TCRNo10 Day 4: Dogged Determination

Words by Emma Cole

‍

Dogged determination 

The hot weather, and the relentless climbing is beginning to take its toll on some riders, while others continue to fly. 

At the back of the Race, riders are hoping to make the cut off for Control Point 1 (CP1) which closes just before midnight, while others are carving their way through the rolling hills, minarets, and red roofs of Bosnia towards the imposing peak of Bjelašnica. 

‍

Front rider Robin Gemperle (002) still holds a commanding lead, arriving in Montenegro by morning, but Abdullah Zeinab (021) has made headway in closing the gap, and the competitors are now 50 km apart. 

‍

Behind them are Andre Bachmann (005), Christoph Strasser (001), Omar di Felice (016) and Tobias Fuchs (132). Tim de Witte (003), Florian Moreau (067), Pawel Pulawski (008) and David Tschan (050) are another 40 km behind. FIfteen riders have already passed through Control Point 2 (CP2), with current fastest woman Jana Kesenheimer (010) closing in.

‍

Grit

Over 120 riders have arrived at CP1, victorious over the Mangartsko Sedlo and the Vršič Pass. The CP closes at 23:59CEST this evening (26 July, Day 5) so the sprint begins for those at the back of the race to make it in time.

We interrupt coverage of yesterday’s events to report that Victor Bosoni (232) arrived at CP1 at 11:19CEST this morning (Day 5), in a phenomenal display of resilience and willpower. Victor has had a Race like no other. After leaving his passport and wallet behind at a petrol station, he successfully retrieved it, crossing the Alps three times over. 

‍

 “I want to honour the Race, for me it’s a dream to be here,” said Victor at CP1. “People say to me that I am writing a legend, but I don’t think so. I just made a mistake and I’m just riding my bike. I caught a lot of riders behind me, and I think they are more deserved [of the praise] than me.”

Victor has ridden over 1,900 km while front rider Robin Gemperle (002) two countries ahead of him has covered over 2,300km. 

Another rider also added extra kilometres to his journey. Thierry Plantevin (103) had to climb Vršič pass in both directions after he missed CP1 and descended to Kranjska Gora. 

Adam Wolley (110) struggled with diversions after reaching CP1 and ended up bemused walking his bike on a rough gravel path searching for the right direction. His perseverance rewarded him with long, smooth, slightly downhill roads, and much higher morale. 

Further in front, Jaimi Wilson (004) was roused from her navigation frustrations and was enjoying riding through the farmlands of Bosnia towards Banja Luka. Drawing on her experience from TCRNo9, she was relishing the cool conditions before anticipating the temperature to rise significantly.  

Sleeping lions

Five days into the Race, and each rider’s sleep strategy is coming into focus and becoming ever more important, especially at the front of the Race.

Abdullah Zeinab (021) is currently in second place, behind Robin Gemperle (002). The Australian has been taking flatter roads compared to Robin, choosing to ride via Doboj in Bosnia, and Nova Varoš in Serbia, in an attempt to close the gap. 

Robin, on the other hand, is taking a more cross-country route through Montenegro, choosing ‘gravel shortcuts’ wherever possible. 

‍

So far, Abdullah is showing as having stopped for just over 12 hours whereas Robin has had significantly more rest at just over 19 hours. Whether Abdullah can close the gap even further remains to be seen. 

As dusk fell on Day 4, Omar di Felice arrived at the bottom of the second Parcours, visibly feeling the results of cycling for several days through multiple countries. He checked into a hotel, and after four hours of rest, headed up the off-road Parcours, reaching CP2 at 03:06CEST. 

Behind him, Adrien Liechti (007) overslept by five hours on his arrival into Bosnia. Back on the road, Adrien is 200 km from the second Parcours and CP2. He is a few kilometres behind Rory Anderson (170) and just in front of the leading Pair Sherry Cardona (295b) and Gereon Tewes (295a). 

Adrien and Rory both rode in the inaugural Accursed Race in May. Meanwhile, Oliver Neumann (307b), another TARNo1 rider, is tackling Parcours 1 and aiming to reach CP1 by the cut-off time at midnight. The three of them are the only remaining riders from TARNo1 still in the Race, after Alex Kopp and Josh Ibbett both scratched due to knee issues. Could it be the curse of The Accursed?

Further back, Mike Hall Bursary Rider Fran Scott (290) made great progress, despite having an unplanned bivvy break on the side of the road up the Grossglockner on night 3. Before taking on the Mangartsko Sedlo, Fran had a ten hour sleep in Tarvisio, which clearly paid off. By early this morning, she had made her way along the first Parcours, alongside Ailish Green (165), Bartek Waś (315a), Wojtek Was (315b) and Adrien Ponteville (212). At 11:00CEST Fran arrived at CP1. 

‍

“I woke up this morning feeling a lot better, I needed that,” said Fran. She is looking forward to the next leg of her journey while also expecting the heat with some trepidation. 

Stunted momentum

As the sun began to set, Christoph Strasser (001) navigated the off-road Parcours by CP2 in good spirits, despite acknowledging that the gravel did not play to his strengths. On the descent after reaching CP2, Christoph punctured, his pump broken and not a bike shop in sight.

Not one to easily give up, Christoph blew air into a new tube as best he could, and made his way down to the nearest town where he to remedy the situation, and rested for just over 4 hours. He is back on the road heading towards Montenegro. “The TCR is really testing me, the series of problem solving doesn’t stop,” he wrote on social media. 

‍

Among the mid pack, TCR veteran Matt Falconer (253) took a rest at Tarvisio before hoping to tackle the Parcours but was struggling to believe he could do it due to knee pain. 

“It's just a lot of climbing,” said Matt. “There's no escape from it. I know the next Parcours from 2018, it’s pretty steep so I'm going to give it some rest and then try in the morning, but I have doubts.” By early morning Matthew was on the Parcours but at 11:03CEST he scratched. 

With riders now strung out throughout Austria and the Balkans, those at the back will dig deep and hope to make it to CP1, while others begin to focus on the Slovenian Alps, their journey to Istanbul already one of enormous fortitude and determination.  

For the front pack, their wheels turn towards the Šar Mountains National Park in Kosovo, where the town of Prevallë hosts CP3. Will Robin be the first to arrive yet again? 

‍

Scratch report 

Several riders have scratched citing injury, illness and mechanical issues.  

061 Torsten Reda 

081 Mathias Väärsi

145 Matthias Stütz

152 David Atkin 

176 Richard Bent

200 Peter van Endert 

205 Kristof Standaert

253 Matthew Falconer

255 Stefanie Niederberger

260 Marco Sega 

277 Marco Boschi

308b Michele Stellatelli

308a Luca Mari

‍