Armstrong Of The Himalayas: Jacob Zurl’s Record Manali-Leh Cycle Ride

Jacob Zurl is all of 26 years, and has already earned the feat of the fastest cycle trail in the Himalayas. And that too in under 39 hours. Here’s his story...

What sort of preparation did you do?

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Since September 2013, I cycled more than 20,000 kms to get my body fit for this project. But, I hadn’t done any training in high altitudes because I didn’t have the money or the time.

What were the biggest challenges you faced on your way up?

The air is much thinner, so when you breathe four times you only get oxygen worth one breath. To cycle and to have a body fit enough for average heights of more than 4,000 meters is a huge challenge in itself.

Compared to a car, is altitude sickness more when you are riding a bike up?

With the bike it’s more, because in addition to the altitude, the lungs and heart have to deal with the physical stress.

What were the scariest parts of your ride?

It was the first night, after 12 hours of cycling. My aeration was only at 72 % percent and my team wanted me to stop for a checkup. I stopped, suddenly felt sick and threw up. After the checkup I set off again towards Baralacha La (4,940m) but felt horrible and wasn’t able to eat for the next four hours.

What was the daily schedule like?

My day started at 4 or 5 am in the morning to train. I started early because the temperatures were comfortable and there was no traffic. After riding I took lunch, but afterwards I would be so tired that I had to sleep for couple of hours. In the evening I managed and organised things for the project.

When riding how do you keep yourself focussed? Is there a particular song you listen to?

Yes, I use music for meditation. Most times I listen to just one song, for hours. This time it was “Natalia Kills” with the song “Free”.

Is there enough time to stop and look at the scenery?

Yes, there is always enough time to look at the scenery, but not to stop. The impressive landscape also motivated me to go faster. In ultra cycling, it’s very important to keep the time where you are not on the bike very short. In the 38 hours and 41 minutes, I spent less than 4 hours standing.

Which other endurance rides have you done in your career?

This year I won the Glocknerman and I’m World Champion Ultramarathon 2014. In 2013 I finished Race Around Austria in third and become Rookie of the year. In 2012 I broke the world record for most vertical meters cycled in 48 hours. I climbed 28,789 vertical meters, 3,500 more than the old record of the Tyrolean Wolfgang Mader. It’s also in the new Guinness Book of World Records.

How do you rate this ride compared to rest, on a difficulty level - 10 being the most difficult.

It was 11. Mentally it was really hard to do this project non-stop and finish it in a fast time. Because after such long intervals at those heights, your body begins to resist. You try and push your body to the limit, and there is always the danger of edema of the lungs, accident, accidents because of falling rocks. There isn’t a lot of scope for warm clothing - and it can get pretty windy.

How did you manage the temperatures?

We had a temperature range of narrow 40°C. In the night it was down to 0°C and during the day up to 36°C. I had a special heated-cloth from Alpenheat gloves, vest (worn under my jersey) and insoles for shoes. So the cold night wasn’t the problem actually – it was the hot day, which made me suffer more.

What was the nutrient intake before the ride and what were you eating during it?

While cycling I ate rice with boiled vegetables, special high calorie liquid diet and also energy bars. But before I started, I ate Indian food and went to a restaurant in Leh everyday. A month before the trip I strengthened my bowels with probiotics, so had no problems with food there. My favorite meal was chicken tikka masala with rice and cheese garlic naan!

How many kilos did you shed on this ride?

Only one kilo. I burned 35,000 kcal, but ate 25,000 kcal during the ride.

Tell us about the bike.

It’s a carbon crossbike from Debello. The frame is a prototype, the company and I worked on it for three-quarters of an year. It finished the week before I flew to Leh so I wasn’t able to test it in Austria. It is similar a road bicycle but allows to mount wider tires. We decided to use calliper brakes and not disc brakes, because these are easier to fix. We also mounted carbon wheels because they are light and good for climbing.

Any details that you can remember from the ride?

On the pace car we had a banner “ACROSS THE HIMALAYA BY BICYCLE” so everybody saw it. I can’t believe how excited the people were. They were clapping, taking pictures and following us the whole day. At Kahrdung La, there was a group of fans who came up to support me.

What about support staff?

There were five crew from Austria and four from the local travel agency in two cars.

Your tips for people who are keen to take up cycling?

It’s not necessary to have an expensive bike at the beginning, but you should have one which comes up to your body height. Try to find some training routes on quite roads and convince someone to take it up with you. Don’t ride so hard in the beginning that you lose interest. And always listen to your body, otherwise you feel tired and wean off the sport.

What’s next?

For now it’s time for some rest and hopefully the next great idea will come. For sure I’ll also start competing in long distance races in Europe.

“It’s important to keep your focus. The rugged landscape motivated me to keep going.” – Jacob Zurl

From the September 2014 issue of FHM India.