By Graham Gillespie
The 2,500km TransAtlantic Way ultra-race has been confirmed for 2020 and will start on September 3rd.
However, the race will only accept
entries from Irish residents or riders from the 15 “green listed” countries
that have been deemed safe to travel to by the Irish Government without the
need for quarantine.
The race was initially planned to take
place in June, but the Covid19 pandemic’s impact on international travel cast
doubt on the event taking place at all in 2020.
The easing of restrictions means the
event will now go ahead, but without riders from countries such as the UK,
France and Spain.
Germany’s absence from the government’s
green list also means event record holder Björn Lenhard will not be able to compete
this year.
The event, which first took place in
2016, takes in not only 2,500km of racing but also 21,000m of climbing along
the way.
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There is also a shorter course for
riders to take if they choose, but this still involves a gruelling 2,000km with
14,000m of climbing.
The majority of riders take eight or
nine days to complete the event, with around 20 per cent failing to finish each
year.
The race is also self-supported meaning
no external assistance of any form is allowed.
The 2020 edition is set to start in
Dublin with the competitors being tasked to find their own route to the first
checkpoint in Derry.
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The race then follows a fixed route
along the Wild Atlantic Way to Kinsale, Co Cork.
Explaining the decision to go ahead with
this year’s event, organiser Adrian O’Sullivan said: “When I started this event
in 2016 I was prepared to go ahead with just five riders.
“So there was no excuse for not doing it
this year, even with just five Irish riders, if the government guidelines
allowed for it. Within the guidelines, riders can have a home-grown adventure
and explore their own backyard.
“Even running with a small field the
event, it will also contribute in just a little way to releasing the pressure
we’ve all been feeling under lockdown to helping the economy along the western
seaboard.”
Since its first year in 2016, which had
28 contestants, the race has grown steadily and become a part of the
international ultra-racing schedule. Last year, 115 riders entered.
The fastest finish to date has been five days and three hours by the aforementioned Lenhard in 2018, while the fastest ever Irish finisher is Killarney’s Benny Cassidy who came third in with a time of five days and fourteen hours in 2018.
The women’s record holder is Karen
Tostee, from Britain, with a time of six days and six hours. No Irish woman has
finished the event to date.
These times may seem intimidating but as
O’Sullivan says: “For most, ultra-racing is about keeping the bike moving
rather than about outright speed.
“Self-supported ultra-racing is accessible to everybody and offers a different competitive challenge and experience in a way that conventional group bike racing does not.
“The TransAtlantic Way is mainly about personal challenge and having a good time, while travelling through fantastic landscape on a bicycle”.
Entries have re-opened at transatlanticway.com
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