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Team USA on the way to Albania!

In the blink of an eye, everything can change. All the hard work a competitor puts into preparing for an event—training and conferring with future teammates, checking all the boxes on the forms, getting packed, leaving the house on time for a long flight—can go by the wayside when unforeseen events slide in while someone is sleeping.

Jim Duplease (left) and Cory Call, two of the three members of Team USA for the 2022 GS Trophy, are awake and ready to fly to Albania!

This morning, the competitors woke to a WhatsApp message asking for their flight information. As they rubbed from their eyes what little sleep they got the night before their once-in-a-lifetime adventure begins, they fumbled to send blurry images of itineraries. Unsure why this was requested, they each continued through their mornings of showering and double- and triple-checking they had everything packed properly. The important things on their minds at that point were things we all can relate to: “Will my bag come in under the weight limit?” and “Did I pack enough motorcycle-worthy undies?”

On the other end of the WhatsApp chat, two people were hastily reading through the fuzzy images. Early in the day—German time—Lufthansa pilots announced they would be going on strike Friday, September 2. Upwards of 800 flights would be canceled on the very day the competitors were set to fly into Tirana, Albania. I read over the guys’ itineraries and saw that our two west coast team members, Cory Call and Jim Duplease, were solid. They were connecting through Vienna, and their flights would not be affected.

Ben Phaup, the third member of Team USA, had to get his flights rerouted to avoid a looming Lufthansa pilot strike.

Ben Phaup, Team USA’s third member, lives near the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, and of course his situation was different. He was connecting in Munich, and his flight was being operated by Lufthansa. As we waited to hear what would happen next, we went over a possible Plan B and Plan C. First and foremost, Ben knew all the riding gear required for the event had to be worn or carried on. Ben could share a tent with a buddy, but in order to participate, he would need all the gear.

Jim sent a screenshot of a Google map route showing a 16-hour road trip from Munich to the arriving airport should Ben need to rent a car, and I began looking at train schedules. In the end, the organizers of the 2022 International GS Trophy rebooked his flight, along with flights for about 25 other people who would be affected by the strike.

All three members of Team USA are now on their way. They will spend a full night traveling, trying to catch as many moments of sleep as they can in airplane seats too small for most humans to fit comfortably. Friday will arrive and as it does, we will be watching to make sure flights, luggage and our team do the same in Albania.

A sampling of the gear needed for a GS Trophy competitor.