TCRNo10 Day 14: Finish Line Fulfilment

Words by Emma Cole

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Finish line fulfilment 

As more riders arrived at the Finish Line, the clinking of cold beverages and smell of worn cycling shoes wafted amongst the palpable relief, exhaustion and fulfilment. 

Riders warmly embraced, congratulating each other, sharing highs and lows, and celebrating their reunion at the Finish after having crossed paths somewhere along the way. 

This year’s TCR saw the largest women’s field to date, with 40 women lining up to start in Roubaix. The third Solo woman to finish, Anna Carlqvist (223), arrived after 13 days 20 hours and 45 minutes, with a huge smile beaming across her face. Anna was elated with her performance and full of cheer. 

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“It was much more fun than I expected,” said Anna. “I got to ride my bike through beautiful places, I loved it.”

The first ever Indonesian rider to finish the Race, Bambang Anggoro Jati (118) arrived after 14 days 15 hours and 10 minutes. His first TCR, Bambang was happy to finish, having enjoyed his Race and particularly relished sleeping under the stars and riding at sunrise. 

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For those who have finished, their attention turns towards the Finisher’s Party tomorrow, while for those still out riding amongst the dry Turkish heat, the Race cut-off of 23:59CEST on Tuesday looms large.  

Warm embraces

Mike Hall Bursary rider Joschka Völkel (291) arrived after 14 days 6 hours and 2 minutes. The first Bursary rider to finish, Joschka was fresh faced and sporting an impressively tidy moustache for someone who had been on the road for 2 weeks.

Just before him Erik Schiller (199) arrived and the pair shared stories and a warm embrace, having leapfrogged each other for much of the Race. 

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Mid-morning Alessandro Gober (283) arrived, followed swiftly by Alvin Escajeda (077). Both riders were in great spirits, with memories of the Race spilling out with every sentence and relishing their cold finisher’s beer.

Eagerly awaiting Alvin was Chas Christiansen (169), who finished the night before. At the start line, Alvin gave Chas some dried meat from his hometown in Mexico as he knew he loved it, and on Alvin’s arrival Chas presented him with the last piece. He had carried it with him from Roubaix to Istanbul just for his friend. 

Heike Otten (225) finished in the early hours of the morning, while Jessica Wood (113) finished a few hours later, cheerful while also proclaiming that she was really hungry. 

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“That was great, that was fun,” she said while peeling off her helmet. “There were a few moments when I thought this isn’t what I wanted it to be like, but all the Parcours were beautiful. I did the first Parcours at sunset and people were paragliding off it.” 

Homecoming 

While some riders have ridden long distances away from their families and friends, for a few riders, the journey from Roubaix to Istanbul is, in fact, a ride home. 

Ahmet Karaoğlan (079) from Istanbul was the first Turkish rider to finish after 13 days 18 hours and 52 minutes. He arrived to a cacophony of cheering, as his friends and locals alike crowded around him.  

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“My friends are all here and I am very happy,” said Ahmet. “It was a very big motivation to see my friends, my family, and to sleep!” 

For the local volunteers, seeing the Turkish riders finish is particularly inspirational, and come nightfall, another local rider Sinan Kargi (098) finished to more whooping and clapping as a crew of 25 people welcomed him in. 

Lost for words   

Colombian rider Julian Manrique Trujillo (202) struggled with a sickness bug after a few days riding and had to spend 24 hours resting in a hotel. For Julian, a very strong rider who was expected to be amongst the front pack, to make it to the finish after facing such illness was a huge moment. 

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“I’m speechless, I’m so happy to be here,” he said. “I had invested too much in this trip not to finish, this is a dream come true. Living in Colombia and trying to make the dream come true is really hard, the moment that you are here you are making it as much as you can.”

Ryan Clamp (038) arrived with a very husky voice. 

“The dust in Kosovo gave me a lung infection so dealing with that was pretty tough,” he explained. “I sounded like a dalek 2 days ago; 3 days ago I couldn’t even talk or make any noises.”

A Royal Marine, Ryan is used to dealing with difficult physical challenges, but more so in a team environment. 

“It’s definitely a cathartic experience being out by yourself, at night, in arduous conditions, but that being said, it’s almost a shared sense of suffering that I feel like I’ve got with the other riders. I’m very pleased I managed to finish and overcome the lung infection and everything else the race has to chuck at you.”

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Further back, there are a host of riders making their way along the Finish Parcours, including Mike Hall Bursary rider Fran Scott (290) who is currently riding along the Black Sea before curling south towards Istanbul. 

There are still plenty of hours for riders to make the last cut-off at 23:59CEST on Tuesday – and the all-important Finisher’s Party. Who hasenough left in the tank for one final push?

Scratch report 

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

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051 Cheryl Bard

064 John Wood 

111 Onder Ayan

149 Tom Banks

168 Shomi Malik

276 Andy Georges

310a Claus Knorz

310b Katja Werner

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