Trans-Nomad 2017:four days riding with Orbea’s bikers

It was a 100% enduro atmosphere that characterized the start of the Trans-Nomad 2017. The second edition of this adventure, already considered one of the world’s best competitions in this category, left the starting line on Wednesday, September 13, from Castejón de Sos (Huesca), where the 80 bikers gathered who were signed up for this adventure in which Orbea is the premium sponsor.

Among them were four of our ambassadors: Markel Uriarte, César Gairin, Simon André and Sandra Jordà, who could not resist the challenge of this competition: 4 days living together in the Aragonese and French Pyrenees, discovering the tracks of your dreams, where you can put your Orbea Rallon bikes to the test.

Stage 1: Castejón de Sos (Huesca) – Bagneres de Luchon (France) – 36 km.

The first stage of the Trans-Nomad 2017 started at 9 am sharp. The sunny weather foretold a calm day as far as the weather was concerned… But never take anything for granted!

The bikers were transferred to Llanos del Hospital, where after a short ride to La Besurta, they started the climb to the Portillón Benasque pass, the natural border with France. There they were received by rain and dense fog that didn't make things easy for the participants…

Portillón (2,444 m.) was the first obstacle of the day, a stage marked by poor visibility and the cold of the mountain top, which meant the bikers had to take extra care. They then took on the idyllic Col de Bareges (1,749 m) before descending to Col del Portillón and immersing themselves in the magical forests of the French Pyrenees.

The day ended in Bagneres de Luchon, where the Orbea bikers finished in good positions: Simón André finished 2nd, with a time of 27:38, followed by Markel Uriarte,at 1:12 behind his teammate and César Gairin who came in 5th.For her part, Sandrá Jordá, current European MTB Ultramarathon champ – lead the women’s race.

Stage 2: La Forqueta (Huesca) – Comodoto (Huesca) – 60 km.

Accompanied by the rain, the second stage of the Trans-Nomad 2017began at the north entrance of the tunnel separating France from Spain through Bielsa. From there, the bikers had to tackle the mythical Coll de la Forqueta, at an altitude of 2,386 meters, where snow could already be seen in this edition.

Following this, the 80 participants were transferred to the town of Espierba, from where they set out to conquer Comodoto Peak, at 2,361 meters. The last two stretches took them through the Pineta Valley, after which they ended up at the Bielsa Campground.

Simon André came in second place, holding onto his second place position in the rankings. César Gairin completed a fantastic stage and finished third, followed by Markel Uriarte, who was fourth. Markel remained in third in the overall rankings, and César in fourth. Meanwhile, Sandra Jordá won the stage and remained leader in the women's group.

Stage 3: Collado de Urdiceto (Huesca) – Castejón de Sos (Huesca) – 60 km.

The border between Spain and France was the starting line for the third stage of the Trans-Nomad 2017.It was an epic day where the bikers were forced to deal with intense cold (-5º in Urdiceto), rain and lathe first snowfall of this edition.

After passing through some unforgettable landscapes, our adventurers crowned the Madera Pass at an altitude of more than 2,500 meters, the maximum altitude for this edition, to then travel through Tabernés Valley and Biadós. Finally, after a long climb pedaling through the Sahún Mountain Pass and two timed segments, the riders arrived in Castejón de Sos, where the stage ended.

Simon André finished in second place, while Markel Uriarte came in sixth, one place better than César Gairin. With this result, Simon moved closer to the leading position in the overall rankings, only 21 seconds behind Borges. Markel was third and César fourth. For her part, Sandra Jordá won the stage and remained the leader.

Stage 4: Cerler (Huesca) – Castejón de Sos (Huesca) – 50 km.

After several days of cold, wind, rain and snow, a warm sun made an appearance to rein over the last day of the Trans-Nomad 2017: five timed segments through the spectacular regions of Sierra Negra, Planadona and Gallinero.

The day began with a climb to the Cerler resort and then pedaling over to Collado de Ardonés. From this point, the bikers took on Sierra Negra (2,500 m), and then headed to one of the special climbs of the day, Plana Pomé, and the Mina track.

Once they made it through this zone, they encountered the most impressive sections of the day: the magical trail of Planadona, 3,000 meters long, with a dizzying, curvy descent; the Integral del Gallinero; Sarrau Rollo, a spectacularly beautiful stretch through reddish soil; the Enchanted Forest; and Montisielo. Pure Pyrenees!

The final rankings could not have been better for Orbea’s ambassadors: Sandra Jordá won the women’s race! Simón André, Cesar Gairin and Markel Uriarte, in turn, finished in respectable positions: 2nd, 3rd and 4th place, respectively. Congratulations!