TCRNo10 Day 13: Reaping Rewards

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Words by Emma Cole

Reaping rewards 

Nestled amongst the trendy houses of the Moda neighbourhood in Istanbul, the Finish Line is a hive of activity. 57 solo riders and 3 pairs have now finished the tenth edition of the Transcontinental Race, and there are plenty of riders still to come. 

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The pairs podium is complete as the third fastest Pair Jim Visschers (309a) and Machid Telling (309b) arrived after 13 days 7 hours and 39 minutes. On finishing, the exhausted Dutch duo embraced each other, took off their shoes and shared a sandwich. 

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CP4 closed at 23:59CEST last night, 150 riders have made the cut-off and remain riding in General Classification (GC). Riders have until 23:59CEST on Tuesday to head north to the Black Sea before curling westwards to Istanbul and make the cut-off for the Finish. 

Perseverance pays 

Anything can happen on a rider’s TCR journey, and either they persevere and adapt, or the Race may swallow them up. 

After being forced to ride single speed for the last ~400 km because of a broken rear mech hanger, Julian Klose (138) arrived yesterday afternoon after 12 days 20 hours and 53 minutes. 

Julian’s journey from CP4 to the Finish was marred by having to constantly swap his cycling shoes with a pair of sliders as he contended with steep climbs and hike-a-bike sections. Relishing the adversity, he was delighted to have completed his second TCR.

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“Before the last Parcours there was a section with a lot of climbs and it was really difficult with my road cycling shoes so I bought the sliders,” he said. “Every climb I walked, no surprise! The rest I rolled, more or less. I am happy but I don’t want to do it again like this!” 

Pat Coyle (035) rolled in this morning, remarking that this TCR was much harder than TCRNo7 when he rode from Bulgaria’s Black Sea to Brest in France. Pat struggled with the increasing temperatures in Turkey, and the amount of gravel, but was pleased with his ability to persevere and make the Finish.

Drenched in inspiration 

Despite having to redo the last 2 km of the Parcours because he went off course, Miles Clemson (148) arrived in very high spirits, overwhelmed to have completed his first Transcontinental Race after 12 days 19 hours and 56 minutes. 

Miles was inspired to race after working as a bike courier alongside Emily Chappell, the fastest woman to finish TCRNo4.

“I can’t believe that’s been done,” said Miles, his eyes wide open with disbelief. “It’s just mental because I’ve wanted to do it for ten years. 21 year old Miles would be so impressed right now. That was really hard but so worth it. That’s actually bonkers.” 

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In a similar vein, Mike Fawcett (242) decided to do the Race after having watched the documentary Onboard the Transcontinental Race. 

“As soon as I saw it, it gripped me,” he said. “It was so much tougher than the film made it look, like a ridiculous amount, way tougher. It feels like a separate thing to the film, doesn’t feel like I can relate it to that anymore. It feels good.”

Two of Mike’s friends came to Istanbul to celebrate his achievement, which helped power him to the Finish Line. 

“I’ve been riding for about 36 hours, I rode through the night,” he said.   “Sub 13 days came into my head near the end but most of all I wanted to be here for these guys, I didn’t want to leave them hanging around too long!” 

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Making good decisions

While many are experiencing Finish Line fever, the journey is far from over for those still riding under the hot Turkish sun. Despite the inevitable fatigue, riders must continue to make the best possible decisions in order to help them reach the Finish Line, which is getting ever closer. 

Chas Christiansen (169) decided to change his route from CP4 to the Finish in a bid to reduce his amount of climbing. After spending an hour making the new route, he was pleased with how it was going, despite hitting Bursa at rush hour. Chas is currently riding through Kocaeli Province and is ~50 km from the start of the Finish Parcours. 

Pairs Stef Jacobs (297a) and Stien Van der Eycken (297b) arrived at CP4 at 19:01CEST, and decided to rest at the hotel in order to be fresh and ready to take on the Parcours this morning. 

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The penultimate push 

As night fell on Çanakkale and CP4, a burst of riders got their brevet cards stamped before the cut-off. 

Kees van Dijk (102) and Michiel Verhaeghe (108) arrived just after 20:00CEST while Anna Linden arrived a few hours later at 22:46CEST. Behind her was Nick Barnard (171) who rolled in at 23:00CEST, the last rider to make the cut-off. Nick was also the last rider to make CP3 and seems to be taking this in his stride. 

After getting his brevet card stamped and catching his breath, Nick Barnard (171) borrowed a guitar from hotel staff and proceeded to serenade the volunteers. 

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For those who have not made the cut-off for CP4, or any of the CPs, while they are no longer in GC they can still pursue a Race Finish. 

Having made CP3 by a whisker, unfortunately Petra Scherer (181) did not make the cut-off for CP4 however, but by continuing to Istanbul Petra can still be recognised as a finisher. After resting at Lapseki, Petra is heading to CP4.  

Mike Hall Bursary rider Mersedeh Chegini (292) is currently riding through Kavala in Greece, her digestion problems are gone and Mersedeh is feeling good, while behind her Boris Reyher (278), Hanif Meeran (89) and Nathan Oneill (209) are also pressing on through Greece.

Further back in Kosovo is last year’s CP4 volunteer Norman Lomax (229) who is about to take on Parcours 3 alongside Pairs Claus Knorz (310a) and Katja Werner (310b). 

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Each rider’s journey from Roubaix to Istanbul will have its own ups and downs, but all will be characterised by a ferocious determination to reach the Finish. Riders have two and a half days to make the Finisher’s Party on Tuesday evening. May they ride with tailwinds and tenacity.  

Scratch report 

Several riders have scratched due to illness, injury and technical issues. 

028 Sam Doody 

039 Georg Molz

096 Ian Grail

103 Thierry Plantevin

116 Karim Wiesmann

134 Mehdi Otmann

140 Jonathan Good 

160 Nick Perkins

276 Andy Georges

305a Herve Faivre

305b Sandrine Faivre

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