Bikes of Trans Pyrenees Race 2025

Luigi Galbiati

Age: 26

Cap number: 23826

Location: Mandello del lario

Bike: Specialized crux expert

Key items of kit: Kit completo Miss grape.

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Carbon

Tyre width: 35-39mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Florian Steinbeck

Age: 52

Location: Berlin, Germany

Bike: Fairlight Secan 2.5 with 2x11 Grx, 11-40 Cassette. Duke Wheels, 44mm Rene Herse and a Vencrum suspension stem

Key items of kit: Forumslader to load my advices on the run.

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Steel

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: No

Staffan Ekholm

Age: 55

Cap number: 130a

Location: Stockholm

Bike: Frame Kona Sutra Ltd Wheels Deda Gera Carbon Däck Schwalbe G-ONE RS 40mm Handlebar Deda Gravel Super Zero Deda Super Zero TT Aerobars BBB Gravel Ribbon Gel Raceface Gearing 34–10/42 Pedals Shimano XT Ass-saver front Specialiced Zee Cage II Elite Fly 2x500 ml 1x750 ml Apidura Expedition Cage pack Apidura Frame Pack Apidura Saddle pack

Key items of kit: Ortovox Piz Badile Wool jkt Assos Tactica Bibs Haglöfs L.I.M jkt Ortovox bivybag

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Steel

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: No

Wojciech Nogalski

Age: 44

Cap number: 123

Location: Poland

Bike: Specialized Crux 2025 Shimano GRX Di2 40 x 11-46 Hutchinson Caracal Race 40mm tires Pro Missile Aerobar Asssaver Winwing + Mullet

Key items of kit: Navigation: Garmin Edge 1040 Solar, Garmin Forerunner 955 (backup) Bags: Restrap 7l Race saddle bag, Tailfin 4.5l frame bag, Tailfin 3l top-tube bag, Cyclite Aerobag, Apidura downtube wedge. Lights: Knog Bilnder X 2300, Mactronic Scream 3.1 (spare), 2 x Bontrager Flare RT Clothes: Assoss & Pedaled bibs, Pedaled Odyssey merino jersey, Albion: gillet, rain jacket, wind-jacket, gillet warmer, Canyon puffy jacket, Eroe arm warmers and leg warmers, Assos rain trousers, Castelli neoprene gloves. Sleeping kit: Therm-a-rest mat, emergency bivvy.

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Carbon

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Brian Alder

Age: 60

Cap number: 18

Location: Takaka

Bike: My XL Santa Cruz Stigmata sports handy inframe storage, a 36T chainring paired with 11S 10-42 cassette and Di2 XT shifting. Schwalbe G-One RS 45 up front and Hutchinson Caracal 40mm rear so I can enjoy the gravel parcours. Aero bars for a bit of respite.

Key items of kit: Bags by Apidura, taking a sleeping bag and mat and some warm kit for the big Pyrenean descents. Battery lights with a bunch of spares. Hoping my new POC bibs look after my backside!

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Carbon

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Helge Meyer

Age: 46

Cap number: 53

Location: Germany (Leipzig)

Bike: Custom Specialized Crux with Enve rims and Hope5 hubs on 40mm Pathfinder tires. Shimano XTR and GRX827 drivetrain mix. Favero Assiamo pedals, Cane Creek stem, and an eeSilk seatpost with Infinity Ax1 saddle. Ritchey WCS handlebars and Control Tec aerobars. Lights from Fenix, Lupine and Petzl. Navigation with Coros Dura and Pace watch. All bags by Tailfin.

Key items of kit: A prototyp from Witslingers Polartec Alpha Sleeping bag liner. Pa‘lante fast packing backpack Mini Joel.

Louis Moorehead

Age: 33

Cap number: 73

Location: Scotland

Bike: My custom Bricoleur*: a steel frame handmade in Scotland.

• Shimano 12 speed groupset (50/34-11/36).
• Scribe wheels.
• Schwalbe G-One Speed tyres (35mm up front, 30 on the rear). Muc-Off tubeless setup.
• Profile Design aero bars.
• Fizik finishing kit.

*There's a custom paint job on there but you need to see it up close.

Key items of kit: ⛺ A SOL Escape Bivvy, with a Sea to Summit air mattress. Swapping out a sleeping bag for an insulated jacket and a set of down ski trousers.

👜 Apidura bags on the bike. A Restrap hydration vest on me.

🔦 Exposure Strada and a Knog Blinder up front. Exposure and Magicshine at the rear.

🖥️ Garmin Edge 1030 Plus. A little speaker for motivation (if you randomly hear the Lord of the Rings soundtrack off in the distance at any point it's probably me).

Then the usual powerbank, cables, tools, toiletries etc.

I decided to cut down on my sleep setup in order to pack more cycling layers (including waterproof trousers, big ol' thermal socks... Hiking sandals!!!), and then spend the majority of the nights indoors. Let's see how that goes!

Frame type: Road

Frame material: Steel

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 30-34mm

Electronic shifting: No

Tim Wenham

Age: 40

Cap number: 112

Location: Upper Beeding, UK

Bike: 2018 Giant TCR Advanced 2. From 10 mile TT’s to 200+ mile days, this bike does it all for me. I’m limited to 28mm GP 5000’s due to frame clearance issues so I’m fully aware of its limitations on gravel but there are also a lot of road miles to cover…

Key items of kit: Blackburn seat bag, frame bag & top tube bag. 2x Lezyne Lite Drive 1200+ front lights, 3x 20,000mAh power banks, Wahoo Bolt, aero bars, sleeping bag, bivy & inflatable pillow for power naps. Trusty Vans to swap into for the inevitable gravel sections I’ll have to walk…

Frame type: Road

Frame material: Carbon

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 25-29mm

Electronic shifting: No

Julien Roissard

Age: 36

Cap number: 68

Location: Saint-Sulpice, FRANCE

Bike: Aloueta handcrafted frame with Alketz custom paint. Bespoked in Columbus Zona and Life tubes. Aloueta handcrafted couple stem / arms rest extension Columbus Futura All Road fork with internal dynamo routing Mavic Open Pro Carbon UST Disc Rim With SON28 dynamo front hub and Erase Centerlock Road rear hub Hutchinson Challenger TLR 35mm tires SMP EVO saddle Deda Zero 100 handlebar and seatpost SMP Grip 2.0 Shimano ES600 pedals

Key items of kit: Inside bags screwed mainly for food. Saddle bag for cold and wet conditions clothes. And a Thermarest matress. Handlebar bag for night bivouac (sleeping bag + hot clothes in merinos). Bottle under downtube for mechanical parts. Lights by Sinewave Beacon in front and SON in rear. The front light is also used for GPS and phone load.

Frame type: Road

Frame material: Steel

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 30-34mm

Electronic shifting: No

Ben Chuilon

Age: 45

Cap number: 11

Location: Oxford, UK

Bike: OPEN U.P.P.E.R. frameset with Campagnolo Levante wheels. Campagnolo Chorus 12 speed groupset, paired to a double GRX crankset with 48/31t chainrings and a 12/34t cassette. Bars, stem, seatpost and cassette are from Litebike. Charge Knife Saddle. Tubeless Michelin Power Adventure semi-slick tyres, 32mm wide (as measured).

Key items of kit: Restrap Race saddle bag, Restrap Race top tube bag, Tailfin half frame bag (3.0L), Roadrunner Burrito Supreme front roll bag. Key pieces of kit include Garmin Edge 540 (+ Edge 530 backup), two Magic Shine RN1200 front lights, two Cateye Viz 150 rear lights, 40'000mAh in powerbanks, Alpkit bivy, OMM Mountain Raid 100 sleeping bag, two Klymit V-seats to sleep on. Clothing includes Albion Pertex rain jacket, Uniqlo ultra-light synthetic down vest, arm & knee warmers, toe-booties, Goretex cap.

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Carbon

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 30-34mm

Electronic shifting: No

Patrick Noonan

Age: 41

Cap number: 91

Location: Dénia, Spain

Bike: Giant Revolt Advanced 1 with stock handlebars and seat, everything else has been customized. Eagle Axs 10-52 with Ratio 34t chainring - perfect gear range for me to not blow my legs out on massive climbs. Redshift seatpost and stem suspension system provides much needed comfort on rough roads and rocky gravel. Rolling on surprisingly fast Tufo Gravel Thundero 40 tires for their excellent wet performance to give me confidence on misty pyrenees peaks. Running Tailfin aeropack with full sleep kit for proper recovery: Cumulus xlite 200 sleeping bag, Thermarest pad, MLD eVent Soul Bivy. In the cockpit, I’ve got Profile Design aerobars holding up a Cyclite aerobar pack straddled by 2 Cyclite food bags loaded with nuts, gels and other dense calories. Finally: Apidura frame bag and Tailfin front/rear/downtube bag for warm clothes, electronics, hygiene and tools. Water storage: 2 650ml bottles and an apidura hydration vest. Lights: dynamo powered front/rear by Supernova and Garmin Varia for oncoming car alerts.

Key items of kit: Small arm-band speaker strapped to my aerobars to give me some musical motivation during low moments. Extra bib to stay fresh and clean. Emergency gels in tool kit in case I run out of food. Garmin and Favero power pedals work together to beep at me if I get too excited and leave Z2. Cliff bars for energy and nostalgia. Printed customized daily elevation and waypoint cards to help me stay organized and off my phone.

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Carbon

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Steve Hayes

Age: 44

Cap number: 108

Location: JERSEY

Bike: Fairlight Secan - only a couple of months old so our first real outing but loving it so far.

Key items of kit: Exposure light. Brand new Tailfin cargo pack and top tube bag. OMM sleeping bag, Alpkit bivi and Thermarest sleep mat for all those nights sleeping rough

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Steel

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 45-50mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Sergey Shulubin

Age: 54

Cap number: 105

Location: Wangi Wangi

Bike: Polo & Bike fixed gear, built at the very last moment after the bicycle I’d used since 2018 was stolen on Constanța beach, right after finishing TCRno11.

It’s an aluminum frame with a carbon fork, Mavic Ellipse wheels, aluminum bullhorn handlebars, and a Campagnolo Ultra-Torque crankset — reliable and easy to fix. I’m running MTB brake levers and a Vader saddle (basically an OEM Selle Italia copy, as far as I can tell).

Key items of kit: It's more or less the same as I had for last few years - "dingle" fixed gear, which means two gears that are switched by changing the front chainring and flip-flopping the rear wheel with the help of a 15" wrench — pretty much the same way it was done 100 years ago, before Campagnolo introduced shifters, derailleurs, and all that stuff.

My GoFundMe project didn’t reach its goal, so I had neither the time nor the money to get all the right parts. Instead of the proper 110 BCD cranks I used before, I had to go with 135 BCD. That leaves me with gears of 46x14 and 39x24 — so climbing will be a bit harder than I’m used to.

For the same reason, instead of new bags I had to rely on leftovers from the stolen bike that the thieves left behind: a rear bag that used to be a handlebar bag (easy to reach), and handlebar bags that are basically a Frankenstein mix of several different models. The frame bag was handmade at the very last moment with glue and a needle out of an Ikea bag. The same goes for the front panniers, which I cut from a plastic shopping bag — waterproof and with plenty of space.

The rear rack is a low-pro bullhorn. Not great as ergonomic handlebars for long-distance cycling, but fine for carrying heavy loads when touring. For bedding I have a sleeping mat made of thermal insulation material, a bivvy bag, a safety blanket, and a couple of garbage bags.

I’m also carrying a lot of tools, spare parts, and so on, so the whole setup is quite heavy. But after its first 600 km on the way to the start of TPR, it’s holding up alright.

Frame type: Other

Frame material: Aluminium

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 25-29mm

Electronic shifting: No

Florian

Age: 27

Location: Germany

Bike: BMC Roadmachine that I built up with 1×12 Grx, 42T, 10-51, Lambda X-Wing narrow handlebars, Zipp clip-ons, Supernova B54 front light and some cheap carbon wheels

Key items of kit: Cyclite bags, warm clothes and sour Haribos

Frame type: Road

Frame material: Carbon

Tyre width: 30-34mm

Electronic shifting: No

Paolo Capozzi

Age: 40

Cap number: 90

Location: Switzerland

Bike: Fairlight Strael 4.0

Key items of kit: Steel frame for comfort and also because what other material are you supposed to use for a bike frame anyway ;).

Gear is a mix of Shimano ultegra and GRX di2 with Croder chain rings giving me a 30-36 lightest gear.

Selection of bags from Tailfin (top tube and frame bag) and Apidura (aero pack and seat bag).

Lights are SON Ladelux front and exposure Diablo as helmet light. Son rear light and magic shine seeme as backup. The son dynamo light can be also used to charge the power bank that I have.

Important choice this year is the tires. I opted for Hutchinson challenger 35mm. They actually measure 37mm. They are sleek but are designed for the long distance and have a “nominal life span” of 10000km. Hopefully this will give me some more margin against punctures.

I’m carrying a full sleeping kit with cumulus xlite sleeping bag, vango air mat and msr e-bivy. Though I hope to sleep mostly in hotels. For warmth I have the Albion ultra light insulated jacket and a Rapha brevet gilet plus arm and leg warmers, buff, gloves. And of course a full rain kit.

“Luxury” bit is a spare pair of bib shorts with totally different padding to show my bottom skin some love.

Frame type: Road

Frame material: Steel

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 35-39mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Tobias Viskum Hogaard

Age: 50

Cap number: 115

Location: Denmark, Aarhus

Bike: Giant TCX Advanced

Key items of kit: 2 bags on toptune Ortlieb Quick rack with 1) small Food bag 2) fitted storage bag Front-SCHWALBE G-One R Pro Addix Race Tubeless 700 x 40 Rear-Hutchinson Caracal Race RLab Tubeless 700 x 40

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Carbon

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: No

Graham Fereday

Age: 48

Cap number: 49

Location: Exeter, UK

Bike: Mason Bokeh

Key items of kit: GRX Di2 2x groupset. Redshift aerobars and dual position seatpost. Apidura bags. Alpkit sleeping bag and bivi

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Aluminium

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Guilhem Coussanes

Age: 36

Cap number: 50

Location: Vevey, Switzerland

Bike: Curve Kevin of Steel with the 🥷🧜 color. Equipped with a shimano GRX 12*1. The front bracket is 38 to tackle the steepest climb. The wheels are the DT Swiss G1800 with dynamo hub. They are mounted with Hutchinson Caracal in 40. Front light is a Caminade Llum equipped with USB port to load my electronics. The rear light is a Super Nova E3. Finally, cherry on the cake the seatpost and the stem are Thomson.

Key items of kit: The bike is equipped with a mix and match saddle bag from Restrap and Décathlon. The frame bag is a Restrap and my candy handlebar bag is Zefal. I will travel with a trail running bag (Décathlon) to easily access my warm and rain cloths.

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Steel

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: No

Florent De Boisvilliers

Age: 45

Cap number: 38

Location: Bordeaux, France

Bike: Origine Axxome 3 GTR with Shimano Ultegra DI2 12v 50/34 x 11-34, Mavic Cosmic SLR 32mm wheels, Continental GP 4 Saisons tires (32mm), Powermeter Inpeak Powercrank-E (left crank) and Garmin Edge 1040 Solar. I'm also carrying a 10,000mAh power bank.

Key items of kit: Bags: Tailfin AeroPack Cargo, Tailfin Top Tube, Apidura Expedition Frame Pack, Riverside Food pouch.

Lights: Klamp EXR1600 (front), Lezyne Strip Drive 300+ (rear) and Lezyne Femto USB Drive (rear).

Sleep: bivvy + sleeping mat + pillow + liner

Special key: Red helmet to gain more speed (yes red color can give to you more speed! trust me!)

Frame type: Road

Frame material: Carbon

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 30-34mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Robert Coy

Age: 61

Cap number: 98

Location: Abu Dhabi

Bike: Cervélo Aspero-5 GRX Di2, with 40mm Schwalbe G-One RS on Reserve 40/44 wheels. DT Swiss-370 hub on the rear. It has straight pull spokes, so fixing a broken spoke should be slightly less painful! Front hub is a SON-28 Dynamo for lighting and phone power. Gearing is standard ratios, except for a change to Rotor QRings.

Key items of kit: Main lights are Supernova M99 DY Pro to light the way in case of cloudy nights. Rear light fixes to the bottom of the Tailfin with the mandatory rear reflector. An Igaro D2 powers the phone during daylight hours, through a SP-Connect wireless charging mount. The phone being in a weathertight case. Due to the limited frame space, primary hydration system is a Camelbak bladder in an Albion cargo vest, fluorescent/ reflective of course. I’ll be slow but hopefully visible!

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Carbon

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Nicole

Age: 31

Cap number: 87

Location: The Netherlands

Bike: LIV Devote 2024

Key items of kit: LIV Devote 2024 Schwalbe G-one RS tire 40mm Garmin Edge 840 Solar
Tailfin Aeropack Tailfin top tube long L Leyzne Macro Drive 1300XXL (2x) Leyzne Strip Pro Alert Drive 300 (2x) Head light Specialized Power Comp Mimic Saddle Deda Parabolica 1 Alta Glitter (friendship) bag in front for good luck from the brand ‘Life is a Ride’ (L)

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Carbon

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Valentin Robe

Age: 34

Cap number: 120

Location: Toulouse (France)

Bike: 2-11 cycles MR4, custom painted and set up with Zipp 303 firecrest wheelset and René Herse Corkscrew Climb endurance tires. Carbon Enve stem, bars and seatpost. Cane creek EEwings ti cranks.

Key items of kit: Full Whathappened outdoors set of bags to dispatch everything I need on the road.

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Steel

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 45-50mm

Electronic shifting: No

Michael Drummons

Age: 37

Cap number: 081

Location: Bristol, United Kingdom

Bike: My trusted, wonderfully understated and heavily used 58cm 2019 Specialized Diverge, with 1st generation future shock and S Works Cobble Gobbler Seatpost. Rolling on Hope Pro 5 hubs and Light Bicycle Rims, expertly built by Rob Borek; finished with 40mm Specialized Pathfinder TLR tyres.

A pretty wide and very comfy pair of 50cm Ritchey Venturemax bars up front and some high rise Profile Design TT bars.

Praxis cranks, with 34 tooth front ring from Superstar Components, an 90-50 tooth E-Thirteen Helix race Cassette and Sram XX1 AXS Real Derailleur.

Sram Force Shifters paired up with the AXS Derailleur along with standard Force brakes.

Key items of kit: The Biggest Tailfin Bags I could Squeeze into the frame and then bookended by Restrap's Aero Race Range on the bars and under saddle.

Thermarest NeoAir Mat, OR Helium Bivvy and S2S Sp1 Bag. Ideally just one night in a hotel for me but the mountains will be dictating my reservations I feel.

Wahoo Roam 3 and A Garmin Etrex 32x as a redundancy, hopefully enjoys coming along for the ride as much as my tools.

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Carbon

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Dion Gerrits

Age: 31

Cap number: 32

Location: Sint Anthonis

Bike: Canyon

Key items of kit: Restrap bags

Frame type: Road

Frame material: Carbon

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 35-39mm

Electronic shifting: No

Heiko

Age: 48

Cap number: 134a

Location: German

Bike: I biuld my bine for funktion. I am titangravelbike.de It was not important, but it looks good :-)))

Key items of kit: all is titan and mechanical, no electric, no hydraulic ....

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Titanium

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 35-39mm

Electronic shifting: No

Patzsch Ronny

Age: 46

Cap number: 101

Location: Germany

Bike: my bike is from „TitanGravelBike.de“

Key items of kit: Shimano GRX 1 x 12 di2 shifting profile design Aero Bar Bag from Cyclite, Apidura, Ortlieb Dt swiss wheels with SP Dynamo Supernova Dynamo Front and Bag Lite

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Titanium

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Richard Woods

Age: 39

Cap number: 133b

Location: Cornwall, UK

Bike: Planet-X Tempest v2 frame, Merlin Malt fork, 11s Ultegra/RX/GRX, Superstar Components 32 spoke wheelset, 35mm Continental GP5000 AS tyres, Profile Design aero bars, bags by Podsac/Alpkit/Brae/Decathlon.

Key items of kit: Alpkit Pipedream 200 sleeping bag, Alpkit Numo mat, Sol Escape Lite bivvy, Ronhill Mercurial gtx jacket, Coros Dura gps computer, Altra lone peak trainers, Lezyne lights, Decathlon 20l collapsible backpack.

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Titanium

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 35-39mm

Electronic shifting: No

Hélène Fromenty

Age: 33

Cap number: 52

Location: Lille, France

Bike: I’m riding my custom Quokka Cycles bicycle, handmade in France. It’s a steel all-road bike equipped with a SRAM Force groupset 12 speeds (10/36 cassette, 46/33 chainrings) and Princeton carbon wheels with Specialized Mondo 35” tires. I have a SON dynamo hub up front, with a set of Supernova lights. I also use Deda Elementi aerobars and an Ass Savers Win Wing. All the bags are from Tangente Atelier, also handmade in France.

Key items of kit: I carry a small sleeping bag (Cumulus X-lite), a Bivy (Borah Gear) and a first price Decathlon pillow in case I have to lay down outside for a few hours. I also have a cargo vest from Albion full of snacks.

Frame type: Road

Frame material: Steel

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 35-39mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Christian Bernhard

Age: 46

Cap number: 24

Location: Switzerland

Bike: Colnago G4-X

Key items of kit: Seatbag: Ortlieb Framebags: Cyclite Light: Exposure Strada

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Carbon

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: Yes

Daniel Hesse

Age: 61

Cap number: 29

Location: Zürich

Bike: Open U.P. size L, custom paint, Sram Force eTap AXS, Ingrid crankset, Wheelset DT Swiss GR 1600 rear/ Pacenti SL25 Son Dynamo front, Schwalbe G-one RS pro 40mm tubeless, Arundel bottle cage, Beast Components saddle, 3T Dorico seatpost, Deda superzero gravel bar, 3T/Profile Design Clip on bar

Key items of kit: Full set of Restrap race bags, Revelate food pouches, Sea to Summit sleeping bag and mat, Supernova lights, Garmin Radar, Lupine Piko / Rotlicht as back-up. Special item: Restrap hike-a-bike harness against the detour.

Frame type: Gravel

Frame material: Carbon

Wheel size: 700c (29")

Tyre width: 40-44mm

Electronic shifting: Yes