Day 9: Armageddon in retrospect

Words by Stuart Downie

Photos by Tomás Montes and Liz Seabrook

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Forget the cicadas, the cobbled streets of Girona are scored morning and night by the sound of whizzing freehubs. There are not many places in the world where the Pavlovian reflex to check out what could be a fancy bike are put to the test quite so frequently. Cycling fans: be sure your travel insurance covers whiplash.

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The immediate moments after a big event are in part proportional to the intensity – physical and/or emotional – of that event, and as a result, even if the bike bags are unpacked in the coming hours and days, it will take some time to unpack the mental luggage of a trip across the Pyrenees. And when those memories do come back, they’re often flashes, moments, scenes and sensations that are not only relived in the memory but in the body itself.

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Allow us to get things started on this retrospective adventure. Lost Dot are blessed to work with some incredible photographers, capturing the highs and lows of this beautiful race in their own way. Joining us on the road are Liz Seabrook and Tomás Montes – we asked Liz and Tómas to share their favourite pictures from the race.

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Leave it to Liz to make a scene as ordinary as a supermarket luncheon look like it belongs in the Louvre:

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“This is the third year I’ve shot TPR, and it’s the third time I’ve shot at the infamous Tarascon McDonald’s. David was sitting in the corner with a spread fit for a modern Henry VIII. There’s something accidentally renaissance about this shot, you don’t quite notice the branding until you look closer.”

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We showed it before, we’ll show it again – it’s that good. And so was the moment itself:

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“After waiting for 25 minutes on the Aubisque for Fiona to arrive, she passed by, eyes set on the view, shouting, ‘How lucky are we that we get to live on this planet?!’”

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It was hard not to be inspired by Esther’s stoke at this year’s. She said she was a newbie but she showed considerable tenacity on the road – including this climb up Port de Bonaigua.

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“As we drove up the mountain, the snow line appeared through the fog. We found Esther layering up – we’d left Girona at 30 degrees the day before, and suddenly we were surrounded by snow.”

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On the penultimate evening, we were able to catch up with Molly Weaver. Girona – and the finish line – was in sight. But the roads around here are busy with cyclists on short rides out of the city. 

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“The hours leading up to this photo were frustrating. We’d waited for her somewhere else and the picture ended up being ruined by a lorry. That’s how it is in this race, though. Then we saw her again on this climb, with Roses in the background – the light was really beautiful. Talking with Molly after the race, she said she saw me and thought: I need this picture, I want to get a picture with nobody else in it. So she attacked the climb and appeared alone.”

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When we later asked Molly to sum it up, this is what she said:

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“Trans Pyrenees is a race that goes by incredibly slowly, the sheer magnitude and relentlessness of the terrain making you work for every kilometre, but before you know it it’s over. An overwhelm of emotions hit me climbing the final col of the race, Els Angels. Pure happiness that this was the final hard effort at the end of six even harder days, relief that I could almost stop pedalling, and a pride at what had been overcome out there in the mountains. A beautiful crescendo to an epic journey.”

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It takes a minute to make Robert out in this picture, and you definitely wouldn’t be able to tell by looking that he’s not wearing the right shoes. But this photo eschews that silliness in favour of something more grand:

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“This picture is exactly what I want to show at a race like this. You see riders in places that are both beautiful and almost impossible. And it shows that scale – the vastness of the landscape, and how tiny we are in it.”

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For his final pick, Tomás has chosen a photograph by Liz. The nature of the race means the two photographers don’t spend any time together on the road, in spite of being close friends. Here’s what he says about it:

“I love this picture, as soon as I saw it I thought: I wish I made this picture. When I finally saw her, Liz told me she was standing in the road and it was nice but she couldn’t find inspiration. Then she thought: how would Tomás do it? It’s funny.”

And so we bring to a close another edition of the Trans Pyrenees Race, the most beautiful race on the calendar, even if we say so ourselves. The finishers party was full of mirth, tired but happy faces in attendance sharing stories from the road. We also gave a few awards, supported by our great sponsors which we will expand upon forthwith:

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Spirit of the Race

No ultra is easy, and bad luck can strike at any time. Following a sidewall failure, Caroline Buckland (034) was delayed almost 16 hours in seeking a fix for her tire. Friend and fellow TPRNo3 veteran Kirsten Cluley put it as well as we ever could: “She’s absolutely smashing it. I’m so stoked she made the CP cut off in 24 hours – she had 400km to cover, legend!”

Sadly, Caroline’s post race nap encompassed the entire party and she wasn’t able to receive her award in person.

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Hotshot Rookie

Prior to this race, Esther Lloyd (068) had completed only one ultra, and a mere 72 hours at that. Finding more than double in reserve, Esther made the finish in time for the party and met a few of her heroes along the way. Chapeau, and welcome to the club.

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Deepest Thinker

Long hours alone leave you time to contemplate. Some of us think of nothing – Fiona Kolbinger likes to do hard sums – but there are always a few philosophers that emerge. This year, Matthias Ulrich came to prominence, his thoughtful conversation brightening the day of Control Car 1 whenever they crossed paths.

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Art Nouveau

Another newcomer, Leyla Serbouti (002) didn’t have the race she hoped when a black cat crossing her path brought the opposite of good luck, with a subsequent scratch. Instead the good fortune is ours as we’re rewarded with the time to see Leyla’s sketchbook, so it’s only fair we return the favour.

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Endless Positivity

Sophia Attwood Apperley (063) had a tough time on the road, suffering the cold and the cols. But in true Brit stiff upper lip fashion it was taken with a sense of humour and a smile, making her one to watch (if not one to miss in her bright red bib shorts) on the road.

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Best Comeback

This isn’t Jocelyn Roth’s first rodeo. A veteran of TPRNo2 when he finished outside of GC, Jocelyn has returned and delivered us a tidy 4th place finish. We’re sure he’s kept that up his sleeve the whole time, and so we hope a new PEdALED jacket will be fitting, or at least a nice new place to keep future results.

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Slingshot Award

Awarded to youngest rider George Juckes for a solid race, in particular following a big shift in the land of nod. With all batteries fully recharged, George went on a tear and overtook fifteen riders to clinch his place in the top 20. Not bad for a first ultra – George gets a brand new, as yet to be released Tailfin bar bag.

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Best Social Media

We all need something to pass the time, or to keep the mind active. Florent De Boisvilliers did it in style – for the second year running – as verified by our Media Manager Taylor Doyle who tells us FDB’s Insta stories were full of the trademark wit and charm we’ve come to expect. Congrats Florent, you get a Peak Design voucher.

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A final symbolic award goes to the Race’s Maglia Nera, that is, the last rider to finish: Paul Williams. Paul put in a shift and arrived while the party was in full flow, his return acting as the GC finish full stop by signifying the end of our Race proper. Paul is joined (in order) on the final day by finishers Ben Chuilon, Graham Steward, Esther Lloyd, Byron Buck, Ben Wormold, Gregory Garcia, Caroline Buckland, Pierre Miramon, James Illman, Dániel Szontágh and Sophia Attwood Apperley. Twelve more finishes (12!) makes a total of 32, listed below. But first, the final scratch report.

Out of the time cut but still on the road and pressing on we have Petra Scherer (011) and our Lanterne Rouge – we award this to the very last rider, irrespective of the time cut – Maksym Matvieiev (030). Maksym is one of our recipients of the Mike Hall Bursary and is doing a fine job in riding in the spirit of the race.

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SCRATCH REPORT

Don’t tell DJ Lethal, but scratching is over in 2024. Here are the last riders to formally close the books on their race:

Pavel Krajčík (059)
Stephane Legras (027)
Anna Heib (091)
Matt Brady (019)
Judit Ertl (048)
Tom Williams (064)
Bryan Bourauel (092)
Jon Light (073)
Tiia Päkk (094)
Toon De Keyser (101a)
Jorne Bluekens (101b)
Maxim Kehayov (089)

Let’s end this final report with the finishers of TPRNo4. Thirty-two riders, 32 tales to tell. Congratulations: you made it.

A very special congratulations also goes to our Green Leaderboard, with podium spots claimed, in order, by: first placed Anatole Naimi (044), Marco Stalder (039), and Christian Dupraz (037). With 16/32 finishers committed to overland travel, that's a 50% of riders proudly repping the Green Leaderboard. We hope to see that figure grow and become the majority in the future.

1st Robin Gemperle Finished in 4 d 20 h 27 m 1959.90 KM
2nd Anatole Naimi Finished in 5 d 1 h 43 m 2038.49 KM 🌲
3rd Manuel Rudaz Finished in 5 d 5 h 17 m 2008.08 KM
4th Jocelyn Roth Finished in 5 d 11 h 22 m 2036.24 KM
5th Marco Stalder Finished in 5 d 15 h 59 m 1970.18 KM 🌲
6th Christian Dupraz Finished in 5 d 17 h 54 m 1965.15 KM 🌲
7th Fiona Kolbinger Finished in 5 d 21 h 55 m 1930.49 KM
8th Molly Weaver Finished in 6 d 11 h 36 m 2046.62 KM
9th Sylvain Arhancet Finished in 6 d 12 h 31 m 1944.25 KM 🌲
10th Franck Gabarrou Finished in 6 d 17 h 11 m 1914.50 KM 🌲
11th Ludwig Steiner Finished in 6 d 20 h 47 m 1948.41 KM 🌲
12th Philipp Baumann Finished in 6 d 23 h 49 m 1917.44 KM 🌲
13th George Hodgkinson Finished in 7 d 3 h 25 m 1966.70 KM
14th Florian Scattolini Finished in 7 d 6 h 48 m 2050.00 KM 🌲
15th George Juckes Finished in 7 d 15 h 2 m 2002.55 KM 🌲
16th Florent De Boisvilliers Finished in 7 d 15 h 56 m 2178.49 KM
17th Mathias Ulrich Finished in 7 d 16 h 15 m 1954.21 KM 🌲
18th David Sanchez Finished in 7 d 18 h 6 m 1916.58 KM 🌲
19th Jean-Christophe Huche Finished in 7 d 18 h 34 m 1997.89 KM
20th Pierre Vincent Benvenuto Finished in 7 d 19 h 23 m 2029.62 KM
21st Ben Chuilon Finished in 8 d 1 h 50 m 1982.92 KM
22nd Graham Steward Finished in 8 d 2 h 8 m 2005.14 KM
23rd Esther Lloyd Finished in 8 d 2 h 43 m 1935.61 KM 🌲
24th Byron Buck Finished in 8 d 4 h 28 m 1989.59 KM 🌲
25th Ben Wormald Finished in 8 d 5 h 33 m 1954.98 KM 🌲
26th Gregory Garcia Finished in 8 d 6 h 41 m 2035.60 KM 🌲
27th Caroline Buckland Finished in 8 d 7 h 1 m 1987.91 KM
28th Pierre Miramon Finished in 8 d 9 h 49 m 2042.17 KM 🌲
29th James Illman Finished in 8 d 11 h 14 m 2042.38 KM
30th Dániel Szontágh Finished in 8 d 11 h 52 m 1983.00 KM
31st Sophia Attwood Apperley Finished in 8 d 12 h 13 m 2030.23 KM
32nd Paul Williams Finished in 8 d 15 h 20 m 2069.26 KM

🌲 = Green Leaderboard rider

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Until next year. The Pyrenees await.

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