How a Tour Transalp works

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This time, I’m reporting how a Tour Transalp works. There was a travel report from the Tour Transalp 2024. I remember well how I felt as a cycling novice. I only had a very rough idea of how such events work.

Tour Transalp 2025

In 2025, the Tour Transalp took place from June 15 to 21. The route led from Innsbruck to Riva del Garda in seven stages. Each stage was about 100 kilometers long with an elevation gain of 2,000 meters. It was my third time participating. The second time was in a team of two with my pedal pal Jörg.

Team or individual starter

My first time participating was as an individual starter. I wouldn’t do that again. You’re only fighting for yourself. I didn’t start with any chance of winning. Due to the fairly large gaps between the riders at the end of the tour, participating as an individual starter wasn’t that interesting.

I much prefer participating in a team of two. That was the unique selling point of the Tour Transalp until 2018. In a team of two, you fight together. On each stage, the time of the slower rider counts towards the overall time. So you more or less ride the tour together.

Registration

Registration for the 2025 Tour Transalp began in July 2024. We signed up right away. However, the route had not yet been finalized at that point. But we know what to expect. There are always seven stages, averaging around 100 kilometers each. The route leads through the Alps, of course. The finish line has always been at Lake Garda, either in Riva or Arco.

Participation fee

The participation fee does not include accommodation. Otherwise, everything you need to participate is included: a permanent parking space at the starting point, luggage transport to the accommodations, and basic meals along the way and at the finish line. The Tour Transalp is a race. The route is not closed off, but it is very well secured by marshals and marshals on motorcycles. Of course, there is timekeeping, as well as a finisher shirt and a medal. The team registration cost us both €2,198 plus a €52.42 fee. This included the return transfer, which cost €80 each.

Tour Transalp Camp

For a small fee, you can stay at the Tour Transalp Camp. It currently costs €200 for eight nights with breakfast. You sleep in sports halls, recreation centers, or town halls. There are quite a few participants who do this. I think you’re very close to the event at the camp. On the other hand, you don’t sleep well and it’s harder to recover. The camp is out of the question for me. I’m past that age.

Accomodation

Instead, we book hotels in the stage towns. Many stage towns are small. It can happen that there are relatively few places to stay overnight. That’s why you should book your own hotel accommodation well in advance. It’s a good idea to share a room. This saves money and allows you to exchange experiences between stages.

Hotel package

If you have enough spare cash and don’t want to arrange your own accommodation, there is also a service provider for this. The company Host offers accommodation packages. These consist of eight nights, with or without a starting place. There are single and double room packages, each in three categories: gold, comfort, and silver. Prices range from €1,349 to €2,599.

Start and finish locations, stage locations

Start and finish locations were announced at the end of October. The start would be in Innsbruck and the finish in Riva. On November 1st the stage locations were announced.

How to get there

Since the journey from Dresden is quite long, I usually leave right after work and spend the night near Munich. That way, I can split the long drive into two more manageable parts.

It has also proven useful to plan a day for acclimatization. That means I left for Innsbruck on Thursday after work and arrived there around noon on Friday. This gave us enough time on Saturday morning before accreditation to do a warm-up lap.

Long-term parking

Accreditation began on Saturday at 2 p.m. For long-term parking, you receive a sticker that you must place in your car. These were only available during accreditation. Therefore, cars could only be parked after accreditation. In Innsbruck, the long-term parking lot was located far outside the city. The travel time was more than half an hour. A shuttle service was provided for the return trip. There was also a public bus line. The return trip by bus took almost an hour. At smaller starting locations, such as Lienz in 2024, it was possible to walk back to the city center from the long-term parking lot.

Luggage service

You also receive a bag when you register. Everything you need for the journey must fit into this bag. The bag must not weigh more than 15 kilograms. In Innsbruck, the bag could be handed in until 6 a.m. on the morning before the start. The start in Innsbruck was at 6:30 a.m.

Otherwise, the bag must be at the respective hotel reception by 6:30 a.m. at the latest. It will be picked up there and taken to the next hotel.

In addition to the bag, you get a day bag. You can keep this until half an hour before the start. You pick it up again directly in the finish area. The day bag gives you a little more freedom. For example, I put my shoes in it. That way, I don’t have to wear my cycling shoes to breakfast.

Technical service

It can always happen that something breaks on your bike. There is a technical service in the finish area for necessary repairs. Bike mechanics will take your bike and try to fix the damage.

I broke a spoke on the first stage of the Tour Transalp 2025. Fortunately, it happened at the top of the day’s climb and after the time trial. I was able to roll to the finish line without any problems. The mechanics couldn’t repair the damage, but I was able to borrow a wheel for a reasonable fee. I exchanged the wheel back at the finish line.

Our Saturday in Innsbruck

We had a hearty breakfast at the hotel. Then we stretched our legs on our warm-up lap. Shortly after 2 p.m., we arrived at the accreditation desk. Of course, there was already a line.

After accreditation, we went back to the hotel. The luggage had to be repacked into the new bag. It was also the last chance to decide what to take with us on the trip and what to leave in the car. All these proceedings took a long time. It was not until around 5 p.m. that the car was parked. Most people were even later. It was not until around 6 p.m. that we were back in Innsbruck.

We looked for a restaurant for dinner and took a short walk through the city center. Then Saturday was already over. Because we had started early, we went to bed early too. 

Kick-off event

There is actually a kick-off event at the starting point on the evening before the start of the Tour Transalp. Due to the early start in Innsbruck, it was moved to the following day. It took place after the first stage in Imst (pronounced Imsht). The kick-off event marks the official start of the Tour Transalp. Organizational details are presented and, above all, the special features of the route are introduced. There is also a short advertising block for the starting region.

Sunday before the start

Since the bags had to be handed in by 6 a.m. and the start was already at 6:30 a.m., there was no opportunity for breakfast on Sunday. That’s why we brought muesli from home. We had breakfast around 5 a.m. At around 5:30 a.m., we drove with our bags on our backs to the bag drop-off point right next to the truck. We handed in our daypacks at the start area at around 6 a.m.

Stage overview

Please refer to my Komoot Collection “Tour Transalp 2025” for the routing and track details.

Before the start

Our alarm clock always rang at 6 a.m. The bags had to be at reception by 6:30 a.m. So everything that doesn’t fit in your daypack has to be in your bag by 6:30 a.m.

All of our hotels accommodated us with breakfast. We were always able to have breakfast by 6:30 at the latest after dropping off our bags.

The start was always at 9 a.m. Day bags had to be handed in by 8:30 a.m. We usually took our time and had breakfast until around 8 a.m. There was nothing else to do except drive to the start.

Catering during the stages

There were always two refreshment stations along the way during the stages. After the stage, there were refreshments at the finish line. The organizer always had snacks ready. These were always smoothies and bockwurst or bratwurst sausages. The destinations also always had food ready for us. First refreshments at the finish line, then a hot meal. Last year, the hot meal was served as a classic evening meal. Mostly pasta. In 2025, the hot meal was served immediately after reaching the finish line. This meant that we had dinner in a restaurant every day.

At the finish line, there was always the option of leaving your bike in a secure bike park. Since we were able to store our bikes at our accommodation, we didn’t make use of this service. The bike park is mainly of interest to camp participants.

Timekeeping and route

The stages always began with a neutralized phase. With only one exception, the timing also always ended before the actual stage finish. The idea was to take the time pressure off the finish descent in order to avoid accidents.

The roads were not closed for the race. Only after the start, when everyone was still riding together, did the police stop traffic. After that, however, all critical points along the route were secured by volunteers. In addition, the field of riders was accompanied by a motorcycle escort with race marshals. They secured any additional hazards that arose at short notice. This has worked extremely well in the past two years.

Finish line

The timing ended again at Passo del Ballino. In Riva, too, the finish line was removed from the timing system. This allowed everyone to enjoy the successful completion of the Tour Transalp and roll into the finish. Photos were taken at every viewpoint.

Closing ceremony

 The closing ceremony began at 7 p.m. in the evening. It took place right on Lake Garda, just outside the center. The award ceremony was held there, and there was one last evening meal.

Return transfer and return journey

The bikes had to be loaded onto the truck for transport back on Saturday. Anything that could fall off had to be removed, including the pedals. The bikes could then be collected from the long-term parking lot near Innsbruck upon presentation of the participant ID card.

Depending on where you live, the Sunday after the Transalp is a long day of traveling back home. That’s how it is for me. It starts after breakfast with the return transfer to the starting point in Innsbruck. The buses left at 9 a.m. Since the buses can’t all leave at the same time, it’s worth arriving a little earlier to catch an earlier bus.

The bus ride took a long time. At around 1:15 p.m., we finally arrived at the long-term parking lot in Innsbruck. There were only brief goodbyes. Everyone wanted to get going. Due to some traffic jams, I didn’t get back to Dresden until shortly before 9:30 p.m.