{"id":205233,"date":"2026-04-27T14:59:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T14:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=205233"},"modified":"2026-04-28T16:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T16:26:15","slug":"the-unseen-stage-markko-karus-road-to-letape-du-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/04\/27\/the-unseen-stage-markko-karus-road-to-letape-du-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"Chasing the Mountains, Mastering the Routine: Markko Karu\u2019s Road to L\u2019\u00c9tape"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Unseen Stage strips cycling back to its rawest, most relatable form \u2013 not just the spectacle of race day, but the long, often invisible build-up. It follows four amateur riders as they prepare for various global iterations of L\u2019\u00c9tape, squeezing structured training in between the minutiae of everyday life. It\u2019s where ambition meets reality: early alarms, full workdays, and the constant negotiation between passion and responsibility.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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For Estonia\u2019s Markko Karu,<\/a> the challenge isn\u2019t a leap into the unknown. It\u2019s a return to something that he already got a taste of and has an upper hand in: Markko has three L\u2019\u00c9tapes du Tour under his belt. This fourth attempt, however, comes with a different mindset. Even before joining The Unseen Stage,<\/a> Karu had committed to doing it properly. \u201cI had already signed up with a plan to prepare; to ride it through without compromises or setbacks \u2013 not to put a foot down once.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, L\u2019\u00c9tape is the most memorable sports event I have attended,\u201d Markko reminisces. Having ridden it before, he knows exactly what draws riders back: \u201cThe sheer scale of it, the enthusiasm from both participants and supporters \u2013 and the mountains themselves.\u201d Those peaks, in particular, are central to his motivation. \u201cRiding in high mountains is my favourite form of tourism, I just love experiencing the world riding a bicycle,\u201d he explains, listing rides across France, Italy, Spain, Romania, Rwanda, Peru, and China.<\/p>\n

That quiet determination has been building for decades. Karu has always been active, though never obsessively competitive. His introduction to cycling came in 2003 with his first mountain bike race \u2013 an experience that stuck. \u201cI fell in love with the format and have been riding ever since.\u201d For over 20 years, he has been a regular at local Wednesday MTB races around Tallinn, favouring technical terrain and endurance challenges. Events like V\u00e4tternrundan and even the cycling leg of Ironman Tallinn have found their way into his calendar, though he\u2019s clear about one thing: \u201cSport has never been my main priority \u2013 it has always remained a hobby.\u201d Yet L\u2019\u00c9tape is different. Familiar, but never easy.<\/p>\n

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P\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek sd\u00edlen\u00fd \u0160koda We Love Cycling (@wlcmagazine)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n