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Transcontinental Race No10
The release of the Transcontinental Race’s checkpoints and start and finish locations is one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year, and for good reason.
For the race’s tenth edition next year, riders will trace the tyre tracks of one of the great Spring Classics races as well as the pioneers of the early editions of the TCR; riders will leave Roubaix in Northern France and free route to Istanbul, Türkiye via four checkpoints, some familiar and some new. More information about the route can be found here. True to Lost Dot’s style, there are some tasty signature off-road sections.
TCRNo10 Map from the Lost Dot Website with 4 checkpoints and a start finish. This was released last Friday at Rouleur Live.
David Ayre, Lost Dot Race Director who joined the team in 2022, commented on the route for DotWatcher:
"The route this year is inspired by previous editions but will be introducing a fresh perspective on these locations. Starting in Roubaix is really exciting, and the opportunity to ride the boards of the iconic velodrome will be a real treat for those on the start line. Equally, heading to a new corner of the Balkan heartlands of the TCR in Kosovo will be a real experience for many of our riders. But the stand out location for TCRNo10 has to be the return of an Istanbul finish line, this time seeing riders leave the continent of Europe to finish in Asia for the first time ever."
The Transcontinental was designed by Mike Hall to be a journey from the big cities of Western Europe, across the continent and through the gates where the West meets East and into the richness and splendours of Asia.
Building on the success of last year’s policies to tackle the carbon footprint of the race, the TCR is expanding its Low Carbon Travel Fund from 10 riders to 15, as well as continuing its Green Leaderboard which ranks only those riders who traveled to and from the race without flying. For 2024, they will also apply preferential treatment to applications from riders who commit to no-fly travel.
Tackling a lack of diversity is also a priority for Lost Dot and they will be continuing the Mike Hall Bursary to support riders from lower income households to race. David says, “We believe that the differentiator in adventure racing should be the aptitude, athleticism and attitude of the individuals, not their budget.” The bursary has supported seven riders since its introduction in 2022 which has not only given these riders the opportunity to race but also raised the Race’s level of competition; Amrei Kuhne finished 19th overall in 2022 which made her the fourth woman ever to finish inside the top 20.
Applications open December 1st.
The Accursed Race
Information about Lost Dot’s brand new off-road fixed route race, The Accursed Race, has been slowly released on its Instagram page over the past few months using some enticing graphics and a folktale of how these mountains in the Balkans’ Dinaric Alps came to be known as the Accursed Mountains.
Over the past weekend, all the remaining details were released and the most notable announcement was the revelation the race will be a no-fly event. A bold strategy by Lost Dot to further reduce their events’ carbon footprint which follows in the steps of events such as GBDURO.
While Shkodër sits outside of Europe’s main rail network, it’s within riding distance of the port town of Durres. The organisers estimate that for most participants across Europe, the start location is within 2 days of travel, with the simplest route for access being via Italy’s high-speed rail network and an overnight ferry from Bari to Durres. Lost Dot will be providing in-depth travel guidance and arranging transport from Durres to Shkoder to ease the logistical burden on riders.
The route and details of the race were released at Rouleur Live this weekend. Speaking about launching the race at Rouleur Live, Andrew, Race Coordinator, said "We had a packed room, and people were really engaged by the launch of the route.
The reception to the no-fly announcement was overwhelmingly positive. It clearly wasn't something people were expecting. People seemed really excited and energised by the fact we were doing something to shake up the status quo."
Applications will open in November 2023 with the race starting on May 14th 2024.
Details of Lost Dot’s 2024 Trans Pyrenees Race are yet to be released.
*Photography @lostdot by Liz Seabrook, Tomas Montes, Tom Gibbs, Charlotte Gamus
