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TransAlp 2009 Stage 5: St. Christina to Sarthein
Halfway through the mountains. 6th position, and a look back over the 5 stages
The Team Topeak Ergon TransAlp duo lie in 7th place overall after a 6th place finish yesterday. “The stage was awesome. To climb 1600m in one climb is colossal. Once we reached the top, then we were faced with lots of technical trials down towards Sarthein. At one point we were in fifth position, but this is a long race and didn’t want to risk everything,” Lakata said following the day in the saddle, riding the 82km long stage.
It isn’t only the team on the bike though. The support team is also happy. Mechanic Lars Hartwich described his thoughts “The performance of the bikes and parts is obviously my worry and responsibility, but there have been no problems. Under these conditions, that is a huge recommendation. To see everything coming together is great”.
Wiens added his experience “I have been riding professionally for over 20 years. As you can imagine, in this period there have been many races. TransAlp though is something special. It is already on my top ten race list. The landscape is wonderful, but what stands out is the demanding nature of the stages both in terms of the endurance that you have to have and the technical riding skills required. The course today took in 3665 m of height difference that we had to climb. The longest climb was 2.5 times longer than the longest one in Colorado that I regularly ride.”
Obviously the motivation and the excitement at taking part is difficult to hide. Roll on the next stage.
