TCRNo10 Day 1: Steely Choices

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Words by Emma Cole

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Steely Choices

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As the first afternoon of the TCR played out across middle Europe, it was remarkable to see the different routes riders took as they made their way in the direction of Control Point 1 in Slovenia. Following the first night of riding, riders largely converged into two major routes: a southern trajectory, taking riders towards Luxembourg and then following the French-German border in the direction of Stuttgart and Munich, and a more northerly trajectory, taking riders towards Koln before taking the Rhine river south.

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Over half of the field opted to ride through Luxembourg, dipping into Germany and snaking along the Saar River towards Saarbrücken. Riders passed through the town of Völklingen where the old steel works was the first industrial monument to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994, the Völklinger Hütte. 

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At the front of the pack after 500 km was Victor Bosoni (232), ahead of Christoph Strasser (001), Andre Bachmann (005) and Ben Chadourne (060), all of whom opted to ride through Saarbrücken, across to Pforzheim, and eastwards in the direction of Munich. 

Sherry Cardona (295b) and Gereon Tewes (295a) were about 100 km ahead of the other Pairs riders, after only 20 hours.

Axel Restrup (179) took a wider west route through the Ballons des Vosges Regional Nature Park, via Remiremont to Mulhouse. Adrien Charlot (215) followed suit. 

Jana Kesenheimer (010) chose to ride straight through the Black Forest National Park, famous for its namesake German cake where the layers are traditionally soaked in cherry brandy and the filling made with sour cherries. She was making good headway, perhaps down to the indulgent dessert.

TCR veterans Jaimi Wilson (004) and Josh Ibbett (018) took a similar route through the Black Forest, however Jaimi tucked in towards the Swiss border whereas Josh chose to ride as the crow flies in the direction of Innsbruck. 

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Make Wine in the Rhine

Robin Gemperle (002), Mark Kowalski (243), and Auri Teinilä (022) took an easterly course, through Maastricht and Koblenz, and as darkness fell made their way deeper into Germany, weaving along the Rhine valley, surrounded by green forests and dense vineyards under the backdrop of ancient schlosses including Stolzenfels Castle, a towering medieval fortress turned palace. 

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We caught Evelyn Weiss (090) in good spirits resupplying at a Lidl near Koblenz, clutching brioche, a very large ice tea and some banana milk. She was surprised at her progress, having ridden through the first night. 

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Riders also passed through Mannheim, the city where Karl Drais, known as "the father of the bicycle" invented an early version of the machine in 1817.

Rogue Routes 

Pairs riders Sarah Ruggins (303b) and Mark Anderson (303a) decided to ride via Düsseldorf, Dortmund and Buren in eastern Germany, the only riders to make this choice. 

Sarah took to social media to explain the route, writing “it’s a cheeky wee calculated bet.” 

By the evening, according to Komoot’s estimates Sarah and Mark had climbed 3,100m elevation compared with 4,850m elevation for the leading pairs Sherry Cardona (295b) and Gereon Tewes (295a). 

However overnight, Sarah announced on social media that she and Mark had parted ways. Mark has scratched and Sarah is now riding independently.

Go Faster Stripes 

The Race started fast and shows no sign of slowing after the first nightfall. 

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Robin Gemperle (002) continued to ride with intent. After 22 hours and 52 minutes on the road, and 752km covered, Robin’s average moving speed was 31.63 km/h and his total stoppage time was 8 minutes. 

Currently, the Swiss rider looks to be narrowly ahead after having ridden down past Munich, and towards the Austrian Alps, pushing ahead strongly. 

Omar di Felice (016), Florian Moreau (67), Abdullah Zeinab (021), Andre Bachmann (005) and Christoph Strasser (001) are in the chasing pack behind Robin and have all made it past Munich. 

Victor Bosoni (232) led the westward strand of the Race in the first 24 hours, before slightly slowing through Bavaria and is now at the foothills of the Alps. At 22 years old and riding his first TCR, Victor is making an impression, fast. 

Tim de Witte (003), Ben Chadourne (060), Pawel Pulawski (008), David Tschan (50) and Alex Kopp (004) are advancing slightly further behind, with Alex admitting some knee pain on social media.

Towards the west side of the Race, passing Lake Constance on the Swiss-German border is Bas Vlaskamp (213) and Taneli Myllykoski (87) while Tobias Fuchs (132) is fast approaching the Alps, looking like he will take on the Brenner Pass. 

Behind the front pack, many riders are now converging around Stuttgart, the two strands of route choices reunited, for now.

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Looking Ahead

Today riders will press onwards towards Austria, endeavouring to riding over high mountain road passes, choosing between the Grossglockner Pass in Austria which sits at 2,504m elevation or the Brenner Pass at 1370m elevation on the Austria-Italy border, or the Radstädter Tauern Pass also in Austria at 1738m elevation. 

As riders head further south and the alpine vistas begin to reveal themselves, the rider experience will change significantly alongside the landscape. The magnitude of the distances they have covered so far, and what they are yet to cover, will impact their decisions, sleep choices and resupply strategies will unfold. The mountains, and CP1, are calling.

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