan when you will ride specific sections of the route, maybe you can for the first two days, so it’s important to have a bike which can take on gravel at any time of day.
‘I’m hoping to finish the race sub-9 days. That sounds quick but the route is about 1000km shorter than last year. But then again it’s really hard to make a prediction, I know about 20% of the route and the rest will be a surprise.’
Managing the heat
Southern Europe is currently experiencing an intense heatwave, with temperatures hitting over 40 degrees and if it continues this is likely to massively affect the riders.
‘I think it could be really big challenge not just for riding but also surviving,’ says Strasser.
‘I really do not like the heat very much. When I did RAAM, you have to cross the desert in Southern California in the first few days and it was always super-tough.
‘In the TCR, the really hot weather conditions will be at the end of the race, which should be better as your body will have adapted. I will carry four bottles with me this year, instead of the two I had last year. In Greece the route is really remote in the mountains and I am not sure about the possibility for buying drinks and finding water.’
Riding by the rules
The TCR is well known for its stringent rule book, which nearly caught out Strasser and fellow competitor Ulrich Bartholmoes last year.
Strasser’s win took some time to be verified by the TCR organisers due to a possible rule infringement over a shared €1 drink.
‘The rules are always in the back of my mind as I don’t want to break any,’ says Strasser. ‘I take a lot of care, also because I know that people might watch me more closely.’
The favourites according to Strasser
As last year’s winner, Strasser is a firm favourite going into the race but he says there are also a few others we should be dotwatching.
‘Robert Müller from Germany is in great form and is definitely one to watch. He was road racing for 20 years and now he has changed to ultracycling. He won the Trans Pyrenees race last year, he beat me in B-Hard [another ultracycling race], he also won the Race Across the Alps and Ultracycling Dolomitica.
‘Robin Gemperle from Switzerland was leading the race last year for the first three or four days with some others, and then he had some issues but he still came seventh. He won the Atlas Mountain Race this year and a few 24 hour races recently too.
‘Marin de Saint-Exupéry from France was also in the top ten last year, I think it’s his fifth TCR already and he has a lot of experience. He’s still quite young so has a lot of potential to keep improving.’
But what about Strasser himself?
‘I need to enjoy the race, have fun, take care, and have a good ride and hopefully the result will be a good one. But above all the TCR is about the journey and the enjoyment of the challenge, not about the result.’