The second stage of the Tour Transalp already started at nine o'clock today in Imst. The drivers could expect a first taste of summer weather for the next few days. The forecasts are glorious and the mountains are long and steep. The Pillerhöhe was the start today, with a good 800 meters in altitude, it was already climbed after 20 km. Our Velomotion boys Holger Sievers and Gerrit Glomser were clearly marked so early in the morning, but Holger still had the strength and above all the coordination skills for a selfie on the climb.
In general, the two former pros, who are riding together in a team for the first time, complement each other perfectly. Gerrit needs a few more kilometers in the morning to get his "old diesel" back up to speed. This is certainly due to the lack of training kilometers – on just 1.500 Gerrit arrived in the last nine months. He's almost guaranteed the prize for the man with the most relaxed preparation.
But when it rolls, it rolls excellently and the two partners harmonize perfectly. Today, with a 7th place in the daily ranking, they have worked their way up to 8th overall in the Masters ranking – keep it up.
In general, all ten couples supported by Prostyle seem to be very happy with the special service. The two Belgian couples, starting as Team AX-Lightness 1 and 2, took first and second place in the overall standings today. The Prostyle support package makes the life of a Transalp starter a lot easier: luggage service from and to the hotel, massages in the hotel, our own professional team bus (the bus of the former Wiesenhof team, by the way), two individual aid stations along the route ... and many other little things that these make the week a highlight for road bike alpinists.
Tomorrow, the route will be from Davos to Livigno – a route used by many professionals for altitude training. With the start at 1.600 m and the finish at 1.800 m, the entire stage is well above 1.000 m – let’s hope that the air doesn’t get too thin for anyone.