Day 5: I woke up in a strange place

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Words by Stuart Downie

Photos by Liz Seabrook and Tomás Montes

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It’s Wednesday morning. The finisher’s party is still days away – plenty of time for riders to return to fair Girona. Those of us following the action at the head of the Race have taken a true ultra approach, sleeping only 90 minutes last night, and struggling to rise when the alarm sounds. More on that later.

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First off, on Tuesday the Race begins to return to Northeastern Spain. The snake has eaten its tail, like an ultra ouroboros. This snake’s natural habitat is far ranging, sampling the sweet smelling lodgepole pine and wild oregano, taking in the playful red sweetbriar roses, purple hyssop and false autumn crocus. Now it’s returned to the rust-red dirt and rock, the juxtaposed woolly distaff thistles offering both sweet and sharp. There are many things to experience, and arguably not enough time to take them all in. The earth is inviting, but time hurries us on.

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At the Race’s tail, the climbs of the Basque country are still stinging riders. Even though they're not the highest, they’re still brutal – and a rude awakening on the Raid Parcours. Fortunately, they’re still very beautiful. The weather is also serving up a mixed bag, with clear skies in the morning giving way to clouds and rain as the bulk of the field reaches the Hautes Pyrénées by evening. Control Car 1 found David Sanchez (022) hiding out with some shopping trolleys for shelter before tackling the Aubisque – the higher you go, the worse the weather can be, and the Tourmalet looked to be brewing something special.

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Speaking of brewing something special, there’s a first afoot at TPRNo4. Sitting comfortably 7th on the road is Fiona Kolbinger (004) – as you may already know, we are fans. Just behind in 9th – at the time of writing – is Molly Weaver (009), riding TPR for the second time (we are already fans). This would be the first time there’s been two women in the General Classification top ten at TPR. We heard Fiona implore women riders to participate in this great sport on the slopes of the Aubisque, to find their place, and this can only be a sign of change that is not only very welcome but sorely overdue. Further back, self-proclaimed ultra newbie Esther Lloyd (068) is riding just inside the top twenty. Let’s hope the rain does not dampen their intrepid spirits and we’ll see them back in Girona in the next few days.

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On the topic of returns, the reason for our tardiness this morning is that we were up early not once but twice. Sampling the ultra diet of 90 minute sleeps, we were at the finish in Girona to greet Robin Gemperle (001) as he rolled in at 03:27 CEST, finishing in 4 days 20 hours and 27 minutes, riding a total distance of 1959.9km. Incidentally, last year’s winner, Lucas Becker, finished TPRNo3 in 4 days, 20 hours, and 51 minutes. His thoughts? They didn’t sleep enough for his liking. Robin is met by volunteers, Ayoub Sahli (043) who scratched on the morning of day three, and TPRNo3 finisher Andrew Brunton and family. The solidarity that is very often shown at these events is inspiring. Robin rewards us with a revelation: he is still riding the same tires and chain that he used at TCRNo10. Then he locks his bike up and disappears into a storage cupboard to sleep – an upgrade from a bin shed, but still a little way from glamorous.

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Reaching the Finish at peak rush hour, Anatole Naimi (044) ends his adventure at 08:43 CEST making a total race time of 5 days, 1 hour, and 43 minutes, covering 2038.49km. For those that love getting into the numbers, there will be plenty to analyse in the days to come. He accepts a beer and settles in for his finish portrait with Race Photographer Tomás Montes, who – like the author – may or may not have slept through his alarm.

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The overarching theme is experience. It is not easy to elicit the visceral response one has – by car, in our case, but especially by bike – that will greet you as you travel through the Pyrenees’ playground. The golden light at dawn. The silver sliver of the moon after a fiery sunset. The smell of the high mountain air as the heat of the day dissipates.

Ayoub has returned to greet Anatole, also present is TPRNo3 finisher and Finish volunteer Robert Reinecke, his warm smile instantly recognisable. Robin appears clad in a sleeping bag – not preceded by a violent earthquake or an angel but still giving messianic – and the three revel in those experiences, their breadth, the highs and lows. Around us, a city is going about a normal day, and as Robin says, it is always a little strange at the end, no matter what time you finish.

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SCRATCH REPORT

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Julien Duplay (090)

Julie von Gruenigen (006)

Leyla Serbouti (002)

Oluwaseun Alaba (072)*

Robert Booth (095)

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*we’re happy to report Seun got his hands on a proper Basque cheesecake

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