TCRNo10 Day 3: Beautifully Hard Climbs

Words by Emma Cole

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Beautifully hard climbs

As more riders reached the Alps, the tough climbs began and spectacular views greeted them. Despite the steep gradients, riders were spurred on by the change of scenery, and over 50 riders have now passed through Control Point 1 (CP1) at the Vršič Pass in Slovenia. 

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For the front pack, Slovenia is now a distant memory, as they reached Croatia, and continue to ride deeper into the Balkans. Still leading, Robin Gemperle (002) has pushed steadily onwards to Control Point 2 in Bosnia and is currently on the CP2 Parcours. 

Chasing behind are Abdullah Zeinab (021), Andre Bachmann (005) and Christoph Strasser (001), and behind them are Omar di Felice (016), Tim de Witte (003), Florian Moreau (67) and Pawel Pulawski (008).  

In the Pairs category Sherry Cardona (295b) and Gereon Tewes (295a) are heading towards Croatia having arrived at CP1 at 22:41CEST last night. 

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This morning at 07:52CEST Jaimi Wilson (004) rolled into CP1 13 hours after Jana Kesenheimer (010), the current fastest woman. 

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Big effort

Riders are now over three days into their journey, and the magnitude of the effort required to reach Istanbul is becoming clear to many. 

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After a sub 4-hour rest just south of Munich, mid-pack rider Ranulph Steiger (234) was trying to comprehend the challenge ahead of him. 

“It’s just really hard, you get used to your dot moving but to make it move is flipping painful,” he said. “You have to put in the massive distances just to stay competitive”

Adrien Charlot’s (215) unique route choice continued as he chose to ride via Bolzano in Italy. In 250 km he climbed over 4,000 m of elevation, riding over the Flüela Pass, through the Swiss National Park, to the Ofen Pass and rolling down to Bolzano via the Würzjoch which sits 2,006 metres. Impressive climbing legs.  

Undeterred from becoming a solo Pairs rider, Sarah Ruggins (303b) made impressive progress riding 335 km from Tollbach in Germany to Spittal an der Drau, Austria, which put her amongst riders Pierre-Yves Robert (036) and Matthew Spooner (252) and 90 km away from the Parcours as evening fell. At around 11:00CEST she reached CP1. 

Finding comfort

For many first timers, the challenge of choosing the best route, coupled with riding it, is daunting. After not seeing other riders for a while, many leapfrogged each other up their chosen mountain pass, and were relieved to see other TCR riders also on their route. Despite the steepness, the distant company of other riders coupled with the change in scenery and spectacular views was comforting. 

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Tom Banks (149) felt quite lonely for the first few days of his journey but was crisscrossing with the same riders which provided some reassurance. 

It was a similar story with Matthew Lay (217) who found himself surrounded by six other riders when he stopped for food at a McDonald’s. “Can you imagine it? Seven riders on complete autonomy found this one McDonald's after the rain”.  

For others, the Race is a journey to a deep-rooted search for solitude. 

On receiving his CP1 brevet stamp, Alexandre Bourgeonnier (237), took out an A4 print out of his friend Thibaut. The pair had planned to ride to Istanbul together but sadly Thibaut passed away in 2018. An emotional Alexandre explained that he rides to Istanbul in honour of his friend, finding comfort in his own pilgrimage. 

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Good and bad gear

As riders continue to churn out 100s of kilometres each day, many are discovering the importance of their equipment choices. For several riders, malfunctioning GPS devices and battery packs caused problems, and served up an extra challenge.

Christoph Strasser (001) revealed he had navigational issues and kept taking wrong turns. His phone had also stopped working so he was using his back up phone, only three days into the Race. These setbacks had affected him mentally so after reaching CP1 amongst the chasing pack, Christoph was pleased with his position.

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Similarly, Matt Seward’s (154) Garmin was not giving him turn by turn directions and he kept having to turn around. He was relieved to be in the Alps, finding the long climbs reducing his need to rely on his device for directions. 

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Despite also struggling with his GPS device Pawel Pulawski (008) rode through Slovenia in high spirits, partly driven by being in the country of this year’s Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar and meeting cycling enthusiasts at his hotel. By morning Pawel had made great strides and reached Banja Luka, in Bosnia, presumably channelling his inner Pogi.

Despite struggling with saddle sores, Mike Hall Bursary rider Fran Scott (290) is riding well and finding her legs are proving to be rather resilient. By mid-morning, Fran was 70 km away from the Parcours. 

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“I'm quite happy with how my legs are feeling to be honest,” said Fran. “They feel like stiff little wooden boxes at the end of the day and I’m like, oh, I'm never going to be able to cycle again but they're doing their job so I'm very happy.”

All in the timing

Warmly welcomed by CP1 volunteers, Tobias Fuchs (132), Lucas Strittmatter (197), Daniel Gottschalk (142), Ben Chadourne (060), Mikko Kainu (043) and Alexandre Bourgeonnier (237), arrived at CP1 on the Vršič Pass in Slovenia by late afternoon and at 18:52CEST fastest woman Jana Kesenheimer (010) rolled in, putting her in 16^th place overall. 

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Some riders opt for a nighttime mountain experience while others are treated to the bright and wide-open vistas of the Julian Alps offered by the Parcours in the day. Each rider's perspective is unique to the next. Similarly the weather and temperature can have a remarkable effect on a rider’s experience of a mountain pass. 

Despite losing her bank card in the morning, Jana was pleased to have reached the CP in the light, describing the route as “steep but beautiful.”

Not far behind her, Adrien Liechti (007), Rémi Mejean (099), Jens Volkersdorfer (287) and Julian Klose (138) also pulled into the first CP in good spirits and relieved to be heading towards flatter roads. 

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For riders heading over the Grossglockner Pass, timing was really of the essence as the pass closes overnight. 

Previously Adrien Liechti (007) was forced to stop as he missed the Grossglockner opening hours, which continues to throw off riders. Jessica Wood (113) had an enforced rest as routing issues caused her to miss the cut off. Despite the delay, Jessica enjoyed seeing the climb in the daylight. 

It’s also not just the timing of mountain passes which riders are thinking carefully about. 

Race leader Robin Gemperle (002) pressed onwards through Zagreb, and by evening he was within touching distance of the Bosnian border. Despite his progress, he regretted not learning from his experience at last year’s TCR and lamented choosing to ride through Croatia’s capital again, taking to social media to remind himself that “Zagreb by bike is not so nice”.

As riders progress through the Alps, to CP1 and onwards, the beautiful Balkans will test riders mentally and physically, while the warmer climate will also pose its own challenge. For the front riders, CP2 and the first off-road Parcours of TCRNo10 is in touching distance. Underneath the gaze of Bjelašnica, one of the highest peaks in Bosnia, riders will need to channel all of their energy into navigating rough terrain, and this will likely serve up a whole new flavour to their Race.

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Scratch report 

027 Dario Demarcho

024 Mark Budrewicz 

073 Kerry Rochester 

095 Matteo Castella

157 Nick Langdon

203 Christoph Schade

256 Andy Connelly

266 André Telge

311a Annelies van der Zwart

311b Hans van Delft

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