Picos de Europa or ‘Peaks of Europe’ is so named as the first relief sailors would see when returning from America and the hardships of the Atlantic. For our riders too, this will be the first taste of many mountains as they begin their crossing of the continent.

Here a split parcours and CP will give riders the choice between tarmac and offroad, an opportunity for the bold to gain time, but also for the overconfident to lose it!

A climb which has featured in the Tour de France more than any other, and in the Trans Pyrenees every year, but never before in the Transcontinental Race. Famed for its jagged peaks, relentless slopes, and curious llamas, riders will climb from the Bareges side before descending Desrigange’s icy slopes to Ste-Marie-de-Campan. This is where perhaps cycling’s most famous penalty for support came, as Eugene Cristoph lost 10 minutes for seeking help from a blacksmith’s son to operate the bellows as he fixed his own broken fork. Never let it be said TCR rules are harsh…

The race’s northernmost point, the Strada dell’Assietta, was used as a military road during the 17th and 18th centuries, where Europe’s empires and noble houses fought over territory. More recently the road was the Transcontinental’s first ever offroad parcours, it was on TCRNo3’s second control where another battle raged, as Josh Ibbett began to close the gap on James Hayden and the balance of the race began to change.

One of the highest roads in the Alps the SP173, as it’s simply known, spends large amounts of time over 2000m and riders ability to judge the weather, darkness, and resupply will be put to a high-stakes test.

Siena’s piazza del campo is home to the city’s famous Palio, but bears witness to another race this year, as TCRNo11’s fourth parcours begins under the famous medieval clocktower before guiding riders through the labyrinthine streets and out into the surrounding countryside.

The chalky white roads of the Eroica and Strade Bianche draw an evocative picture as they etch their way up Tuscany’s rolling hills, past avenues of cypress and ancient villas, before cascading down them.

From here, the double-parcours breaks and riders make their own way down the spine of Italy towards the control point in the beautiful Apennine village of Pacentro.

Riders from TCRNo9 will remember Burrel, where 40km of rough unsealed road marked the start of what was for many, the toughest part of the race. Here roads which might be marked on an atlas of the Balkans quickly turn from tarmac to stone, to mud, and those who ride around here would do well to do their research beforehand.

The Qafe Shtame climb leaves the tourist town of Kruje, snaking up the valley sides, past sheer cliffs and tumbling rivers, before the parcours ends near the abandoned silos of Noje, standing (and half-standing) like tenpins midway through a giant’s game of bowls.

The Control Point will be hosted once again at Villa Bruci, where riders will find sympathetic hosts, endless views, and steaming plates of rice and local vegetables.