The Dutch cycling team BEAT Cycling Club will travel to its training camp to Girona this year by train. The bicycles and other equipment will join the team to Spain by rail. “It is more expensive than by road, but the journey is not much longer.”

Most cycling teams that go on a training camp abroad use trucks to get their equipment to their destination. The cyclists are then flown in. “We thought: this should also be possible by train. This way, we emit about 80 per cent less CO2,” says Twan van Schie, sustainability coordinator at BEAT.

It cost the team a lot more money than usual, so BEAT started looking for sponsors. “It wouldn’t have been possible without our partners,” says Van Schie. “Train tickets are very expensive at the last minute. The plane tickets would have cost 50 euros per person for a return ticket, but train prices started at 450 euros. I thought the transport costs of the material weren’t too bad, but it was also almost twice as expensive.”

Two days on the rail

RCC Container Trading sponsored a container for the team. In addition to the bicycles, a massage couch, extra clothing and spare parts are also stored there. “It really is ours now; we have labelled it with stickers and will use it more often in the future.”

Rail carrier Raillogix takes care of the transport of all materials. “The container left Rotterdam by train on Monday, and transport will take about two days. When the riders arrive in Girona on Wednesday, they will already be at the hotel.”

The container completes the last meters of the journey on an electric truck. It takes the riders about 12 hours to travel to Spain. “That includes a transfer in Paris for a quick lunch,” says Van Schie.

Competitions

It remains to be seen whether the train will also be used for competitions. “That depends on the circumstances. In cycling you usually ride from A to B. If you have a race in Austria and you take the material there by train, you then have to rent a truck to drive along with the peloton,” says Van Schie.

“The train is certainly very suitable for training camps. I don’t understand why other teams aren’t doing this yet. It’s not a one-off stunt, as far as I’m concerned, we will do it like this every year.”

This article was originally published in our sister publication NT.nl.