Pre-Race Report: Miles to go before we sleep

Words by Stuart Downie

Photos by Tomás Montes, Liz Seabrook, James Robertson, Tom Gibbs, Charlotte Gamus

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Every cyclist should ride the Pyrenees at least once. 

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It’s a mountain range that’s not only significant to cycling’s history, but one that is steeped in an intangible and indescribable mystique. 

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The hardy souls lining up to tackle the Trans Pyrenees Race will ride the Pyrenees twice – for good measure. What’s that old joke, fool me once? But of course there will be no shame to be had here. Two thousand kilometres of tar and gravel and up to forty-thousand metres of climbing await.

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The Trans Pyrenees Race is an interesting proposition. The first thing to note is that this year sees the route reversed. Instead of starting and finishing beside the thundering Bay of Biscay, this time the Spanish Basque Country becomes the midway point and Girona is the new Start and Finish. In between the two, the mighty Pyrenees pose the Race’s primary problem. 

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At a glance, we have fixed Parcours, free-route sections, and mandatory Control Points. The devil in these details – or, one of them – is that the route has been craftily designed to tempt riders with off-road shortcuts along the way, where time savings can be gleaned by riders willing to take the road less travelled, namely rough gravel surfaces and unpaved climbs. So if you see a road bike at the top of an inaccessible peak in the latter days of September, you’ll know what led to its being there.

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In spite of the abundance of options, there is a method to the madness, one that the team at Lost Dot have spent a lot of time – and applied years of experience – to fine tuning, providing riders with a real challenge. Race Director Hannah Labalestier tells us a little more about the process, which begins more or less the moment the last edition ends.

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“Each year we design the route for TPR from the ground up, looking to create a different feel and character for each edition, and to explore new areas. We get a lot of returning riders, so keeping the route fresh and giving them new roads and trails to explore is really high up on our priority list. Thankfully, there's such a variety of landscapes and culture across the Pyrenees, and that's not only what makes it such a special race, but it's what enables us to be creative with the way that we plan our routes. As well as a whole host of new Control Points and Parcours, the new start location in Girona will change up the vibe of the Race, but importantly it also means that the return Parcours, the Raid Pyrenean, will be tackled in reverse this time round, which will give TPR veterans an entirely different experience of the climbs that they'll be tackling along the way and the views that they get.”

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komoot Collection here

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The addition of Girona as the Start and Finish is one of the most notable changes. Hannah explains:

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“ Girona has become this real mecca for cycling. It's surrounded by good road and off-road cycling, it enjoys a Mediterranean climate, it's well connected, and it's also this beautiful medieval city, so it's no surprise that there's now this huge cycling community there.”

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Of course, the route – its CPs and Parcours – is but a part of the equation. The route, like the mountains, are but the stage. Enter stage left our actors. Now in its fourth edition, TPRNo4 has attracted some big names to its startline, including two former Transcontinental Race winners.

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TPRNo4 has the sublime pleasure of welcoming past Transcontinental Race winner Fiona Kolbinger. Fiona was the first rider to collect all the stamps in their brevet card at TCRNo7, whilst putting her own stamp on the ultra cycling scene. A self-confessed climber, on paper this route should suit her well but while she’s returning with the same bike she rode to victory in 2019, there’s one small difference in her preparation: having moved for work to the flat Midwest of America, there hasn’t been a great deal of opportunity to climb, let alone ride her bike outside. A 4th place at Race Through Slovakia earlier this year – gained largely by preparing on the turbo – shows she’s still getting results, and we’ll be excited to see how things pan out for Fiona when she makes it into the mountains.

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“I like the competitive spirit, right? I could just go bikepacking without a time limit, without competitors or needing to sleep outside. Book some hotels and enjoy the luxury of it. But what I really enjoy about these races is that they take you out of your comfort zone, you see more than you would see, it's a very different way of travelling and a different way of riding your bike. It’s all very exciting. And that's what I'm looking forward to. I don't have any clear ambitions. And I never have for any of the races that I did.

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“I don't think it's wise to set ambitions very high, or to set ambitions to win or to come in a specific position. That being said, all of the races that I've done so far, I came in the top 10 overall and that is something that I would be happy about. But I’m also not having a bad time if I just end up finishing and having fun. This is still my free time. I'm looking forward to spending more time on my bike, spending a lot of time in a beautiful place. And the climbing, I really missed that. I've never been to the Pyrenees really, it has been on my list for a very long time.”

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Has fighting talk ever sounded less like fighting talk? It’s hard not to be excited about how a talent – not to mention that inspirational personality – like Fiona will get on at TPRNo4, especially on a true first attempt.

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Alongside Fiona, we welcome another Transcontinental Race winner – this one freshly minted. Only weeks ago Robin Gemperle crossed the finish line in Istanbul. Has he had enough time to recover, and how is he feeling in the run up to tackling the mighty Pyrenees?

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“My shape won't be like it was at TCR, but it will be fine,” Robin says, which sounds like something of an understatement. “I had a bit of a break and then I continued training normally. At TCR this year, I was super sharp, just how sportspeople would prepare for the highlight of their season. Trans Pyrenees is like sportspeople preparing for their normal races of the season. Still, a lot of serious work has gone into it.”

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Like Fiona, this will be the first time Robin goes for a ride in the Pyrenees.

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“Maybe the pressure is a bit too low in order to be really sharp for this because I tell myself, well, if you win, it's super cool because you can say you won the most important one (TCR) and then you doubled up, and showed everybody that's the guy to beat, basically anywhere. So that would be cool. But then again, if I don't win it's very simple to say you still won the important one. This is a separate race. We don't line up to come in second, we line up to win. That's what my racing spirit is about.”

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So there we have it, and we’ve not even heard from Omar de Felice: there will be a race in the Pyrenees.

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But we’re not the only ones excited to see these riders heading to Girona, or indeed any rider who chooses to take the time to take part in a Lost Dot race. Race Director Hannah Larbalestier says this:

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“It means a lot to us when anyone chooses to do our races, but when it's riders of the calibre of Robin and Fiona it's particularly exciting, and that's because we're not just here to provide an adventure: we're here to put on a race. Having a competitive field really makes it a gripping race to follow, and gives the dot-watchers at home, and us, something to keep us glued to the tracker.”

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Caroline Buckland returns to the Pyrenees for a second year to mix it up with Fiona and Robin – although Caroline admits she’s yet to look at the start list when we speak with her – after scratching shortly after CP5 at TPRNo3 after falling foul of an unusual condition many ultra riders will know and rightly fear. Unable to resist a pun, when Shermer’s Neck rears its ugly head it is at best extremely troublesome if not race-ending, as it was in Caroline’s case. What brings her back? Redemption, or something simpler?

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“The main thing that appeals to me is the views. The scenery is like nothing else. And the challenge of it is part of the joy, the climbing and the steepness that you get in the climbs you don't really find anywhere else, particularly for the length of the climb as well. It actually put me in my place a little bit. It hit me like a ton of bricks on day one. And I think I needed that. I got into my stride within a few days, and I found the climbing easier, and I found my climbing legs. But the challenge is what makes something so enjoyable in the first place. Coming out of it thinking that was the hardest thing I've done but I've done it and I really enjoyed it. I'm really happy with myself for sticking with it because on day one last year I wanted to pull out. I'd underestimated it so much and I went in having not trained very much and clearly overestimated my ability. So it's going to be quite nice going in slightly fitter this year and knowing what I'm up against.”

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But as far as the reason goes, there’s more to it than that for Caroline.

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“I just love the community. I came along to this race, and others, and there were suddenly loads of people around you. And as long as you're not, you know, the top five, there are always going to be people around you. So I would pass the same four or five guys every day. You'd have a natter. You'd make a joke, but it was really nice knowing that other people were suffering with you. And I think with the Pyrenees in particular, I made some really great friendships along the way. You'd check in with each other, and one of the other women, Kirsten Cluley (who recently finished the Tour Divide), had to drop out. She sent a message to me on Instagram saying, I'm following you, you're doing fantastic, keep going — and I just thought that was really lovely.

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Speaking with Race Coordinator David Ayre while out on a final reccy of this year’s route, it seems it’s less of a surprise and more of a justification of all of the work that goes into bringing the Race to life.

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“It's really exciting to have so many riders coming back year on year to the Trans Pyrenees. For me, it's the most beautiful race on the calendar. I've said it before, and I'll never tire of saying it, and I think it’s an opinion shared by a lot of the people who take part. You’ve got something which feels so simple, it's a single mountain range, but there is so much variety within that.

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“The fact that riders are criss-crossing borders between France, Spain and Andorra, going from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, getting a taste of both of the climates and cultures of the different ends of the Pyrenees. The fact that there's a mixture of on and off roads, some hike-a-bike as well. It's a choose your own adventure story, and I think that everyone who takes part really relishes that.”

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Returning to race isn’t the only way riders can take part in TPRNo4, nor Lost Dot events in general. There’s a whole team of volunteers who dedicate their time and expertise to the smooth running of the race. Race Coordinator David Ayre says:

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“We literally couldn't run the race in the way that we do without the help of volunteers. Each year we recruit a range of people to help, both from home but also out at the different Control Points along the race as well. So the motivations for people to come and volunteer with the race are always different, and quite personal.

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“Some of them are riders who've ridden before and they want to give something back. Others are people who have an interest in racing in the future and they want to get a little bit closer to the action, so they can see the dynamics of the race and understand it in greater detail. And then others are really passionate about supporting people to have these amazing adventures.

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“We have the three races Lost Dot run, and some of the volunteers have been doing it for a long time, some knew Mike (Hall, Transcontinental Race founder) from way back when and are really invested in maintaining the integrity of the race in whatever way they can. I think that's a really beautiful thing.”

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One such volunteer returns this year for his third Trans Pyrenees Race as a home volunteer. Jamie Oliver tells us what it is that got him in in the first place, and why he keeps coming back for more.

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“I was interested in doing the Transcontinental Race, but I wanted to get a better sense of actually how the race is conducted, how people race it, what is their strategy, what causes people to succeed, what causes people to scratch. And you can understand that on a whole different level if you're part of the game, seeing the racers every single day execute their strategy and see it play out for the better or for the worse.

“You can live vicariously through the riders, and there's excitement there. Things happen every day. And just to be able to follow it, to read the blogs, to look at the photos coming in and then to also be part of that race execution – you get out of it more than what you put in. It's really great to continue being part of the community, I'm very happy to stick around and lend my expertise.”

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Unsurprisingly, Jamie is not the only ultra veteran among our team of volunteers. Manning CP3 in Torla-Ordesa, TPRNo3 44th place finisher James Page is joined by his partner Wendy. What brings a former rider back, and how do they convince their nearest and dearest to join them?

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“My experience with TPRNo3 was literally life changing,” James said. “I had never been to the Pyrenees, having only seen it on the Tour de France. I had only ever cycled abroad once before. The Pyrenees blew my mind, it was utterly beautiful: the weather, the climbs, the people, the places we visited and rode through – just wow. I felt so privileged to experience the whole thing. Having run endurance race companies before and volunteered at many races, as well as competing, I understand the importance of volunteers and what a difference it makes to the athletes. I wanted to give something back to the race and to in some small way enhance the experience of the athlete, even by just being that smiling face they see haven ridden all night through the rain to make a cut-off.”

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And naturally, James wanted to share the experience with those closest to him.

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“The TPR podcasts and race reports had been a fantastic way to see the scenery, get an insight into the race and the different riders, and the challenges they were facing,” Wendy explains, using them as a way to keep in touch with James – who was kept busy with the race. “Having that link to the action helped frame things when I would suddenly wake at 3am, search for his dot on the map and wonder whether he was ok, before falling back to fitful sleep, fingers crossed.

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“On his return, James implemented some big changes in his life, but one of the things he was adamant about was that he wanted to take me back to the Pyrenees to experience the beauty of the mountains. Although TPR is an unsupported race, I understand the importance of the volunteers – a brief interaction with another person, a shared joke or a friendly face to break up the long periods of solitude can make such a difference, and this was certainly the case for James at TPRNo3. Therefore I am super excited to be able to be a part of TPRNo4, give back to the ethos of the race and also experience it first-hand as a volunteer.”

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Lost Dot’s volunteers have a wealth of experience, including running events of their own. Nadia Hussian joins us this year at CP3 while her partner Rob returns to the race. But her support has no favour – if anything, it’s the opposite, and Nadia sees the race as a unique way to get to know people.

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“It’s more than just a race, it’s a profound experience that pushes people to their absolute limits, both physically and mentally. What truly drew me in was seeing how deeply transformative these races are for the riders. Being part of that journey, even in a supporting role, is incredibly rewarding. It’s a unique and privileged position to have such insight into someone’s race – to witness their highs, lows, frustrations, and those rare but priceless funny moments. It’s remarkable how these riders start off as strangers, yet by watching their journey unfold, you feel like you really get to know who they are.”

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On the topic of getting to know new riders, this year Lost Dot welcomes two Mike Hall Bursary riders. The objective of this bursary is to make the Race more accessible because, as we’ve ascertained above, it would only be a route without riders. Recipients receive financial aid for race-related costs, cycling kit and equipment from Lost Dot’s great Race partners, and support from an experienced mentor in the run up to the Race. Lost Dot believes that the differentiator in adventure racing should be the aptitude, athleticism and attitude of the individuals, not their budget, and they will endeavour to find ways to make their races as accessible and inclusive as possible. We will hear more from the bursary riders in the run up to the Race itself.

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So, there we have it. TPRNo4 is upon us. Prepare yourselves for what is sure to be another great race in a truly beautiful part of the world. Bookmark the Follow My Challenge page, follow the Instagram account, subscribe to the podcast. There are miles to go before we sleep.