One of the details that makes the Transpyr a unique experience is its desire to find or rescue lost trails so that those of us who participate in the mountain bike modality almost never know where we are. So much isolation gives rise to unique images, to sublime moments. For example, after coming out on a path after a terrifying descent, we came face to face with a French army patrol, presumably on maneuvers. Hard to tell who’s scared the most. Without time to recover, after 100 meters we are greeted by a young Frenchman, a guitar slung over his shoulder and a newborn on his back. Each one chooses in his life what he wants to be, if he can. We have chosen to suffer, stupid as it may seem. Hours later, we cross Lourdes, where I light a candle so as not to run out of battery on the electric bike, and we continue, leaving behind other types of devotees. Each one with his hobbies. More hours later (today I pedaled with assistance for 8 hours and a half and when I type this 80% of the rest of the participants have not arrived), a group of cows travels not at a trot, but at a gallop, the 100 meters in the meadow to take refuge under a couple of lone oaks. That happens to my left; to my right everything is black as night and I ask for a place under the tree, with the cows, to put on my raincoat. Nothing stupid these cows. And the storm comes. The Pyrenees are fantastic, perhaps a little aggressive in spring: despite the fact that the organizers have taken the trouble to clear a few meters of trail here and there, they know that we don’t like the facilities so we dedicate ourselves to clearing it ourselves, with the arms, legs and face, fighting with ferns and nettles that look like beeches. The storm from the day before, together with today’s, gives away more images: five guys lying on the ground at the same time in the middle of a muddy descent and swearing in Belgian, French, Basque and Spanish. I have only been able to hear one as he passed: the ferns had swallowed him up and only his lamentation gave him away.
Before going to Transpyr, I spoke with Josep Font, a psychologist at the Sant Cugat high-performance center, a person used to treating the elite of our athletes. I only had one question for him, a recurring question: why do human beings need to face these challenges, especially between 40 and 50? In other words, why do we like to suffer? The question surprised him, and he immediately clarified to me that his answers responded to his humble (but qualified) opinion, constituting a rather demolishing analysis of him. “It is as if they were from the UCI Pro Tour, professionals from Ineos or Movistar… it is a difficult question… but it is clear that playing sports is in fashion. People at those mature ages play at being a high-level athlete, and it is something that has become a business that sells 12,000-euro bikes, bars, carbon shoes, nutrition and training programs… and many do. with an exclusively competitive mood to be the first in the group, the neighborhood, the club or the gang. Why do it at ages in which your lifestyle also conditions you and to achieve irrelevant levels? I believe that the maximum exponent of this is the Titán Desert. Here in Catalonia every day on the news of tv3 it is reported as if it were the Tour. And it is a test that gives zero UCI points. These participants would not do anything in the MTB World Cup. But it is a business, with a promoter behind it who needs to generate publicity to attract customers. And what many participants do is pretend that they are elite competitors”, says Font. A game can end up being first a way of life, then a disease or an obsession: the bulk of your life revolves around the game of being the best cyclist, climber, tennis player or surfer.
And now we come to the whys. Font lists them without applying any kind of hot cloth. It should be remembered that he speaks of a certain type of individual because generalizing is not always a success. In his opinion, what moves him to participate in challenges such as Transpyr and countless others scattered around the planet (or in other types of sports) is the ego. “The ego means that I set challenges and challenges and I achieve them. Arriving on the Transpyr is a challenge. Each one sets a challenge to their measure and dedicates a large part of their life to it. The fact of achieving it satisfies their ego and in some cases it is amplified by social networks. The one who shines in the Titan Desert still gets a bike, socks, whatever. These behaviors are sometimes carried out by high-level competitors, such as those in mountain races who earn more as influencers than as athletes. In addition, they adorn it with added values such as health or environmentalism”, observes the Catalan psychologist.
If I say that I have suffered today, I can see the sardonic smiles of those who have memory and remember that I ride an electric bike. Never before had he spent so much time riding and pushing a bike at times, covered in mud and cow dung and freezing cold. No one has ordered me to do this, have I imposed it on myself? I usually Why do we want to suffer? Josep Font warns that “you like to suffer if you can. If not, you don’t suffer. I push because I want to see what my limit is and getting close to the limit gives me self-esteem. Deep down, we may seek to love ourselves more or that they love us more. His response astonishes me: Isn’t it a very twisted path to achieve it? I ask. “Well, others paint or play the guitar. There are people of 40 who live for paddle tennis and train as if their lives depended on it. This whole world of paddle tennis is, but it is more playful because it is a game and the suffering here weighs little. But on the bike, not only feeling powerful but more powerful than others counts a lot. That’s why it attracts a certain type of people. And lastly, I ask him almost fearfully if the profile he has just described is that of frustrated people, remembering my coach: “I don’t know because most of them are not that they couldn’t be good cyclists when they were young, it’s that they weren’t.” : they started riding the bike at 35. What’s more, professional cyclists really hang up when they leave the bike. Some don’t, some continue, but it’s not normal either. There are ex-professionals who miss combat, because it provides them with a certain well-being. but the rest are finishers (those who manage to reach the finish line)”.
There was still a small question… According to Josep Font, the fashion for endurance tests is based on a purpose to be achieved, seasoned with marketing, its added value (it is not a hamburger eating contest, for example), the healthy component that exudes, the natural framework and the possibility of entertaining the ego by entering into comparisons… although that has its reverse if you are always beaten. “But in this type of sport, you choose the level of your opponents according to your needs and convenience!!!! In the sport of the high level of truth, no. You find yourself in front of those who put you and require minimum qualifications and track records: not everyone can go to the Olympics or to a World Cup. On the other hand, to the open tests, exactly who wants to sign up. UCI points are not needed. After rereading this, I should hand in my bib. But stupidity is stronger than the ego. Tomorrow comes the queen stage: we jump to the south side to land in Vielha. Don’t wait for the chronicle early…
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