Video & Race Report: Trans Madeira Summer 2023 – Days 1 & 2

Words: Trans Madeira

Edition eight of Trans Madeira powered by Cannondale just got the first and second days of action in Madeira island, Portugal. 140 racers from 28 nations come together in the little dot in the Atlantic Ocean to ride and race a stress-free 220km, exploring north, south, east and west. 75km of racing divided into 30 special stages and over 15000 meters of descent. You can try to make plans for what’s ahead but, to be honest, Madeira’s tropical weather can really play a huge role in this next week of racing.

The East side of Madeira is what we call the land of diversity and that goes back to the hosting of the Enduro World Series in 2017 and 2019. It really takes riders on a rollercoaster and makes everyone feel like they’re racing in five different countries in just one day – it’s easy to lose track of where you’re riding! You can’t go wrong with day one with trails holding a bit of everything: fast, technical, steep, physical, rocky, loam… well, indeed, a trail for every taste.

Well. Hard to race Trans Madeira without stepping ground in Machico.

Oriano and Alex, full-time trail builders are also the key players in marking stages and liaisons.

Goodies. Who doesn’t love them?

Sadly we ‘lost’ Lachlan Blair on a group ride. Heal up mate.

Load them up for a 1500m uplift to start day one.

From dust to mud party. Marshals on the move!

Amy Morrison on the way to secure a second place on day one.

Stage one all in the open surrounded by typical Madeira flowers, ‘Macaroco’.

“Summer edition”… should change the name to “Tropical edition”.

While riders were getting the grip at the end of stage one…

…then it came stage two. Just a couple of pedal strokes away and a completely different terrain.

First three stages of the day all in the wet.

Kriss Kyle is racing his first enduro race. Face says it all.

Then, out of nowhere, a dust mayhem down to Machico valley.

Rocks on rocks on the way to Canical. Thomas Lapeyrie sitting in 7th place after day one.

Morgane Jonnier loving the dry and securing all stage wins on day one.

Really, a trail for every taste.

Leigh Johnson dropping to Machico on the last stage of the day.

Jerome back on an Enduro World Series special stage and finding third place.

Kitchen staff on the move to prepare meals for 200 people every day.

What a way to wrap day one.

RESULTS AFTER DAY ONE

Full results here.

Imagine having no rain for one and half month. Trans Madeira starts and the rain comes back. Well, it wouldn’t be the same without it and it really spiced up the day with riders facing 7 special stages, diving north and south. Surprisingly, the ‘queen’ stage of the day, facing north, that holds almost 500 meters descent was on that perfect balance and took riders to Porto da Cruz for much-deserved food zone and sun baths. A shuttle back to the top got everyone to face the final two stages of the day, dropping down to the capital, Funchal. A full-day on the bike. That’s what we’re here for.

Wet morning to wake everyone up!

Slippery at the top, dusty at the bottom. All in one trail.

Jerome on the hunt. Fourth place on day two.

Another second place finish to Amy Morrison with three out of seven stage wins.

Can anyone catch Kelan Grant this week? Another day another win.

As riders moved closer to the sea things went from wet to dry.

Classic ‘Rat-Boy’ special stage. Short but with so much going on.

Classic ‘Rat-Boy’ crashing.

No liaison times. No stress. Just riding bikes with your buddies.

Yummy.

Sunlight in the woods for the Cannondale boys. Things are about to change.

Back to dry with views over Porto da Cruz.

This is a timed stage Kriss… stop playing around!

For those that didn’t believe they would see a blue sky today.

Pleasure and pain after 415 meters descent, with 5/5 technical.

Album dropping soon.

Shuttle up for two stages down to Funchal.

You can ride these trails on holidays but with racing involved it just gets better and better.

Again, classic Madeira. Wet morning, dusty afternoon.

It takes an army to get this event off the ground. Currently hitting 60 people to get things rolling.

Working with locals in all areas: marshals, timings, food zones, kitchen, bike camp…

Sam Reynolds is back in Madeira six years later after filming ‘Deathgrip’. He has no idea what he got himself into… and that’s good!

Just another flipping awesome day riding bikes.

RESULTS AFTER DAY TWO

Full results here.