On the last day, Wednesday, the final 3 riders arrived. Jan Hans, Ate van Steenbergen and Mark Schneiders all finished before the deadline. Happy but exhausted they proudly wanted their photo's taken on the finishline holding their trusted bike (some had even named their bike during the route). 

All in all, except for 1 DNS and 5 DNFs, all riders made it to the finish in time. This is a very high percentage of starting riders making it until the end. There have been no accidents and the riders that unfortunately needed to scratch could all go home safely themselves. They fought for it, but due to some bad luck they had to scratch. It is important for the dotwatchers to know that these decisions are not taken lightly and require courage to do so. Therefore, hereby i shout out to all those who had to scratch.

The weather has been amazing. Blue skies and tailwinds for most days. The nights however, were cold. But the race organisation and riders were lucky with the circumstances that you can't plan for.

To finilize, a few words from the organisation. I am extremely proud of all the riders (scratched, or not). What they did was not just a physical battle but a mental and emotional one as well. I felt real companionship during the race between the riders, also by waiting for each other at the finish line. This is what it is all about. Thank you very much for signing up and trusting me with organizing this first edition. More to come :).

Also a big thanks to all the dotwatchers. Your support to the riders is crucial in the most difficult times. ALthough they're cycling by themselves, they're not alone. 

Ride on!

Wessel Kremer

The final riders and wrap up

After 56 hours and 47 minutes Lucas Semblat arrived and finished the podium. This podium place did not come lightly because behind him Bram den Hertog smelled the possibility of overtaking Lucas. With only a few kilometers between them, both started cycling for the podium creating an exciting race for all dotwatchers. Eventually Lucas came in first 10 minutes in front of Bram. Well done to both of them! Later the day 10 other riders finished, being cheered on by the others. A great vibe of support :). 

Last night Jelle Homburg, Tom Asklof and Maxime Galichet pushed through and finished in the dark. Amazing last effort by those boys! Well done!

After this battle the first pair arrived at 58 hours and 32 minutes. Congratulations to Tjeu Heerebeek and Thom de Waal! An amazing effort. The second pair (Christian Manske, Marco Gossling and Oliver Näthe) arrived after 61 hours and 48 minutes. A 3 hour margin is not much, so they all rode hard for it. The last pair (Nanke Stein and Eelco Meuter) is well underway to reach the destination within the time limit.

In the Teutoburger Wald the two leading women are fighting the climbs, with Eva in the lead but with Romee not far behind. Both riding very consistenly.

For the rear guard things are looking good too. Some riders experiencing some bodily issues overcame them and are finding a new rythm. Mark Schneiders, Tobias Stork, Ate Steenbergen and Jan Hans are finalizing the Sauerland stretch and steadily moving towards the Teutoburger wald. From their instagram I can see that they're enjoying themselves :). What's more important than that?

First pair finish and solo podium complete

Battling it out from the beginning, but really separated from the rest of the peleton from the first night onwards, Peter Adam and Ramon Berndt finished Sunday morning. At first Ramon took the lead when Peter decided to get 2 hours of sleep (and seeing the northern lights) on Kalher Asten. The next day Peter chased and closed the distance to Ramon bit by bit. In The Teutoburg Forest Peter finally overtook Ramon without seeing him and did not give that lead away. Both of them only had a few hours off the bike and finished close together. Peter in 49 hours and 34 minutes. Ramon in 51 hours and 26 minutes. 

Amazing effort by both gentlemen! Congratulations to both!

Clash of the titans

The organisation couldn't have wished for better weather than this. Blue skies and temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees give the riders seemingly the ideal conditions to cycle in. But after a long winter and a very wet pre-season it seems that a body needs to get used to the high temperatures. Several riders were suffering due to this. Maikel Lybaert had to give up because of this and Jan Dick den Das decided to cycle 300km back to Amersfoort. He wanted to finish his trip, but the intens climbing did not go well with his stomach, so he's using a flat route to go back. I take my hat off for him, because continuing when things are hard is the biggest challenge. André Klein went very strong on the first day, being one of the fastest riders. However, today het admitted that this start was a bit too strong. His knees and achilles heel were playing up too much due to which he needed to scratch (in Bad Berleburg). A wise choice given that his other  goal is to start in Vienna for the Three Peaks Bike Race. Good luck and enjoy Jan Dick and I wish Maikel and André a speedy recovery!

On the front Peter Adam and Ramon Berndt are fighting it out with Peter closing in on Ramon who has been leading for the bigger part of the race. Both fighters have had little sleep and little time of the bike in general. It still baffles me how someone can be so strong in mind and body. 

The rest of the field is scattered but no one is ever far away from someone else. Having done a ride against the direction of the route I met about 25 participants. Almost all of them were feeling tired, but good and they were enjoying the beautiful Sauerland landscapes and the amazing weather. During the meet ups I noticed the classic image of people carrying huge amounts of food and drinks. Tomorrow the riders better be prepared, because most shops in Germany close on Sundays!

A story on flexibility: Johan de Jong punctured his tire, but fortunately the sealant closed the gap. When he wanted to pump up the tire the sealant glued his pump to the tire and he couldn't get loose. Therefore he taped it to a spoke and went to a bike repair shop where they fixed it for him. This is an example of a daily issue where you have to deal with.

Is good weather bad weather?

What a way to start ultra endurance cycling! The weather could not have been better for de participants. Blue skies and about 20-25 degrees. That the participants were missing the spring became clear when they set off. They were unstoppable. All of them. The inactivity is low and people were just flying over the course. For the first stretch in the Netherlands, most riders stayed relatively close together, but after lunch some cracks began the appear. 

Johan de Jong, Peter Adam, André Klein, Ramon Berndt, David van Dijk and Lennard van Oosten were taking the lead and staying close together, only being split up short breaks or on hills. However, as is the case with most of these races, the main differences are made at night. At the time of writing Peter Adam, Ramon Bernd, David van Dijk, Lennard van Oost, Lucas Semblat Bernd Folberth were all riding into the night it seems. Let's see if they all push onwards for the entire night, or if some will get some shut eye.

In the pair category it were Tjeu Heerebeek and Thom de Waal taking the lead from the start, but closely followed by Christian Manske, Marco Gossling and Olivier Näthe. All of them not slowing down when it got dark. A bit further back Nanke Stein and Eelce Meuter use a different strategy. After a strong 250km day, they decided to take some rest around Hattingen. 

Thomas Vogler, Stefan Funk, Wouter Ansen and Fabian Langemann, Jan Dick den Das and Romee Uijterlinde all decided to find shelter around Wetter. Markus Sauerwald, Eva Terpstra, Tom Asklof and Lukas Zimon are resting around the Sorpesee, with three of them in the same hotel. 

Unfortunately, there has also been 1 DNF this day. Chloe Krantz sadly had to quit the race due to a recent knee injury playing up again. It's always sad when this happens after months of preparations. Wishing you a speedy recovery! The other 2 solo women, Romee Uijterlinde and Eva Terpstra, are in good spirits with both having cycled a personal best distance and getting some hours of sleep. 

Green forests, blue rivers and blue skies

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Sauerland-Amersfoort-Sauerland Epic (ASA Epic in short)!

Starting on May 10th 45 riders will have 132 hours take on the 1.000 km route with about 8.500 metres of altitude. The riders are divided in 4 pairs and 37 solo riders.

The race will take the riders from the medieval city of Amersfoort to the Sauerland and back. Along the way they will ride along the Rhine and Ruhr rivers, travel through roman and medieval towns, climb countless hills and see a lot of natural parks. All-in all they will experience the Netherlands and Western Germany in the best way possible: by bike. Along the route they're plenty of resupply points, restaurants and hotels but on Sunday it might be challenging to find something as most stores in Germany will be closed. That means stocking up in time.

After having had months of rain and bad weather, it looks like the riders will be treated with some of the first rays of sunshine of 2024. So far, the forecast is good with dry weather and temperatures of about 20 degrees. At night, however, it can cool down to about 10 degrees (or lower in the Sauerland). This is something to take into account for the riders who add a little extra adventure to the race by sleeping outside. Stay warm!

Every day I will provide all the dotwatchers with some live commentary, but you follow specific riders much closer. If there's a nice story you think I should add in this commentary, feel free to reach out to me :) dutchbikepacking@gmail.com. You can also keep participants and dotwatchers updated via Instagram (@asa_epic).

ASA Epic race preview

The ASA Epic, a self supported bikepacking road race starting and finishing in the city of Amersfoort after a hilly loop through the Sauerland. The 1000km route takes riders through the Teutoburg Forest and the Sauerland Area, on quiet roads with amazing views through the most beautiful regions of the Netherlands and Western Germany.


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