TwoNav with the winners of the Titan Desert 2022
Our winners, equipped with TwoNav Cross, get gold in the Titan Desert 2022.
The GPS Cross is consolidated as the best navigation and orientation GPS, winning the 3 podiums in the Male, Female and Mixed Duo modalities. This is the third year in a row that our GPS, along with Land route planning software, have helped the Titans get there.
Everyone knows that, in addition to excellent physical preparation and nutrition, one of the most important factors for this titanic race is preparing the route and GPS navigation. These factors can be decisive when it comes to winning stages, cutting minutes and achieving the final victory, as was the case with our winners Anna Ramírez, Núria Picas and Eduard Barceló from the KH7 Sports team and Konny Looser.
The TwoNav Cross device is an ideal navigator for the Titan Desert, since it is compact and manageable in one hand, ideal for cycling, although it is also a versatile GPS designed to offer maximum reliability and resistance, as in the case of this tough race . Its 3.2” Optical Bonding screen allows the runners of the Titan Desert to see the route, achieving an optimal visualization under the flashing light of the desert, in this case of Morocco.
Of course we cannot forget the software that accompanies it, Land, and its maps of Morocco installed in the GPS. Thus, the runners were able to prepare for each stage without the slightest problem, finding optimal paths to always have a plan A and a plan B during the race.
For all these reasons, more and more competitors in the Titan Desert trust the TwoNav ecosystem to prepare the race and achieve absolute victory.
From TwoNav we congratulate all the participants of the race. They are all true titans.
Interview with the winners
Although, for TwoNav, all the members of its collaborating teams are winners, the medalists equipped with our GPS deserve recognition for their physical and mental strength during the six stages of the race.
TwoNav: How does it feel to be the winner of the Titan Desert?
Anna Ramírez: It is a joy and an enormous satisfaction, you finish months of long work at home and getting the victory makes you feel like a special firm.
Konny Looser: I feel very good and very very happy, especially after the big disappointment of my illness at the first big goal of the season, the Cape Epic in South Africa. I’m proud that I was able to get my form back just in time again!
Núria Picas: We are very happy with this first position, since winning in Mixed Duo is an excellent result. In any case, what really fills us with happiness is the fact of having completed this great adventure through the desert called Titan Desert, where the harshness is extreme.
Eduard Barceló: I feel more satisfaction for having managed to finish it with good feelings than not for having reached first place. In fact, the girls who have been ahead compete quite as if they were mixed duos, since due to the specificity of the race, all of them compete with a “gregarious” who plays exactly the same role as I did with Nuria (my partner). ). Therefore, I believe that the real result is not winners but a meritorious sixth real position. In any case, highly satisfied.
TN: How have you experienced this tough competition?
AR: This year has been less hard thanks to the support of the team. Melcior Mauri, team leader, always creates a great atmosphere and that, together with a great physical condition on my part, makes the competition easier.
KL: It was a very stressful week for me. The level of racing was very high and I wanted to defend my title. But I haven’t been able to win a stage or make a difference in the general classification, as the track wasn’t as selective as I would have liked (more climbing). I also had to race alone against a very strong team (TB Cannondale). The mental stress and pressure was immense and with only 2 seconds to go from the last stage, I never thought I would turn the race around. Winning by just 12 seconds after 650 km of desert racing sounds impossible!
NP: We have lived it day by day, with perseverance and determination. Giving the best of us and fighting against adversity. We knew what we were going to face, a hostile territory, with extreme heat and endless straights with hardly any unevenness. The management of the race has been impeccable and we have nailed it. ..
EB: There were moments of everything. On the one hand, when we sailed, I enjoyed myself like a dwarf since, due to my background in adventure raids, I was able to make some cuts that allowed us to be among the ones with the fewest kilometers in each stage. This gives a lot of morale because you know that you are doing less than the others.
At times when there was no possibility of orientation, it was certainly very hard due to the monotony of the route, the harshness of the broken terrain and the wind, as well as the intensity of the effort. That’s when you suffered the most.
Finally, something very positive was also the coexistence with the other members of the team and other runners. It was certainly comforting to see the good atmosphere that reigns among all of us who are there.
Preparation
TN: How has TwoNav’s Land software helped you in your preparation?
AR: It has been key. Without TwoNav’s Land program it would not have been the same since it allows you to modify, add tracks, mark points, etc. It allows you to mark alternative routes, navigate safely through areas and, at all times, be able to check the position. Their topographic maps were also of great help to avoid making life more complicated in situations where we risked off the track.
NP: I think it is one of the keys to success and a fundamental piece. Obviously, if you don’t find north in the desert, you’re lost. Our GPS Cross has helped us a lot and thanks to the experience of my teammate, Eduard Barceló, we have been able to handle it flawlessly. He spread the word, and the last two stages we had a huge number of riders tailgating and getting carried away by our guidance.
EB: It was a key piece in the preparation of the cuts of the official track. Thanks to Land we could see other navigation possibilities to reach the control points by doing fewer kilometers.
TN: How important is the preparation for this race?
AR: Two weeks after the Titan you have to be ready for it. Two weeks before, I set up a few days of long-distance training, possibly for routes downloaded in the TwoNav GPS and, thus, sharpen navigation and follow a track, during the year it is not usually done and it is important in the Titan.
I dedicate the last week to preparations, material… and the training sessions are limited to shorter shoots, always trying to make guided routes with the TwoNav GPS, introducing waypoints, alternative sections, etc.
KL: As the race has its specific format with navigation, the feeling before the race is always special as it may not be the strongest but the smartest who wins. But fortunately, the most important thing remains the fact that one needs to be in top physical shape to compete at the highest level. One must also be able to handle the heat and be mentally prepared for 6 days of suffering. This time I did a 9-day training camp in Banyoles until a week before the race and I finished it with a long run to gain confidence and start to pick up the pace of the race.
NP: The physical aspect is fundamental, you have to go with many hours of culottes and prepared legs. This year I have been very fair in preparation because I have dedicated myself to climbing a lot, in any case everything adds up and in the end I was able to pull it off. Two weeks before the Titan I dedicated myself to taking the MTB to try to adapt all my physical form to the geometry of the bicycle.
EB: It is essential. If the physical does not accompany, the mental part collapses and that is when you leave. If, being well physically, the mental part plays tricks on you at many times, imagine if you are not trained…
What do you usually do during the two weeks before the Titan Desert?
EB: I will tell you from a theoretical point of view and as a physical trainer that I am and not so much from the experience of my two weeks prior to the race, since Nuria called me just 7 days before the start of the race to see if I wanted to come. Her partner had an unavoidable work commitment and could not come.
So two weeks earlier I was quietly training for my swimrun racing season. Luckily, I really like cycling and I keep cycling a couple of days a week, because otherwise it would have been crazy. As for what should be done, it is to loosen the training rhythms to arrive rested and be able to perform at the highest level, taking advantage of the benefits of the training carried out so far.
GPS TwoNav Cross during the Titan Desert
TN: How does GPS help in this type of racing?
AR: It is absolutely necessary to have a competent GPS for these cases, easy to use, intuitive, being able to navigate correctly can make you win the race.
KL: Without GPS, you will either get lost or have to follow and trust other riders. Every day one gets 6 new GPS navigation points that one has to pass. So having a GPS is essential!
NP: As I said before, GPS is essential for good navigation. That is, optimize the kilometers in the race, try to find the best passing points and reach the finish line as soon as possible.
EB: GPS is a MUST. Without GPS you can’t do it unless you go the old-fashioned way with a map and place yourself on it and direct yourself to the different checkpoints. This entails a high technical level of orientation that few people have and, therefore, would greatly limit participation. The GPS, apart from guiding you, gives you the peace of mind of knowing exactly where you are at all times and what is missing. With what, on a mental level, it removes uncertainty and allows you to focus on the effort.
Future projects and reflections
TN: Are you already thinking about the next edition?
AR: Not yet, but what I am clear about is that the following editions will leave more room for navigation and having good means to do so will be essential.
KL: Not at this stage, as I first have to make sure that I am able to continue my career as a professional cyclist, which I hope!
NP: Sure, now we have our minds set on the 2023 Titan and making it better! Surely with the experience we have and the help of TwoNav, we will hit it again!
EB: At the end of stage 4 (the hardest without a doubt) I said I wouldn’t go back. But yesterday, when I landed in Barcelona, I was already thinking about how to improve my performance for next year. This has to do with both the physical aspect and the technical aspect, so I’m thinking about the navigation needs I’ve had and having an even more optimized device for this type of racing. In the end, it is about the end user benefiting from the use that is made in high competition.
TN: What are your most recent future projects?
AR: Now I can recover well and take part in a test in the Spanish open MTB Ultramarathon.
KL: Now I’m going back to some big one-day marathon events in Europe and the Swiss national champions. Swiss Epic and also Titan Series Almeria will be some of the big targets to aim for!
NP: My most recent future project will be to start running again to be able to compete in a long-distance race in the medium term. I also have some bikepacking projects in mind and a lot of mountains in the form of touring and climbing.
EB: I usually compete in Swimrun so after this race, I go back to the pool and the trail to be able to face the next competitions that I have on my calendar. In my head, however, there is room for the next RPM races where mtb and navigation (with TwoNav) go hand in hand.
TN: What advice would you give to TwoNav fans who are thinking of taking part in future Titan Desert races?
AR: That they train about six months in advance to be able to enjoy the race and not suffer excessively due to poor physical shape, and that they don’t think about it, it’s worth participating and living the experience even once a week. lifetime.
KL: With the TwoNav device you will have the perfect equipment to conquer this adventure and you will have no doubts that you will get lost in the desert!
NP: That they get the most out of the device and familiarize themselves with it before leaving. If you have any questions, contact the supplier and above all, enjoy the adventure of sailing. I also advise you to be part of the KH7 team led by Melcior Mauri so you will have the tracks of each stage to successfully complete the great adventure.
EB: That they train as if they were going to participate in a cycling race in stages and not so much a mtb race. That they are very familiar with the use of TwoNav. That they have very clear nutritional and hydration guidelines for extreme desert conditions and that they know how to use tire pressures to have a good driving experience.
Prepare your route like the champions
Still don’t know what’s new in Land 9? Download it now and you will discover a new dimension for your routes. If you already have Land, update it and enjoy important improvements.
