#TCRNo11
TCRNo11 extends eastward like a tear line across Europe. A permission slip for a new decade of adventure, where change is the only constant. Riders of the Transcontinental have long learned to accept this aphorism, facing each day, each kilometre, and each new reality as and when they arrive. The most successful adapting, overcoming, and thriving in each fresh scenario.
As our riders do, so must the race change and adapt. Thriving in order to survive, redrawing the Transcontinental map. Starting on Europe’s far western edge, where pilgrims have ended their journeys for a thousand years, our riders go further west still, to Fisterra, the windswept cape which Romans believed to be the end of the world. From here, the route treads an almost horizontal line across the continent, crossing fewer parallels than any previous TCR and finishing less than two degrees north of its start.
At the race’s northernmost point, the Strada dell’Assietta, our flashback through history becomes more recent. It was here, as Ibbett chased down Hayden, the race took in its first off-road parcours. After traversing the Alps we swing south, exploring previously unreached roads in the Apennines of Italy, before crossing the Adriatic Sea to the Balkans, the Danube, and finally Constanta - Ancient Rome’s Tomis.
Provisional race details
Registration: 27th July 10:00-16:00 CEST
Race start: 27th July 2025 20:00 CEST
Finish party: 14th August 19:00-23:59 CEST
Finish cut-off: 14th August 23:59 CEST
Applications: open 8th - 31st December
Open to: solo entrants or pairs
Cost: £510 per rider + refundable £130 tracker deposit
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About the Race
The Transcontinental Race is the definitive self-supported bicycle race across Europe. At the sharp end it is a beautifully hard bicycle race, simple in design but complex in execution. Factors of self reliance, logistics, navigation and judgement burden racers’ minds as well as their physiques. The strongest excel and redefine what we think possible, while many experienced riders target only a finish.
The Transcontinental is a single stage race in which the clock never stops. Riders plan, research and navigate their own course and choose when and where to rest. They will take only what they can carry and consume only what they can find. Four mandatory control points guide their route and ensure a healthy amount of climbing to reach some of cycling’s most beautiful and historic monuments. Each year our riders cover around 4000 km to reach the finish line.
Mike Hall
The man who started it all. Mike Hall devised the Transcontinental Race and ran all editions until his tragic death in 2017. Find out all about the inspiring maverick whose spirit remains the beating heart of everything Lost Dot do.
Lost Dot
We preserve and nurture Mike Hall's legacy of fair and self-sufficient racing, championing integrity, equality and inclusivity, creating opportunities for unique and beautiful journeys of self discovery to share with as many people as possible.
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The Route
Since Medieval times the city of Santiago de Compostela has been synonymous with journey’s end for the weary transcontinental traveller, having collected their stamps as proof of devotion. Instead riders of TCRNo11 will begin their routes here, heading westward to Fisterra where the Europe’s last rocky vestiges weather the fierce storms of the North Atlantic.
Picos de Europa or ‘Peaks of Europe’ is so named as the first relief sailors would see when returning from America and the hardships of the Atlantic. For our riders too, this will be the first taste of many mountains as they begin their crossing of the continent.
Here a split parcours and CP will give riders the choice between tarmac and offroad, an opportunity for the bold to gain time, but also for the overconfident to lose it!
A climb which has featured in the Tour de France more than any other, and in the Trans Pyrenees every year, but never before in the Transcontinental Race. Famed for its jagged peaks, relentless slopes, and curious llamas, riders will climb from the Bareges side before descending Desrigange’s icy slopes to Ste-Marie-de-Campan. This is where perhaps cycling’s most famous penalty for support came, as Eugene Cristoph lost 10 minutes for seeking help from a blacksmith’s son to operate the bellows as he fixed his own broken fork. Never let it be said TCR rules are harsh…
The race’s northernmost point, the Strada dell’Assietta, was used as a military road during the 17th and 18th centuries, where Europe’s empires and noble houses fought over territory. More recently the road was the Transcontinental’s first ever offroad parcours, it was on TCRNo3’s second control where another battle raged, as Josh Ibbett began to close the gap on James Hayden and the balance of the race began to change.
One of the highest roads in the Alps the SP173, as it’s simply known, spends large amounts of time over 2000m and riders ability to judge the weather, darkness, and resupply will be put to a high-stakes test.
Siena’s piazza del campo is home to the city’s famous Palio, but bears witness to another race this year, as TCRNo11’s fourth parcours begins under the famous medieval clocktower before guiding riders through the labyrinthine streets and out into the surrounding countryside.
The chalky white roads of the Eroica and Strade Bianche draw an evocative picture as they etch their way up Tuscany’s rolling hills, past avenues of cypress and ancient villas, before cascading down them.
From here, the double-parcours breaks and riders make their own way down the spine of Italy towards the control point in the beautiful Apennine village of Pacentro.
Riders from TCRNo9 will remember Burrel, where 40km of rough unsealed road marked the start of what was for many, the toughest part of the race. Here roads which might be marked on an atlas of the Balkans quickly turn from tarmac to stone, to mud, and those who ride around here would do well to do their research beforehand.
The Qafe Shtame climb leaves the tourist town of Kruje, snaking up the valley sides, past sheer cliffs and tumbling rivers, before the parcours ends near the abandoned silos of Noje, standing (and half-standing) like tenpins midway through a giant’s game of bowls.
The Control Point will be hosted once again at Villa Bruci, where riders will find sympathetic hosts, endless views, and steaming plates of rice and local vegetables.
The finish parcours guides riders along the the final stretches of the mighty Danube. Both making their final kilometers across a continent, before reaching its edge on the Black Sea, depositing all they have carried with them, and finally resting in the calm waters beyond which lay Asian shores.
The finish lies in the Ancient Roman city of Tomis, now known as Romania’s Constanta. Having found Ovid halfway through the race in Sulmona, we leave him here, the place of his banishment in the far eastern reaches of the Roman Empire, having begun our journey in its far west.
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Frequently asked questions
Applications to race open with plenty of notice through our social media accounts, at dedicated times throughout the year for our three races. During the two week application window the application forms become available as soon as the applicant has registered and created a profile at lostdot.cc. Applications are open for 2 weeks to allow plenty of time for riders to get their application in without favouring any particular nationalities. The application process consists of completing the registration stage, downloading and reading the Race Manual (available after registration and a few legal questions) and completing the application form - which will give us an idea of your knowledge regarding the concerns and methods of route planning, an understanding of the the basic requirements of the race and an idea of your experience to date.
There are no qualification requirements however we expect applicants to have gained relevant, multi-day, long distance expedition experience either alone or as part of a small group.
Completion and payment will be available to those riders who are offered a place. Riders should get to know if they have been offered a place early in the new year. The entry allocations procedure remains the same as usual; there will be a mixture of pre-selected applicants and a ballot.
Lost Dot aim to operate Transcontinental Race at capacity. We do not operate a waiting list, instead we offer slightly more places than we can accommodate in the knowledge that some people will withdraw their entry. Since we now have so many veterans returning to race we can no longer accept all riders of previous races as we have in the past.
There will be a number of pre-selection quotas to encourage and reward certain applicants. If the number of applicants in these categories exceeds the quota then they will be selected in a ballot. If a rider is not successful in the pre-selection ballot then they will be put into the main ballot. Exact quota numbers will be determined proportionally and be dependent on the demographics of the entries as a whole.
Pre-selection will be made for the following:
Volunteers - those who have given a significant contribution to a Lost Dot race as a volunteer in the last race will be prioritised. There will not be a quota on volunteer places.
Veterans - In the past most if not all veteran racers got a place, however there are now too many veterans to make that possible and so there is a quota and a pre-selection ballot for these applicants.
Under-represented applicants - namely women and under-represented nationalities may have a quota. Read our diversity and inclusion statement here.
All solo riders unsuccessful in the quota ballots or not eligible for pre-selection will go into the main ballot. It is not the purpose of the allocation process to delete entries from the process as not good enough. We may contact applicants if we believe there has been a gross misunderstanding of the event's demands or that the applicant may be a liability to their own safety or that of the event. We do reserve the right to refuse entries but this we generally reserve for those that are made as obviously non-serious, abusive or containing false information. There may be other circumstances but you get the idea.
There will be a separate quota for pairs riders. Riders who apply as a pair will only be eligible for a pairs place, if unsuccessful they will not be entered into the main ballot. Riders must firmly decide and commit to which category they are entering and enter only one. Duplicate registrations will be removed. Pairs entry cannot be back door mechanism to a solo start. Riders should assume that selection is only made for the category of the application and they will not necessarily be able to transfer from one category to another at a later date.
The Control Parcours is a fixed length of route which riders must complete as part of their control visit. The control point will lie somewhere on this route, often at the start or finish. The Control Parcours often includes a traverse over especially scenic or demanding terrain or through an area of significance or interest. It can include, but is not limited to a climb, several climbs, an unpaved route or ridge line traverse. The control parcours is usually still mandatory after the control has closed and a rider’s tracker or other evidence can satisfy the requirement to show it has been ridden. Sometimes parts of parcours which are subject to limited permissions or which can be hazardous may be closed with the control. If a rider does not complete the full parcours a compensation penalty may be given. This is usually a time greater than that of the slowest recorded crossing.
For photographers and videographers the control points and parcours offer the opportunity to capture images of the racers in spectacular landscapes along a known route and to document stories of the racers with candid images at the control points. It is also a chance for the race reporters to capture some of their testimony and reaction and to observe their performance and condition over demanding terrain. Time recording allows us to measure the differences and time gaps between racers and share it to the followers of the race.
A Control is a mandatory key location which racers must navigate to in order to validate their participation in the race. It is also where the race records their timings for race reporting. Controls are chosen for their dramatic terrain, natural beauty and often include icons of cycling or adventure. Their locations also shape the race as a whole and the terrain and route dilemmas which may occur in-between. A Control usually consists of ‘Control Point’ and ‘Control Parcours’
The Control Point is a fixed station, often a local business such as a hotel, where race staff validate the arrival of the racers by recording their arrival and time stamping their Brevet Card. The control point is often a place where food, accommodation and communications services are available. The control points are established by the production and media team who will arrive in one or more of the control vehicles. They are then manned by volunteers in shifts until the control closure time. Some controls provide a round the clock reception whilst others may temporarily close overnight and have an automated check in feature. Failure to report in at any of the control points will mean that the rider is no longer qualified for inclusion in the finishers classification. Control Points are open from the time of arrival of the first rider, to the date specified in the Rider Manual. After this time the control will be closed and no longer be manned. Riders who arrive after closure of the control are excluded from the General Classifications but remain within the race.
The Transcontinental is a bicycle race from point A to point B, via Control Points, where solo riders and pairs race without outside assistance. The riders agree to follow our ten rules when they apply.
The Transcontinental Race is the definitive self-supported bicycle race across Europe. At the sharp end it is a beautifully hard bicycle race, simple in design but complex in execution. Factors of self reliance, logistics, navigation and judgement burden racers’ minds as well as their physiques. The strongest excel and redefine what we think possible, while many experienced riders target only a finish.
The Transcontinental is a single stage race in which the clock never stops. Riders plan, research and navigate their own course and choose when, where and if to rest. They will take only what they can carry and consume only what they can find. Four mandatory control points guide their route and ensure a healthy amount of climbing to reach some of cycling’s most beautiful and historic monuments. Each year our riders cover around 4000km to reach the finish line.