Andrew McLean and Austrian teammate, Heinz Zorweg, took a dominant category win and ended 20th overall at the Bike Transalp international mountain bike stage race in Europe at the weekend.
Heinz Zorweg (left) and Andrew McLean savour winning the Grand Master category at the 2014 Bike Transalp. Photo: Supplied
McLean, a member of the Cycle Lab Supercycling, powered by Toyota club, teamed up with Zorweg for the seven-day 587km race from Oberammergau, Germany to Riva del Garda, Italy across the Alps mountain range.
Competing in the Grand Master division (50 years and over), McLean and Zorweg led their age category from start to finish, claiming six stage wins in the process. But it’s their 20th place overall in a classy international field of full-time professional racers that impressed most.
The race included a total of 19 227 metres of vertical ascent, making it one of the toughest climbing events in bicycle racing. Torrential rain on two stages made conditions even more challenging, while a stomach bug on Day 5 reduced Zorweg to survival mode for the 100km leg with 2800 metres of climbing.
“That was tough! There was a lot of climbing. Huge climbs compared to what we have in South Africa. We had hard rain, cold and heat throughout the event so it was a real allround challenge,” said McLean.
“Heinz had two bad days, stage two where he struggled with the cold and rain that we weren’t exactly prepared for in terms of clothing choice and stage five where he was ill. But he’s so tough and just kept soldiering on. He’s an incredible athlete.”
