Day 8: Make the Race
October 5, 2024
Words by Stuart Downie
Photos by Liz Seabrook and Tomás Montes
With riders on the road as far back as the early cols of the Raid Parcours and little over 24 hours to go, the window is closing for an official Finish. Riders can – and have, and possibly will – finish after the bar closes at the official finisher’s party, of course, and if anything, we can encourage them to make the race their own.
Speaking of making the race, we’re joined once more by TPR veteran and Acier Coaching head honcho Samuel Thompson with a bit of insight into how to best prepare, based on the events of this year’s Race. More on that later.
First, we’ll look to the road, where Control Car 1 has been catching up with intrepid riders throughout the field.
On the Col de Saint-Louis this morning, Esther Lloyd (068) is still chipping away, blasting some tunes to get through. She’s powering through after considering a scratch, but Esther took a core piece of ultra advice – don’t scratch at night – and is keeping on keeping on. Formidable.
In the picturesque Gorge de Galamus – check our Instagram to see it in all its glory – we meet more than a few riders still making their way to the end of the Raid Parcours where fresh high mountain greens give way to dusky desert reds, and riders are deposited by way of the gorge’s sinuous roads and otherworldly crenellations into the rolling north of Spain.
Almost famous Pierre Miramon (020) is a man on fire after a difficult day in the rain. Gusty Graham Steward (028) gave us a wind warning, worried he’d be gulped by the gorge. We hope he gulped a restorative ramen instead after finding a Japanese restaurant in Ax. Buzzing Ben Wormald (029) is loving the scenery, the winding narrow road giving James Bond – we hope Ben’s got a licence to thrill. Non-stop Sophia Attwood Apperley (063) appreciated the surroundings but pushed on without stopping to take a picture, also worried about the wind. For those following, you’ll be glad to know she got her gloves, although she tells us they were on her feet last night. You do what you have to to get through.
Speaking of getting through, here are the top tips from Samuel Thompson we promised – but maybe we should call him the nostradamus of ultra cycling after he predicted the TPR top three this year.
- Tip the odds
This year’s edition of TPR has had a high scratch rate, in part to do with the weather. But Samuel thinks that there are ways to tip those odds to your advantage, and it’s all about preparation, which is a key theme.
“The physical side is one part, which comes down to being comfortable riding back to back days and feeling fully familiar with your setup. But a key bit is preparing yourself for what is on the route itself. Understanding where the resupply options are, but even more key where the gaps are between them. Last year, there was a good 150km where you're taking in two or three mountain passes and there wasn't anything evident. You don't want to leave it up to chance.”
- Be specific
“Design your plans for the route and its demands. Make sure you're prepared for doing multiple mountain passes each day, but also be ready for specific challenges like sleeping outside, if that’s in your strategy. In the run up to the event it doesn't mean every night going out and sleeping in your bivvy bag, but doing training rides where you are replicating, doing a long day, sleeping afterwards, making sure that the setup you've got is suitable for you in the conditions you’d expect to encounter.”
- Ride your race
“You have to respect that you're an individual. For packing and kit choice, you can't look at another rider and say, oh, they can do it, I can do it too. Everyone is different. You've got to practise in advance, find what works for you and what doesn't. There's the performance element and then there's comfort and enjoyment. Individuality plays into all of it: your kit choices, your setup choices, everything that you've got on your bike. Your strategy that you employ as well.”
So there we have it: some sage advice from a cycling stoic to see you through. Too late for this year, maybe, but there’s always next year.
We’re looking forward to seeing more riders coming into Girona over the next 24 hours, and welcoming all riders to the party tomorrow… Until then, enjoy the ride.