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Fiona Kolbinger's Transcontinental Race kit list

The medical student who won the seventh edition of the Transcontinental overall at the first time of asking subtly shared a photo of a kit list on Strava before she set off. Here's what she was carrying...

24-year-old Fiona Kolbinger pulled off not just one of the biggest feats in ultra-endurance cycling last week, but arguably one of the most impressive results of the year in any sport by winning the brutal Transcontinental Race - not because she was the first female winner, but because it was reportedly her first competitive ultra-distance bike race of any kind.   

Who is Fiona Kolbinger? 

Kolbinger clocked a distance just shy of 4,000km, with self-supported participants able to choose their best route between the race checkpoints, and finished 10 hours ahead of second-placed Ben Davies in a time of 10 days, 2 hours and 48 minutes. 

Fiona kolbinger kit list, from Strava

As she wasn't really marked out as a serious contender to the outside world prior to the race beginning (apart from training partner Bjorn Lenard perhaps) a Strava post from Kolbinger showing a breakdown of her entire kit list before she started flew under our radar - and now her bag brand of choice Apidura have listed everything in that photo. Here's exactly what she was stashing before setting off, and what she was stashing it all in... 

Luggage

apidura-racing-handlebar-pack-5l-on-bike-1

Apidura Racing Handlebar Pack (5L)
Apidura Racing Saddle Pack (7L)
Rapha top tube pack
Osprey Ultralight Stuff Rucksack

Kolbinger went pretty light even compared to other Transcon racers, keeping the main triangle of her frame clear and on-bike storage limited to her bars, behind the saddle and on the top tube. A handy addition was the Osprey Ultralight Stuff Rucksack, that is small enough to pack away in one of the bikepacking bags but can be utilised when carrying extra food or provisions after a pit stop. 

Maintenance

shimano brake pads

Four inner tubes
Tyre boot
Set of patches
Abus cable lock
Roll of electrical tape
Eight cable ties
Spare Continental GP5000 tyre
Topeak Hexus 16 multi-tool
Finish Line CC Wet Chain Lube – 120ml
Four tyre levers
Shimano Ultegra brake pads
Section of tyre
Mech hanger

Kolbinger's list of spares suggest she's capable of completing most simple bike maintenance tasks, something that could make or break your race if you're stuck for hours due to a mechanical you can't fix. Spare brake pads are a wise choice, and she's managed to cover every eventuality for a puncture, even packing a spare section of tyre to do a big patch job if the worst comes to the worst. 

Tech

Garmin eTrex 25 Touch -10.jpg

USB plug
Garmin eTrex Touch
Accessory cables
USB splitter
Eight AA batteries

The GPS unit of choice was the Garmin e-Trex touch - perhaps a bit surprising as the battery life isn't as large as some of the latest computers on the market, but it did the job. Cables and batteries presumably allowed her to charge and add juice to some of her items on the go, such as her front and rear dynamo lighting. 

Hygiene, care and nutrition

Wiggle-Nutrition-Energy-Gels-with-Caffeine-20-x-38g-Energy-Recovery-Gels-Cola-2016-0

Babywipes
Two packs of chewing gum
Toothbrush
Meridol toothpaste
Factor 50 sun lotion
ASSOS Chamois cream
Compeed Blister patches
Lobello sun protect lip balm
Six caffeine gels
Hydration Tablets

Obviously Kolbinger consumed far more on route, but it appeared she started her journey with just some budget Wiggle caffeine gels and hydration tabs. Chewing gum would appear to be an unusual choice... it could well just be something to concentrate on during particularly monotonous stretches of road! 

Other essentials

Giro Foray

Passport
Two credit cards in waterproof ziplock
Wearable reflective tape
Giro Foray helmet
Set of Roeckl Polartec gloves
Cateye Volt500 front light
Knog Blinder Mob rear light
Pearl Izumi leg and arm warmers
Rapha Souplesse Rain Shell
Yeti Fever Zero sleeping bag
Sunglasses plus an extra visor
Abus cable lock

Kolbinger's choice of helmet is an unpretentious one, the Giro Foray being widely available for around £40. As well as her dynamo lighting she also ran additional Cateye front and Knog rear USB lights. 

Obviously with no support crew at the self-supported TCR, that means you have to carry all your own gear for the duration of the race; and for those at the sharp end that often means sleeping gear, as roadside naps will generally take less time than checking in to a hotel. Kolbinger packed just a super light sleeping bag from Yeti Fever for times she opted to sleep out, which the brand say can withstand temperatures down to -1c. 

Fiona Kolbinger Transcontinental day 1_Credit AngusSung.co_.uk for Transcontinental.cc

We would have loved to have combined this breakdown of Kolbinger's kit with a more detailed inspection of her bike, a Canyon Endurace WMN CF Disc, but we're still awaiting pics and details promised to us by Canyon. If and when we get those details, we'll tell you all you need to know about the bike that propelled her to victory too! 

Main image: James Robertson Photography for the Transcontinental Race

Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.  

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11 comments

Avatar
Secret_squirrel | 4 years ago
1 like

Why a tyre boot and a piece of tyre?  Why not 2 boots?  Presumably the tyre is slightly thicker?

 

What else can you do maintenance-wise with a piece of tyre.

Avatar
AlsoSomniloquism replied to Secret_squirrel | 4 years ago
2 likes

Secret_squirrel wrote:

Why a tyre boot and a piece of tyre?  Why not 2 boots?  Presumably the tyre is slightly thicker?

What else can you do maintenance-wise with a piece of tyre.

Maybe to repair larger rips in the tyre then the boot could handle. Last year I believe there were pics of James Hadyn's tire covered in gaffer tape to repair a large sidewall rip and stop the inner tube from coming out. 

Avatar
D-Squared replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 4 years ago
1 like

AlsoSomniloquism wrote:

Secret_squirrel wrote:

Why a tyre boot and a piece of tyre?  Why not 2 boots?  Presumably the tyre is slightly thicker?

What else can you do maintenance-wise with a piece of tyre.

Maybe to repair larger rips in the tyre then the boot could handle. Last year I believe there were pics of James Hadyn's tire covered in gaffer tape to repair a large sidewall rip and stop the inner tube from coming out. 

Good idea - last week I had a blowout with a long split in the tyre that was too much for a boot so had to call for a ride home. Now I know what I’ll be doing with that old tyre!

Avatar
jollygoodvelo | 4 years ago
4 likes

Amazing really.  It strikes me that perhaps apart from a couple of things (toothbrush/toothpaste, number of tubes) that's basically just a kit to 'go for a ride'.  And it's what she did - just go and ride.  That's all it should all be about, just riding your bike.  Really looking forward to hearing more from her once the dust settles.

Avatar
Tinbob49 | 4 years ago
9 likes

I find this kit list mildly depressing because it’s all so simple.

I keep labouring under the assumption that I could also do something astonishing if I had the right level of kit, but this list makes it very clear I’m way out of this league. Heck, I have plenty of kit that is supposedly better.

It makes it even worse that I have practically the same bike as her....hats off to Fiona.

Avatar
ConcordeCX replied to Tinbob49 | 4 years ago
2 likes

Tinbob49 wrote:

I find this kit list mildly depressing because it’s all so simple.

I keep labouring under the assumption that I could also do something astonishing if I had the right level of kit, but this list makes it very clear I’m way out of this league. Heck, I have plenty of kit that is supposedly better.

It makes it even worse that I have practically the same bike as her....hats off to Fiona.

probably best then if you don't read Journey to the Centre of the Earth, by Richard and Nick Crane.

Avatar
NiceGuySean replied to ConcordeCX | 4 years ago
1 like

ConcordeCX wrote:

probably best then if you don't read Journey to the Centre of the Earth, by Richard and Nick Crane.

I still have my copy of this book, and you're right. The Crane brothers were doing this sort of thing way before anyone else. I still remember that they cut their tooth brushes in half to save weight - for some reason that has stuck in my mind all these years!

Avatar
ConcordeCX replied to NiceGuySean | 4 years ago
2 likes

niceguysean wrote:

ConcordeCX wrote:

probably best then if you don't read Journey to the Centre of the Earth, by Richard and Nick Crane.

I still have my copy of this book, and you're right. The Crane brothers were doing this sort of thing way before anyone else. I still remember that they cut their tooth brushes in half to save weight - for some reason that has stuck in my mind all these years!

this is a picture of their toolkit

 

Avatar
Tinbob49 replied to ConcordeCX | 4 years ago
2 likes

ConcordeCX wrote:

Tinbob49 wrote:

I find this kit list mildly depressing because it’s all so simple.

I keep labouring under the assumption that I could also do something astonishing if I had the right level of kit, but this list makes it very clear I’m way out of this league. Heck, I have plenty of kit that is supposedly better.

It makes it even worse that I have practically the same bike as her....hats off to Fiona.

probably best then if you don't read Journey to the Centre of the Earth, by Richard and Nick Crane.

thanks. I’ll add to the list! I’m currently reading Mark beaumonts book about round the earth in 80 days. Much more like it - we can all do 240 miles a day when we have that support vehicle etc, right?

Avatar
Jimthebikeguy.com | 4 years ago
5 likes

Its f*cking astonishing what she did here.

Avatar
Yorky-M | 4 years ago
7 likes

I take more on a single overnight trip!

there is a new saying in my world,

"fiona wouldnt moan"

Already been caught in two thunderstorms demarking after an mtb race and just smiles as fiona would smile, do it then continue on riding for 10 days.

Gonna harden up

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