Photo: @seekthewild for RaceQuest. That’s right, Felix W. is a finisher, too!
As we prepare for the dawn of a brand new year, our 10th here at RaceQuest, we can’t help but feel a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to travel again, to train in some amazing places, and to help every client get the absolute max from every travel experience you book with us. We have some updates on Challenge Roth 2023, some training opportunities, an outstanding 70.3 tune up race, and news on the 2023 Tour de France travel package.
Let’s dive right in.
Challenge Roth RACE Updates
By far our biggest event on the calendar each year is the Challenge Roth race week tour. We had the honor of serving 410 guests on the 2022 tour, and 2023 will see an even stronger contingent of “the internationals,” as we’re known in Roth. Our race entry access into 2023 has closed, but for U.S. athletes looking for a way into 2023 we suggest contacting the USAT Foundation and Lindsay Welker. Have a look at their charity spots, and email Lindsay about availability. Come back to us and book into our 7-night Roth Finish Line Tour, 7-night or 5-night Nuremberg City-based tours, or the 7-night or 5-night Nuremberg Park-based tours to complete your Challenge Roth experience.
Link to the USAT Foundation Challenge Roth page is here.
Challenge Roth offers an entry protection plan, but it expires on December 31, 2022. If you are racing, give yourself the ability to move your race entry to 2024 if you end up having to cancel your 2023 campaign. 2023 race entry holders should login with your Mika Timing credentials to add race entry protection. Have questions about how it works? Learn more on the topic here.
Recent news coming out of Roth includes the announcement of Trimtex as the apparel partner (check out the new shop!), EKOI will be the eyewear and helmet partner, and Challenge Roth was voted best race of the year for the eleventh time by the readers of Triathlon Magazin Europe. 2023 promises to be bigger and better than ever, and we’ll be there to help you have the race week and race day of a lifetime.
Challenge Roth TOUR Updates
While availability for our 2023 Nuremberg Park-based tours is tight, we have a few spots left. We have some availability for the fabulous Le Meridien or Park Plaza hotels on the Nuremberg City-based tours, and exactly two rooms left at the Challenge Roth Finish Line Tour. If you need accommodation, or you want to upgrade or change your hotel, or add spectators to your package, contact us at team@race-quest.com and we’ll take care of it for you.
Pro Bike Service
Eliminate the stress and worry about your bike performance when you add-on our Pro Bike Service to your Challenge Roth travel package for $195.00. Our pro bike mechanics will assemble your bike, get you dialed in, and repack your bike for you after the race.
Maximize Your Time in Europe
Fun is just around the corner on our Best of Bohemia tour of Prague and Munich!
After Challenge Roth, many of you will want to reward yourself and your loved ones with some active, fun travel in the area that’s the total opposite of race week. You want to celebrate your achievement in Roth, have some time to relax, and reward the people in your life who support your sporting pursuits. We have a solution: join us for the Best of Bohemia post-Roth tour with three nights in Prague and one night in Munich that picks up where Challenge Roth ends. We depart from Nuremberg on Tuesday, June 27 and make our way to beautiful Prague, and the tour concludes conveniently in Munich for your flight home. There are a few spots remaining for this intentionally small-group tour. See the details on it here.
Warm up with us in Costa Rica
Krista and her favorite Ibis Ripley AF, hitting the trail system at Las Catalinas last week.
While you are no doubt getting ready now for the run up to your Challenge Roth 2023 campaign, we have a couple of ways to help you prepare.
We just spent the month of December in Costa Rica at Las Catalinas, preparing the most amazing triathlon camp and swimming camp itineraries for your mid-winter training pleasure. When the temps are mind-blowingly low, sometimes it helps mentally and physically to take a week or two away and get some sunshine, 80F weather, beach time, all while getting in high quality workouts with a world-class coach.
Our Camps Coach in Residence for February and March is Eric Nielsen. Eric hails from Colorado, and in his 30 year career as an elite athlete and coach he’s achieved multiple US Masters Swimming awards for coaching and competed in more than 100 triathlons. Eric owns Train Smart Race Fast and has done it all in the endurance sports world: collegiate water polo, 3x Kona finisher, 8x Boston Marathon qualifier, and Masters swimming All-American.
Triathlon Camp is Feb. 21-26
RQ Past Traveler Molly Zahr will be joining us in Costa Rica for another back-to-back training block in 2023.
We have two spots remaining for the triathlon camp week (Feb. 21-26, 2023) and we’ll be at the max capacity of 10 athletes. Non-training guests are welcome to join you for this training-cation! We built a nice guest program that will make for a wonderful time in Costa Rica. Details here.
Swimming Camp is Feb. 28-March 5
The Las Catalinas saltwater pool alongside a bigger saltwater pool. Oh those views!
For the swimming camp, we have a few spots open. Some are booking triathlon camp and swimming camp back to back. What a great way to set yourself up for a successful season when you spend a couple of weeks training with us at Las Catalinas. How many times as a new or experienced triathlete have you said to yourself, “I wish I could fix - conquer - master - speed up - my swim.” Here’s a great way to make that happen! The swimming camp is Feb. 28 through March 5. Details here.
Tune Up Race Pick: IMSA 70.3
Beloved venue, great weather, a Big 5 Safari and a great value, too!
For those of you looking for a tune-up 70.3 to slot into your calendar as a summer long-course prep race, we can think of nothing better than IRONMAN 70.3 Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa. This race takes place the same day as the “full” and we have a 5-star way to make traveling, racing and sightseeing there an incredible, inspiring race-cation experience. We are teaming up with our friends Markus and Johann to deliver a race week tour that includes an exclusive “Big 5 Safari,” welcome dinner, seven nights at the race’s 5-star host hotel (Boardwalk), a guided tour of the swim venue, transition, bike course, and more. Leave the driving to your hosts; we include airport pick up and drop off. Race Tour Details are here. To obtain your $273 race entry, go here. There are 45 qualifying spots into the 70.3 World Championship.
Tour de France 2023 is Booking Now
Join us July 12-24, 2023 for a truly epic Tour de France experience.
We round out this post with something exceptional. If you’ve ever dreamed of being part of the excitement of the Tour de France, perhaps you want to know how you’d do tackling those famous climbs, and you want to witness it all in a personalized, small-group way with like-minded cycling fans, join us July 12-24, 2023. The word “epic” is applied often to this tour, but in this case it’s well and truly earned. Details are here.
Our next post will drop in ‘23. Until then, we love hearing from you! You can reach us at team@race-quest.com, call us at 1-855-872-8669 (1-855-TRAV-NOW) and a real human will answer, or follow us on Instagram (@racequesttravel), LinkedIn, FB or Twitter. DMs are always open.
And we’d be remiss not to mention our new partnership with NeverSecond. You can find out all about these ground-breaking nutritional products tailored to your endurance sports efforts here. If you’re already into NeverSecond or you’d like to try it out, use code RACEQUEST15 at checkout and save 15% on your order.
With gratitude,
