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Congratulations Guillaume de Spoelberch	

2 hours in

They're checked in and 'ready'...

Ardennes Monster 2023 - race preview

Guillaume de Spoelberch

Stefano Semenzato

Christoph Fuhrbach

Julio Greff

Matthieu Carette

Cédric Dufey

Toine Hooijen

Gilles Van Emelen

Alexander Spoelstra

Thomas Delers

Patrice Renson

Laurent Ego

Anthony Joannes

Benoït Hansez

Hans Meinsma

Frédéric Boyer

Mark Csete

Eric Devos

Berten De Meyer

Edward Milbourn

Horia Fratean

Gerry Kimps

Dario Valsesia

Vincent Bourgeois

Thjis Gotlieb

Kim Christiansen

Nicolas Lindert

Durk Vos

Lucie van der Schalk

Ralph Cullen

Martijn Verhaeg

Sjoerd van 't Hul

Florian Vogel

Stefan Van Gijsel

Maxime Bressel

Gregory Toucheque

Willem Jans

Alexandre Buche

Laurens Bots

Théo de la cerda

CREW 1 - Olivier

CREW 2 - Tanguy

CREW 3 - Hugo & Fabio


And that’s a wrap - the last rider has crossed the line with over an hour to spare. 

24 finishers have all earned themselves a good rest and a cold beer. 

It was a race full of literal ups and downs, and everyone who even signed up for this should be proud. I’m sure many will be back for the next round. 

Congratulations again to Guillaume de Spoelberch, the 2023 winner, to all the contestants, and to the organisers. 

See you next year!

![ardennes monster winner 2023](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3j5tE27syTSBJdS9td7yTr/49e8c6d580fd49ab831ef5fc8b0a0e4a/Screenshot_2023-07-23_at_23.04.22.png)


The remaining riders have 1 night and 1 day of racing left to conquer the Ardennes monster - but with reports of a very very cold night yesterday, I wonder how many are opting for a warm bed instead of a night ride. 

A good rest, fresher legs, a chance for a good feed - it could be just what they need to tackle the remaining distance.

14 riders have won the battle with the monster so far. 
10 riders remain on course and aim to finish. 
17 riders have been beaten so far.. This time. 

That epic battle for 2nd place was also settled earlier today - with just 4 minutes separating the 2nd and 3rd place… 4 minutes, after 1000km. That's crazy.


The last night

He's conquered the monster. What a beast. 

Guillaume de Spoelberch. 1053km. +20,000m elevation. 2d 2h 38 minutes moving time (94%). 2h 58 minutes stopped (6%). 

Congratulations, you are the winner of the Ardennes Monster 2023. 

30 riders continue to make their way to the finish line. They have just under 48 hours to beat the monster - go go go! You can do it. 

2nd and 3rd place riders are still sticking to each other - what does a sprint finish look like after 1000km!? 

Changes at the front - Nicolas Lindert who was leading for the first day and a half is now out of the race. 

There was a similar story last year, the race leader was out in front for 700km, but had to pull out due to knee injuries. 

"Ardennes are brutal. People underestimate them" - Olivier, creator of the Ardennes monster.

Guillame is pulling away and is now 250km away from the finish - ETA should be today then. That means he’s covered 800km in around 1 day and 14 hours. Maybe he is the actual Ardennes monster!? 

There is quite a big gap behind him, but 2nd and 3rd are separated by less than a km - still battling out for the 2nd place.

The field is getting more and more spread out, and the race has claimed 14 DNFs so far, due to people starting off too fast and injuries. 

Today is Belgian national day, hopefully the parades will provide some extra food and drink for our riders, rather than becoming yet another obstacle on this crazy ride. 

![rest stop ardennes monster](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5br6EFLdcLoAExvoMfUcPF/54a7dc0e92a031ce095efbde8d339881/Screenshot_2023-07-20_at_20.12.24.png)

Changes at the front

Good morning, coming in with a quick update from the events that unfolded last night. 

A few riders have scratched, 1 member of a team had to pull out due to food poisoning (picked up before the race), but his team mate continues on solo. 

The gap between first and last is now 170km - due to a combination of a faster moving speed for the riders at the front, and the fact that the riders out front have barely stopped so far - a recurring trait for winners of these kinds of events.

Our front two are starting to pull away from the rest of the pack as well, but staying on each other's tails. 

2nd place Guillame has a faster average moving speed, but he’s stopped more often.. This will be an interesting day of battle against each other, and the monster. 

The top 15 riders have been pretty consistent since the beginning of the race. 
Christoph Fuhrbach had a very strong night ride, moving up from 11th to 3rd place. 
Julio Greff is going strong in 4th - this is his second time taking on the monster.

Over half the riders have passed through CP1 now, making it 250km since the start. 

Today will be a long day of riding, climbing, and more climbing.

![coke and cake - ardennes monster](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/LUzZiuyuVhKoloyTfko2l/3323135da89c3a209921c03c6609c6ab/Screenshot_2023-07-20_at_10.11.58.png)

Morning update

We’re 2 and a half hours into the race - and the riders all seem to be going strong. 

20km separates first and last place right now, a number that we’ll expect to grow bigger and bigger as the race goes on. 

The 8pm start will make tactics quite interesting over this first night of racing - the riders should be well rested and anxious to keep moving through the night.. But that means fatigue will really start to hit tomorrow in the day. 

Let’s see how many dots come to a stop overnight. 

The current leader, Nicolas Lindert is 65km in, and has already climbed 1110m. 


The riders are checked in, nervous, and getting in some last minute food and advice like "eat lots of pizza and tuc biscuits". That's what last years winner @declerckkristof has to say, note, he's not back to hold on to the title this year!

![advice from ardennes monster winner 2022](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2pJJIQTujdBWeLRpAIlQPT/37b46593561db24ac34324f697b2c872/356787201_1299155844328801_1806115824129633069_n.jpg)

The first night looks to be dry and cool, a friendly welcome from the monster.

Race starts at 8pm local time!


Welcome to the commentary for the Ardennes Monster 2023: a 1000km, 20,000m beast of a race in the Belgian Ardennes. 

The riders have just over 4 days to complete the route, which means they will have to climb an average of 5,000m each day over 250km. 

Starting and finishing in the Belgian city of Namur, the route passes through Luxembourg and France, taking on some classic Belgian climbs featured in events like; Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Fleche Wallonne, and the Wallonia GP.

It’s going to be a hot and hard race: current temperatures in the region range from 25-30 degrees celsius, and knowing Belgium, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some storms and heavy rain over the next couple of days. 

58 solo riders are getting set to take on the challenge, along with 1 team of 4. 

In the following posts we’ll take a look at the bike choices, and some of the riders to watch.

Follow along to get updates on the race, and any potential sightings of the actual Ardennes monster...

![ardennes monster over 100 climbs](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4TGo3nj5YjJkrOVQMFeRf3/bc94e523a4ae6b5231751bd37e7c58d5/Screenshot_2023-07-18_at_15.05.36.png)

Alex Thumwood

A 1000km ride that takes in almost every significant climb they could find. With over 100 climbs, this race has a limit of 100 hours. Who has what it takes to tackle the Monster?

The Ardennes Monster: Tracking and commentary

Ardennes Monster 2023

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