__As the last of the TransAtlantic Way Race riders edge closer to the finish line in Kinsale, we take a few minutes to look back at 11 days of racing that have provided an experience for riders and dotwatchers alike. __

The race got underway on Thursday 7th June, [with riders leaving in waves from the outskirts of Dublin](https://dotwatcher.cc/post/6gvahQesucmWWW6WyyaIA4?slug=live-from-the-start) to embark on the first leg of the race, a self-navigated stretch to checkpoint 1 in Derry.

It was Chris Herbert, a newbie to the ultra-racing scene but a very experienced audax rider, who was first to arrive, closely followed by 2017 winner Bjorn Lenhard, and 2016 winner Bernd Paul. [Most of the field arrived in quick succession over the course of the evening and early hours](https://dotwatcher.cc/post/oVWs3LL0FUKcAoiMaak0o?slug=live-from-cp1-at-peace-bridge%2C-derry), with most choosing to bivvy on the coast of Derry, and some hardened souls choosing to take advantage of [the 48-hour slot free from stoppage quotas](https://dotwatcher.cc/post/gdSIPjxbMcE4CyoKSQKCQ?slug=icymi-transatlantic-way-race-preview).

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In stark contrast to conditions of previous years, the race developed under skies of blue and amid fields of green, with Bjorn Lenhard moving into the race lead, and Karen Tostee - 3rd place finisher at last year's Transcontinental Race - at the head of the women's field in 10th overall. 

The first tests of [the Mike Hall KOM Challenge](https://dotwatcher.cc/post/2dfEwtnjNesq0qscUssYIs?slug=race-within-a-race-the-mike-hall-kom-challenge) came and went, and the social media updates from riders throughout the field provided a constant flavour of the sights and sounds of the road...

[[ instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BjwguX6gaIt/" ]]

[Cracked frames dashed the chances of some](https://dotwatcher.cc/post/4lEiJQMYG4Wqe04W2kyciw?slug=dan-roughwithout-the-smooth), and for a moment it looked as though a wrong turn could spell the end for race leader Bjorn Lenhard, with the German heading north instead of south after emerging from Achill Island. 

![bjorn wrong turn](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2Hp7p0KdvaCYKuc0aEqIoI/06439d36c22e757149a2accdfa2dc573/bjorn_wrong_turn.gif)

It later materialised that he'd left his wallet somewhere though, and was merely returning to fetch it, before making a rapid comeback to arrive at Checkpoint 2 with Bernd Paul.

![20180609-TAW Race Day 3-0045](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6fhyRV8ldCA8oECkuwoQYU/29e7a518e73679fdc57af51170590eb9/20180609-TAW_Race_Day_3-0045.jpg)
*Photo: Rich Marshall*

[As this mini gallery from official race photographer Adrian Crapciu shows](https://dotwatcher.cc/post/6k9P55HlYsos22kQ2CcMey?slug=the-emerald-isle), the eternally beautiful nature of the Irish landscape provided a magical backdrop to the race as it progressed ever-further south. "It's a bike ride. However you dress it up, it's just fun to get on your bike and ride it, and be completely free," [racer Colin Woollard told the TAW media team](https://dotwatcher.cc/post/eEOxHvmMtqgYsEukwk0eq?slug=high-on-racing-life).

There was drama for women's leader Karen Tostee, with the Londoner receiving hospital treatment for (not a strained muscle, or DVT, as was first thought, but) a mosquito bite, and then suffering a snapped gear cable later the same night. But despite such setbacks, she still managed to retain her place in the top 10 as she neared ever-closer to the finish in Kinsale. 

Eventually, after 5 days, 3 hours, and 38 minutes, Bjorn Lenhard rolled home to successfully defend his crown as TAW winner. "I'm done," he said after [clambering off his bike and collapsing on the grass at the finish](https://dotwatcher.cc/post/4YPbCBMs0UKw4kSOMUooq8?slug=bjorns-arrival).

Bernd Paul arrived to take second just 3 hours later, before a battle for 3rd was won by Brendan Cassidy, ahead of Aidan Allcock, in the early hours that night. The top ten filled up fast the following day, with Karen Tostee taking the last spot in it, and with it the women's race. 

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The early race leader, Chris Herbert, [gave us all an insight into just how much of a toll - on the mind and body - that riding such distances can have](https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj7MXb0hrM8/?taken-by=chrs_hrbrt), with his scratching, [just as the women's podium filled out](https://dotwatcher.cc/post/3TQ38yTudiIoy6ue4060ES?slug=cheers-to-the-womens-podium), with Jenny Tough in 2nd and Megan Pugh in 3rd, and Americans Matt Roy and Bradford Smith [winning the pairs competition](https://dotwatcher.cc/post/2Dp3B0JcVicacm2AekKsE2?slug=the-happy-couple). 

[[ tweet id="1008322355742019585" ]]

The majority of the field soon began to arrive, [and as cans of coke and chocolate bars were replaced with pints of Guinness and pub grub](https://www.instagram.com/p/BkGGwodhEJR/?tagged=taw2018), riders began to reflect on their rides. These were some of the hardest, fastest, most relenteless days they will have experienced - and for that very reason, also some of the most rewarding too. The TransAtlantic Way may be represented by four stamps on a bit of soggy, crumpled card, but the memories stamped into the pages of each rider's life will linger on...

...until the next one. 

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The Race that Was: TransAtlantic Way 2018