Wayside
A Day at the Beach
Racing through the sand
Toes in the Sand
For some, the prospect of winter riding is outrageous. For others, it's a challenge worthy of taking on. For Lisa Wörner of the No Borders Gravel Team, winter riding is so commonplace she found a way to make it harder.
On a recent weekend, Lisa took to the beach, joined by thousands of other cyclists to race through the cold, wind, and sand. Oh... and she ran a half-marathon on the beach the next day to cap it off. Read on to hear about her experience.
A line of figures on bikes stretches down the beach. Through the greyness of the winter morning, vague shapes can be made out on the horizon. Wind turbines, a boat just out to sea, and some industry in the distance. It’s the second weekend in January, and a cold wind blows off of the North Sea. As the riders look for good sand to ride on and the right group to be in, we welcome you to the world of beach racing.
In the Netherlands, beach racing is a thing. In a country with so few hills but a whole lot of sand, the nation wants to put its assets to good use. That’s why there are 3,000 riders preparing for an out-and-back race along the pancake-flat Dutch coastline, with many choosing to enter the “combi” that accumulates your bike time with the following day’s half marathon – also run largely along the beach.
“Beach racing may be a niche sport, but it’s huge for the people who live along the coast here in North Holland,” explains Lisa Wörner, an amateur Dutch racer, orthopaedic surgeon and founder of the No Borders Gravel Team. “The race here in Egmond kept appearing on my radar and now felt like the right time – I had a suitable bike for the first time, and I wasn’t completely turned off by the idea of the half marathon. Who could say no to a weekend of racing?”
An ex-professional rower, Lisa loves to compete. She grins: “I think I’m the type of person that’s a racer who has to train. After I took a break at the start of the winter, I wanted to hit upon something new to kick off the season. I like the area of Egmond; I’ve got really great memories of being here with my parents while growing up.”
“I managed to fit in two practice rides on the beach. The first ride was a good lesson in how low you can go with your tire pressure – I took it too far and flatted immediately. On race day, I was pretty nervous about the sand conditions, but it was surprisingly doable – the hardest thing was staying in groups!”
Bike Racing vs. Running 13 Miles
“The bike race was definitely harder on my system, but the running was harder on my body. Going into the run was a big unknown for me, but I think I paced it well. There were a couple moments of panic, but I focused on the exhale and got through it. I’m not a trained runner so it felt like my muscles just couldn’t go that fast – plus I think there’s some residual fatigue from the bike race too.
As this was a first for me on both counts, I’m happy with the outcome and would definitely line up for the beach race again. The half marathon? I’m less convinced.”
The Race
First held in 1998, Egmond Pier Egmond is one of the most prestigious beach races in Europe, always held on the second weekend in January and attracting an equal share of road riders, mountain bikers, crit racers and ‘crossers. It’s a 38 km course with a wiggly detour halfway down the beach that escorts you briefly into the dunes and includes hay bale barricades. With over 3,000 riders, it gets busy and the groups are big.
As such, No Borders would like to see the introduction of separate men’s and women’s starts, which is what happens in the half marathon seeing a 9-minute start gap to challenge the top men to catch the top women by the time they reach the finish.
