Change of CP1 location

The Unknown Race is no longer Unknown! CP1 is released

Riders of the TURNo2, Vienna waits for you!

Will Vousden

Lucas Becker

Laurens van Gucht

Alexander Kinnisch

Christophe Dijkmans

Tim De Witte

Riccardo Kuhar

Dries van der Kleij

Jacob Tippelt

Jana Kesenheimer

Jair Hoogland

Paul Merkel

Markus Zimmermann

Rene Mistlberger

Paul Niehoff

Arno Burgi

Valentin Ogrzewalla

Henning Sydow

Jakub Micorek

Niels Ihrman

Jean-Francois Oudkerk

Sebastiano Frandino

Eugenio Pasquato

Irene Graf

Stefan Knoll

David Hamann

Johannes Müller

Benjamin Schroeteler

David Frohn

Urs Mannhart

Erik Price

Nicolas Faure

Manuel Feldbaumer

Thyl Seeger

Geert Bonnema

Tomas Kovacs

Sebastian Stein

Jesko von Werthern

David Matti

Florian Ibe

Andy Georges

Fabian Burri

Simon Gwiggner

Heike Otten

Yannick Reich

Maximilian Siering

Carl Levi Schmidt

Maximilian Gutmensch

Jason Schreurs

Andrea Romano

Thomas Ettema

Lars Heidler

Erik Steinberg

Norina Tondar

David Kalla

Aleksander Wanowski

Philipp Brandstetter

Jean Dupouy

Felipe Duque

Joep van Luijt

Peter Lényi

Fabian Guschigk

Robert Müller

Tobias Gosch

Julian Staritz

Claudia Decker

Christoph Tauber-Huber

Filippo Nicoli

Zeno Bonduelle

Felix Hirth

Michael Zeilinger

Damien Remen

Nick Rotter

Raphael Evans

Juergen Eckel

Sjors Hegger

David Sherrington

Peter Kuhn

Peter  Borko

Lukas Hörnchen

Jeff Reding

Tom Dockal

Julius Kemner

Su Lei

Lukas Klöckner

Martin Granadia

Stefan Lachinger

Patrick Nast

Felix Heine

Jean-Baptiste Minvielle

Andi Scheuerpflug

Eric Cooper

Florian Rohde

Gregor Wechselberger

Jacob Wassermann

Martijn Driedonks

Felix Dellinger

Gerald Radinger

Henry Paegel

Michele Cocciardo

Anatole Naimi

Bernhard Zisser

Martin Moritz

Sébastien Warègne

Luc Delwiche

Nikolaus Gussner

Paul Splechtna

Florian Klein

Stefan Eferdinger

Gregor Stratil-Sauer

Gerald Krottendorfer

Louis Vande Perre

Victor Eklund

Mathilde Wolff

Nicolas Michel

Lula Gabriel

Laura Niediek

Leo Hanke

Josef Piglmann

Manuel Sommer

Anja Biemann

Lisa Weichert

Roland Bartmuss

Christine Bartmuss

A wonderful Sunday to you all,

It's the fourth day of the race and we apologise that there were no more updates here about yesterday. 

Yesterday the first finishers in all categories were welcomed at our favourite bike shop "Star Bike" in Vienna.

Overall/solo men category winner is: Will Vousden. He left no doubt after CP3 and reached the finish in Vienna two hours ahead of Lucas Becker. Laurens van Gucht completed the podium.  What a ride in wintry conditions, which demanded everything from riders and equipment.  Due to the conditions, the route options were limited and the riders often didn't risk too much and opted for tracks  they  already knew. 

![willwinner](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7CeJq9l62UGfV7Hiya66cS/0fb1700fb9c3e5b920b0e9b14217bc97/willwinner.png)

Jana Kesenheimer showed that this year we can expect a lot of her, making a statement right at the start of the season with this outstanding victory and at the Unknown Race #2. We didn't hear much from her during the race. Was it the weather and gloves, battery, route planning or focus on the race? Congratulations and we look forward to hearing stories from the race. 

![Janawinener](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3MBVwzCgqsMomcd2bXJwfh/98b0786f51155971c4905c49b346ef60/Janawinener.png)

We would also like to congratulate the first pair to win, Martin Moritz and Bernhard Zisser. They both crossed the finish line in good spirits and well rested. They slept both nights and allowed themselves the luxury of 2 hours of snoozing... Sleep hard, ride harder! 

![pairwinner](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/YTx5OZBRAuUdYtvFAS58B/bf81ffa26151fa5ce8f73d2112452b44/pairwinner.png)

This means that all thirds of the collected donations have been distributed. Where the money goes will be announced this evening at the finisher party. 

Before the well-deserved finisher beer, however, the riders still had to go to Lake Neusiedl. Here they had another chance to tactic and enjoy a well-deserved break while making progress. But more about the background here: 
The organisers about the choice of Lake Neusiedl as CP 4
*“this is a reference to the ferry drama's during previous Two Volcano Sprint and TCR races. They have to go to the East side of the Lake Neusiedl, which is situated between them and Vienna at that point. There is a shortcut riders can make by taking the bike ferry but it only goes a few times per day. So we test riders ability to calculate longer distance riding versus shorter distance plus waiting for the ferry to bring them to the other side”*

Yesterday evening we were also able to observe a ferry drama for #48 Paul Niehoff when the ferry was closed... Will we see more sleepy ferry rides like the Two Volcano Sprint? a third option to get to the finish line (exclusively for tall riders) is a short walk through the largest endorheic lake in Central Europe, its only 1.8m depth.

![InterAOOTALiniendiagramm](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1yjUuXyNyI6QDluTD03rzO/dcbaccc0957caf14b1776acf0de2796d/ferrydrama.png)

Scratch Report 
-	21	Nick Rotter "Knee is hurting to much"
-	147	Roland Bartmuss "Can't make it back in time for work on Monday"
-	148	Christine Bartmuss "Can't make it back in time"
-	141	Louis Vande Perre "Kneepain is to much"
-	41	Felix Heine "Have no more energy and power left in his body"
-	39	Claudia Decker "Completely exhausted, physically and mentally"
-	102	Michele Cocciardo "tired and not in the mood anymore"
-	8	Su Lei "Skipping CP2 and going straight back to Vienna" 
-	58	Andi Scheuerpflug "Got sick unfortunately"
-	67	Maximilian Siering "Technical problems and tired"
-	35	Maximilian Gutmensch "completely wrecked"
-	94	Gerald Radinger "Kneepain"
-	45	Sjors Hegger "stomach issues"
-	52	Jean-Baptiste Minvielle "Can't get energy in anymore"
-	17	David Kalla "Knees are broken"
-	65	Thomas Ettema "Too cold"

Greetz vom Sebastian & Hannah


Frozen winners of the unknown race #TUR2

Good morning fellow Dotwatchers,

It's day 3 of our favourite ultra race, which is getting close to the end for the fastest participants.

After the cold comes better weather: at least that's the theory, and it also applied to the conditions during the race. 
According to organiser Jan-Willem, yesterday's second day was a lot less horrible than the first. "I need AC in my car, the riders won't be warm and cosy but not freezing". 
![Heike](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/FhJDRWAexmsG2hbRkaIcI/c1187b727dabff542e0dad391c36bf16/Heike.jpg)
Heike Otten was lucky enough to see a rainbow - I wonder if she also found the pot of gold! 

First to the checkpoints:
Checkpoint 3 and 4 are now visible on the Dotwatcher map. Thoughts of the organisers about CP3: *"we wanted to challenge riders one time more with a nice climb. This one ends at a hill top on which you have almost 360 degrees fews over the valleys on both sides. It is steep but much more reasonable compared to the CP2 climb. There is a nice traditional guesthouse located at the top but it turns out it is not open so riders have nothing to do there except going down the 11% road on the other side"*
Too bad, I'm sure the riders would have enjoyed to refuel in the cosy hut.
![CPs](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3hxzYCMwBIkQQXltMtXGHk/c29b2143937c910281b80f0da25c3681/CPs.jpg)

For reaching CP 4 the riders have to go to the East side of the Neusiedler lake, which is situated between them and Vienna at that point. From CP4 it's only 85km back to Vienna.

Like last year, some riders are asking whether this is really a 1000km or 1500km race - I'd say that's entirely up to the participants. With the right bike and skills, some shortcuts would certainly have been possible 😜

What happened at the front of the race?  Last night we were regularly updated by Jan Willem:

In the late evening Jan-Willem met the leader of the race #12 Will Vousden: *"Will is in a very good mood. We chatted a bit about the track (a lot of traffic, but the drivers were ok) that he drove this afternoon. He liked the road to CP2 without the cars better. He's still reeling from the horrible weather last night and glad he made it through okay. He wondered if he had to take his winter clothes with him last week, he didn't have to! I don't know what forecast he checked. His hotel is already waiting for him to check in."* - His organisational skills are impressive!
![Will](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7Do0I5uajotPkJmzPPdhgs/470be9cf63cbb0e7d4e4c6f61ba12de1/Will.jpg)

Also #2 Lucas Becker in second position of the GC enjoyed CP3 much more than CP2. We caught him at midnight. *"Obviously the climb to CP2 was tough, so CP3 was a lot more fun. After CP2 he took the southern route so Lucas had a nice tailwind for 200km but hated the Slovenian riders. He had a lot to talk about and good legs.  He quickly mapped out his route to CP4 and loaded up on some sugar snacks. He slept for two hours yesterday in his comfy sleeping bag. After we had a few jokes about the weather and the situation last night, he set off to catch up with Will!"*
![Lucas](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4N37dgqnIYaf2u2fhziKwt/ff5e65a571b3900f11a69e4741c671df/Kucas.jpg)

#115 Laurens van Gucht is close behind Lucas, but he had some problems last night *„Laurens is struggling a lot. He is suffering from diarrhea and cant eat. He started swearing out loud when he noticed the paper with the next coordinates. Why? His phone battery was almost empty with only 4% left. His powerbank and cables got ruined by all the wet snow. Route building worked but then the Garmin didnt sync. More swearing. Luckily with a few watts in his battery to go, he manages the last routes to become visible on his Garmin. He really wants to sleep but only has an emergency blanket so he has to continue. We parted ways with a smile when I offered him a ride to Vienna. Bon voyage!“ *

![Laurens](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7HsNcv2H4kBEtXmV0KKAsW/783cda04391c737263830dba46a426d9/Laurens.jpg)

The current leader board (Saturday 8 am): Will is only a few kilometres away from Vienna or the Finisher Parcour and would be the first rider to finish! 
For 2nd and 3rd place it might come to a sprint between #2 Lucas Becker and #115 Laurens van Gucht - only about 10km between them (and they are 60km from Vienna). 
Behind them are (order at 8 am): 
- 4th #48 Alexander Kinnisch; 
- 5th #113 Christophe Dijkmans
- 6th #46 Tom De Witte
There are 30-40 kilometres between them.
![Men Lead](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5uYNdBNPW7Enyau4sx8CfR/c968dca336c4690a85a2cafa640f977b/leaderbord.jpg)

Unfortunately there is very little information about the solo women. #93 Jana Kesenheimer is in 13th place in the overall standings and halfway between CP2 and CP3. #18 Irene Graf seems to be having breakfast in Klagenfurt. The two have decided to take the eastern route from CP2 to CP3. Heike Otten takes the western route and rolls along Slovenian roads. 
![East/Westetracks CP2-3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6B7ZMiMH7Fuwhu2E2s4blf/52547f059782b01f29ebfd155f5b31a2/d2eastandwestwomen.jpg)

Further back in the peloton an incident occurred yesterday between #83 Peter Kuhn and unknown, he writes *"Hi Jan, I just wanted to let you know that a rider passed me in the opposite direction. I wanted to give him the peace sign ✌️. Unfortunately, because of cramps in my fingers, it may have come out wrong, because he looked at me funny. 
I didn't see his number, but I wanted to give you a heads up in case anyone messages you about this. I'm really sorry. 😕“ *
Oups, I can imagine the situation too well 😅😂 ((✌️/🖕👀?))

The people at the unofficial DNF schnitzel party in Vienna seem to be having at least as much fun as the riders. In a Karaoke bar Songs as "Even if" by Lea Salonga  are sung in memory of now lonely abandoned pair riders on the road. 
![karaoje](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4WNjhk1Lsb0DbWZOJZM49M/48e4e1c0b7f3ec97a46594cdf4bb6270/karaoje.jpg)
![PHOTO-2024-04-19-22-45-35](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6bCYfMsEdatuj7VpG9WVZp/ba8df6d895c4979a9f1f11964c330b75/PHOTO-2024-04-19-22-45-35.jpg)
I hope they're not too tired from the party to give the first finishers a proper welcome! 🥳


Rainbows, Diarrhea and Frozen Fingers 

A drama unfolded last night in Styria, Austria. Checkpoint 1 became closed due to the weather and snowstorm and was moved to the city of Liezen, one of the routes to checkpoint 2 over the Sölkpass was blocked due to avalanche danger while some riders were already on their way up.

![Checkpoint 1 / photo: bite.of.me](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1lMsj2zOAOXo3pZ4l23DWB/257e25aadb9ca5c477fd08f3733f483d/PHOTO-2024-04-19-01-27-14.jpg) 

photo: bite.of.me

Despite the clear information during the briefing with the request to inform themselves about possible changes via the Whatsapp group and social media channels, various changes did not reach the riders, leaving our photographer with no choice but to intercept the riders on the road to save them from a possible death from the cold at altitude (to overstate the case😇). The mood is tense, the organisers were unable to reach many participants and to inform them about the closure of the Sölk Pass due to the risk of avalanches. Therefore, __once again we ask you to be reachable by phone, to regularly read the news in the Whatsapp group and (even if it is a "race") not to switch off your common sense completely__. 

![Desperate organisers 🫠](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/I68vL8bdxkXg8MYBcczOD/779a97e3366691a73e8ab755004a4d3a/IMG_2046.jpg)

Back to the happenings of the last 12 hours:
Liezen became a bikepacker hotspot overnight with several dozen riders spending the night there. The "Milano Pizzeria Kebap Haus", which provided our participants with hot drinks and warm meals, was frequented quite often. Despite the horrible conditions, we saw shining eyes and smiling faces.

![photo by bite.of.me](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3GZ7TmcCsh9Ni2z0nvLfLL/9f4fdf7506018d7c7ab726bbd7afcb77/PHOTO-2024-04-19-01-26-47.jpg) 
![photo by bite.of.me](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7AzO2yURJz6utjoj321gNh/04d93f97df2196eebaf303314123c60f/PHOTO-2024-04-19-01-26-54.jpg)![photo by bite.of.me](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5YuDYp9n2p9hOU65ZqmSx/e950b4e7be1013a14d92cfbfb90488fc/PHOTO-2024-04-19-01-26-55.jpg)
photos by bite.of.me

While the majority of the peloton spent the night defrosting, the front of the race made its way south. First to reach was #cap12 Will Vousden Checkpoint 2 in the early hours of the morning (5 am). A bit later in the morning Jan-Willem sends us a short update from Tim de Witte (currently 5th on the Leadorboard) "He was having a tough time. Angry that others didn't prepared well and that we had to intervene in the race". Nevertheless, he sprinted away in good spirits and seam to enjoy the ride, despite the conditions!

Some information about Checkpoint 2: thats an unfamous parking spot for two cars in the Tolmin-Klamm, a dead end above the small town Tolmin in Slovenia. There are three houses and some hiking trails, the way up is a steep narrow road. Strava showed only a few cyclists have ridden it so far. There are sheeps who manage the traffic, today they will have to work harder than ever before. 🚦🐑

![Sheep Traffic](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7M1voJu2ndzHEFuqRulJMV/ad3e11236d54873b7fed7bfc04fd9f8d/PHOTO-2024-04-19-12-59-38.jpg)

Two routes lead from Checkpoint 1 to Tolmin. Jan Willem reported on the western route is much more wind compared to the eastern one, which makes the temperatures colder. He caught up with #19 Peter Lenyi who is in good spirits and didn't miss the chance for a warm meal in a local bar.
The majority of the riders have learnt from the experience of the first day and the peloton is rolling on the warmer and less windy eastern route. 

![Less cold and cold routes](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5jVMsI1mGeFxfiupqndHoc/66a22799f69ded67eb2bb614062408f7/IMG_2045.jpg)![Ready to sprint into the warm #19](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2kXUPC3k7s8IN9psV8BoLp/dc7bc9d6f1394e6b7d6f75a9e59c0e8b/PHOTO-2024-04-19-11-19-21.jpg)

I am pleased to report that our female solo leaderboard (unlike the men's 😜) is without a scratch report. 🫡
Jana Kesenheimer is heading to Tolmin via the eastern route. Heike Otten and Irene Graf are currently rounding Lake Ossiach. Claudia Decker, my "buddy" from the last edition, sent me an audio message last night: she is struggling with the onset of a cold and has decided to spend a longer night and have breakfast in the hotel, still unsure whether she can continue. Apparently the break has done her good, she is back on the road again.
The women in the pair category also proved to be exceptionally brave. Mathilde Wolf (together with Victor Eklund) is only 60 kilometres away from the 2 CP and will likely be the second woman in the GC to reach it.

YOU GO GIRLS! I'm so proud of you all! 🔥🔥

Now to less pleasant things

Bad news first: the list of scratches is loooong - the good news, the atmosphere on the party train back to Vienna is great. Here are a few impressions from the regional train (credits to Julien cap103 and Felix Dellinger cap86)

![PHOTO-2024-04-19-09-17-09](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1xvpzlQLl13mZ4XOMgfEOD/9e34d0ddf99e9ddcc95dc7554082cf35/PHOTO-2024-04-19-09-17-09.jpg)![PHOTO-2024-04-19-11-44-13](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6ziQ9mw0nHAh1aZhNwhvMB/47a19519d35376593b2b18ce2164ef94/PHOTO-2024-04-19-11-44-13.jpg)

Scratch-Reports: 
- 120 Michael Zeilinger
- 04 Tobias Gosch (knee pain)
- 62 Eric Cooper "woke up with a gnarly sore throat"
- 107 Zeno Bonduelle "broken handlebar and shifter/brake" *speedy recovery for your bike, this must hurt!*
- 87 Nicolas Michel broken handlebar *- is this a thing that handlebars doesn't support the cold? *
- 29 Patrick Nast
- 79 Martin Driedonks
- 106 Robert Müller "I'm out as well, just to f*cking cold and wet"
- 86 Felix Dellinger "just too cold and wet. exhausted"
- 86 Stefan Lachinger catched a cold
- 103 Julien Duflot "dependent on others for navigation"
- 119 Lula Gabriel
- 114 Julian Staritz "Knee pain"
- 110 Robin Scholz can only ski in this weather, not ride his bike *understandable even for me as a "non-skier"*
- 139 Anja Biemann 
- 140 Lisa Weichert
- 97 Henry Paegel caught a cold but is very proud cause he reached his goal (Liezen) - Bravo! Love this mindset!
- 66 Florian Rohde reached his physical limit
- 36 Christoph Tauber Huber
- 61 Felix Hirth: broken Di2 Battery, can't replace it, no shops oben - 3 hours later his battery started working again at the train station. He continued racing again. Update 13:15: Battery is broken again, so now final scratch *- Poor Felix, this must have been an emotinal rollercoaster*
- 122 Paul Jurkovic catched a cold
- 111 Andras Furtos 


Drama Night in Styria, Austria

It's busy up on the Hinteregger Alm.

Or rather below, because the checkpoint has been moved down a bit due to the snowfall. As predicted, it has started to snow quite heavily, making the road to the Alm a slippery challenge. And the new coordinates are also confusing some riders, with more than one poor soul struggling much further up than necessary.

For those approaching the CP1 during the night, they are not required to climb up the Hinteregger Alm, they can merely pass through to Liezen. They 

![Picture1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/70kaZzHk1jy4asGRRumvi9/1305bbf8b0d520af4b19cc563e78ef4d/Picture1.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2024-04-18 at 17.56.38](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6USUXji4umDB5LTXsjdJrE/848042c043591ad794dfbca1a7b5728a/WhatsApp_Image_2024-04-18_at_17.56.38.jpeg)

*Photo: Gosia Michalik, [@bite.of.me](https://www.instagram.com/bite.of.me/)*

Checkpoint number 1 was reached first at 5pm by Lucas Becker, closely followed by Fabian Guschigk and Christophe Dijkmans - from now on, other riders arrive every 10 minutes.

As expected, ultracycling veteran Jana Kesenheimer has the lead in the women's race, she is already out of the valley and with the front of the race towards the second checkpoint. So far we can only guess that it is in the south. Irene Graf and Claudia Decker have just passed checkpoint 1 in second and third place. Together with other riders, they are now warming up in a pub in the small town of Liezen.

![pic3 bit of me](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1efJX2ZwO5Rm7K4Q1hFPoh/3903aff233d683d55904852cf3cd6372/pic3_bit_of_me.jpg)

*Photo: Gosia Michalik, [@bite.of.me](https://www.instagram.com/bite.of.me/)*

In the pairs race, we see Bernhard Zisser and Martin Moritz in front, on their way south via Hohentauern. Behind them are Anatole Naimi and Louis Vande Perre. 
Anatole seems to be having more luck with his bike this year. I haven't seen any pictures of him patching his tyres at the roadside yet, fingers crossed that this won't happen again.

The front of the race has split up again. The majority is travelling via Hohentauern, but a few brave souls seem to have found a suspected shortcut via the Sölkpass - despite these photos "Sölkpass closed", Fabian Guschigk has dared to take the route. We'll see if this risk pays off, as it's currently apparently -5 degrees at the top of the pass.

![Picture5](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4AGdOtVPFZihlrcJsvKmir/474ec7a32143a6fc4551bb746f0b9fa7/Picture5.jpg)

At this moment, the organiser Jan-Willem also writes "We strongly advise against taking the Sölkpass", he has Facetimed with Fabian who reports 20cm of snow on the road. Fabian has since scratched due to the conditions.

Ahead of him now lies a decent stretch of hike-a-bike. Robert Müller, still at the entrance to the valley, has opted against this route after consulting the locals – wise decision!

Meanwhile (9 pm) the snowfall at CP1 evolved into a proper snowstorm “It’s a warzone here below CP1” fellow organiser, Victor Eklund, reports. We receive pictures of frozen and crashed riders...

I wish everyone a warm and safe night, take care of yourselves in these conditions and don't take any risks - it's all in the name of fun and not worth freezing to death!

Greetz from Hannah from her cozy, warm bed 😘🫶 

__Scratch Report__
-	105 Martin Berndt with back problems
-	111 Andras Furtos with heart issues (known) due to the cold weather probably
-	Pair 131/132 scratched due to knee issues of Josef
-	Jacob
-	72 Gregor “My fingers are numb. But I need them for my delicate work as a goldsmith”.

CP1 shuffle and terrible weather

How many races are directions given in relation to a cow sign?!

CP has been moved to a location lower on the climb of the initial CP due to snow and low temperatures. New coordinates:  47.594419419041294, 14.235288339999459.

Riders were given the following directions: *"You'll see a warning sign for cows on your right. Few meters after you get a metal roster, please get of your bike. 150m after that there is gravel road coming from the right. There is a signpost there which has the CP2 coordinates. Please take it easy if you go down and in the dark since the road is a bit dirty."*

Fortunately, riders at TUR are already preparing for the unknwown so none of them will be phased by mid-race amendments.

The Unknown Race is no longer unknown, but just like last year, the riders have no idea where they are going and Vienna as the starting point leaves all possible countries and areas open as potential destinations. Not only the riders didn't know what was in store for them over the next few days. I didn't even dream of covering and commentating a race (maybe I would have done better in my English lessons in school (probably not)), but here we are – so please don't judge me for my English and late updates (I have to work at the same time)!

Let's jump into the current race. It’s 9:51am and the riders have been on their way to the first checkpoint for almost 3 hours now.

The peloton has already split up in this short time. After the start parcour, the majority of the riders continue along the cycle path along the Donau river or on the surrounding small country roads, saving themselves the elevation gain and the traffic that the other group encounters a little further south, I believe through the Vienna Woods. A very small group of 3 people planned a route via the south, perhaps hoping for warmer temperatures?

![Picture1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7AfBO418ZwI7aI7GKrqyTy/94c306c97f55d59df0aff5cfc6fc1596/Picture1.jpg)

You can't say anything about the leaderboard this early in the race, so let's take a closer look at the first checkpoint instead: Hinteregger Alm in Styria The alp is located at 1200 metres above sea level and consists of a few huts and lots of fields.

![Picture2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5i7lKy8M7qbm4kLPX6RpEO/23fd018e63c30844a1d8a0b164edb45f/Picture2.jpg)

According to Google Maps Street Views, friendly horses live there and anyone who likes ham with pickles can apparently find what they're looking for (if the huts are already open, I don’t know).

![Picture3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5SQBVzbWhaKn1ioYmT2TOS/40f13b3617fd1fe9e254fabb2eb6ac15/Picture3.jpg)

![Picture4](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3j3yP0m19v4sN5k0BbZ3Bl/2355960e99c61bfac7ec312b6c5e7553/Picture4.jpg)

The temperatures in the nearby town, Liezen, in the valley made me freeze just looking at it, 5-7 degrees during the day with > 60% chance of rain, which drops to 2 degrees at night... so there is probably snow on the alp.

In Germany we say "there is no bad weather, only wrong clothes" - I hope the riders have packed the right clothes. After all, the only fact that was 99% certain before the race was that it was going to be cold. 

![Picture5](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/o71fAFxoTF4QWL76w2rAk/d1e0c68160361a030bc2c804313ad9cf/Picture5.jpg)

I'm Hannah Ghazi-Isrissi, veteran of TURNo1 last year and your commentator! I'll be writing here and sharing on my Instagram so [follow along](https://www.instagram.com/hey.hannanah/)!

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wccRif2DaGs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wccRif2DaGs)

It turns out it’s quite hard to write a preview when we have no idea where riders are going! TUR is unique in the bikepacking calendar as it’s a race concept born out of the sleepy, hungry and cold aftermath of the Two Volcano Race in 2022; three veterans were inspired to create a new race format that has surprise running through its veins.

But what makes this so different, you ask? The racers know very little about the event, merely the start/finish location is Vienna, kick off is 7am CET tomorrow (18th April), and there are an unknown number of CPs which when stitched together will total an approximate 1,000km. The elevation total is anyone’s guess but given Vienna sits between the foothills of the Alps and the Carpathian mountains, I think it’s safe to say it will be a lot.

This race is the epitome of bikepacking which is all about embracing the unknown, controlling the controllables, and letting go of what cannot be controlled. Riders are preparing for all sorts of routes, one thing’s for sure is that it’s certainly not going to be warm. The current forecast is rain in Vienna and assuming that riders will tackle at least one mountain pass, there’s very possibly snow on the cards!

Take a look at our [Bikes of The Unknown Race](https://dotwatcher.cc/feature/bikes-of-the-unknown-race-2024), although many will have stuffed an extra warm layer and waterproofs since submitting as the forecast is not looking favourable.

Have a browse of how the riders are feeling ahead of the start on the race hashtag: [#TURNo2](https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/turno2/)

Friend of DotWatcher and organiser of Taunus Bikepacking, Jesko Werthern, articulated the pre-races nerves and excitement nicely here.

[https://www.instagram.com/p/C53_qOmMwng/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C53_qOmMwng/)

The Unknown Race 2024 Tracking and Commentary: The second edition of this innovative event starts in Vienna. Its unique style is a free-route race whereby the first CP will only be revealed one hour before the start and the second CP at CP1. Into the unknown these trusting souls go!

The Unknown Race 2024 Tracking

The second edition of this innovative event starts in Vienna. Its unique style is a free-route race whereby the first CP will only be revealed one hour before the start and the second CP at CP1. Into the unknown these trusting souls go!

The Unknown Race 2024

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The Unknown Race 2024

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