“Climb Like A Pro” was the challenge for amateur Romanian cyclists on Monday 5 July at the Transfagarasan Challenge in the beautiful region of Sibiu, Romania. The amateur event on the world famous Transfagarasan climb, named “The Best Road in The World” by Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear, was part of the UCI pro Sibiu Cycling Tour taking place on the same day on the same climb.
The 25 kilometre ribbon of asphalt route climbs an amazing 1454 metres straight up into the Carpathian Mountains and ends at the glacier fed Bâlea lake. The climb is on par with the most difficult climbs in Europe – Ventoux 21 kilometres with 1912 metres vertical, Alp d’Huez 13.9km +1118m and Stelvio 21.5km +1533m.
Alexis Guerin (Team Vorarlberg) set a new Transfagarasan KOM record of 1:02:00 and claimed stage three victory in the pro race, while Adrian-Marius Florea won the sold-out 350 rider amateur race with a time of 1:15:38. In second place Radu Diaconescu crossed the finish line in 1:19:44 with Andrei Baban next at 1:19:54.
Anca Popescu won the Women’s race with a time of 1:38:27. Monica Anca Petre-Tincu was second and Veronica Ciuntu third.
PHOTOS: Transfagarasan Challenge
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