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We’re getting to the sharp end of the Transcontinental Race across Europe and here’s what the two leaders are riding to get from Flanders to the Black Sea as fast as possible.
If you’re unfamiliar, the Transcontinental is a self-supported bicycle race from one side of Europe to the other. Competitors must plan, research and navigate their own course and rest stops while only consuming what they can carry or buy. They can’t have any help from an entourage and the clock doesn’t stop until they reach the finish.
Four mandatory control points guide the route and each year the riders cover around 4,000km (2,500 miles) to reach the finish line. This raises the interesting question of which bike is best for such a mammoth ride. Well, here is what the current leaders are riding…
Ulrich Bartholmoes
BMC/@ubartholmoes
Bartholmoes came into the 2022 edition as a hot favourite to take the overall with many high-profile endurance events already to his name.
At the time of writing, he is second in the solo competition and his bike of choice is the BMC Teammachine SLR01 fitted with a Sram Etap AXS groupset. The crankset is a Rotor Inspider Aldhu Carbon with 48/35T chainrings paired to a 10/34 cassette.
BMC/@ubartholmoes
A rather interesting choice is the Lightweight Meilenstein Evo wheelset. These wheels have carbon spokes and are known more for their low weight and high stiffness than their durability. Nonetheless, Bartholmoes says that he’s confident in their ability and they help make the bike weigh less than 7kg without packs. That’ll certainly help on the mountainous route.
BMC/@ubartholmoes
The wheels are clad in 32mm Hutchinson Challenger tyres which are set up tubeless. These are an unreleased tyre and currently only the tube-type clincher version is available to the general public.
BMC/@ubartholmoes
The German rider uses a Kogel Kolossos OSPW (oversized pulley wheel) system and Kogel also supplies ceramic bearings for the wheels too. There’s always a mix of road and off-road pedals; Bartholmoes opts for the latter in the form of a set of Shimano XTRs.
BMC/@ubartholmoes
> Apidura releases Racing series bags
Apidura Racing Series bags are very popular at the Transcontinental. Bartholmoes uses a saddle pack, frame bag and top tube bag, the first of which has two bottle cages mounted to it which once again highlights the extreme weight saving that the rider has gone to. Not much padding on that saddle either!
Christoph Strasser
The current leader, who is also the 24-hour time trial world champion, uses Specialized equipment and his bike of choice is an S-Works Roubaix. This is the bike usually used for the cobbled classic road races and features the Future Shock system which offers 20mm of suspension at the front.
Strasser details his rather extensive kit list for the event…
> Review: Roval Alpinist I wheels
The bike rolls on Roval Alpinist I wheels with 28mm clincher Specialized Roubaix tyres and the groupset is once again Sram Red eTap AXS, this time with a 46/33T chainset and 10/33T cassette. Apidura Racing Series provides the cargo hauling bags.
You can follow the pair’s progress on the Transcontinental website. Strasser has now built up a healthy advantage but anything can happen in the closing stages of a 4,000km race.
What bike would be your weapon of choice for a multi-day self-supported ride? One of these two? Let us know in the comments section below…
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