A day of firsts

Sofiane wins AMR2020

James admits defeat...or does he?

While you were sleeping - He...he also slept?!

Sofiane opens up a 100km lead

Christian Meier scratches

First riders through CP1

And they're off

Race Preview

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8zxUGplG-z/

Italians Federico Damiani and Andrea Galanti take the crown as the first pair to cross the line in Sidi Rabat. They were second to The Lechugas for the whole race but as is the case with ultra-distance events, attrition is a huge factor in the results.

Second place went to Brits Mitchell Jones and Scott Cornish and third place to Germans Marc Lehmann and Alexander Bethge, the latter who arrived at around 10:00 local time.

## Jenny Tough first woman

![AMR2020 Jenny Tough 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1OYG4fdJx6vWF3C3fiGi8b/c792ba8fe26ed47a8d451eab7996281a/85142659_648998662564965_6085851468122505568_n.jpg)

📷 [Jonny Hines](https://www.instagram.com/jonnyhinesphoto/) via [Atlas Mountain Race](https://www.instagram.com/atlasmountainrace/) instagram

Jenny is a rider with grit and determination running through her veins. She got to Sidi Rabat just after midday local time. Andrea Seiermann is pushing through her wake and will be at the finish line within a couple of hours.

Twelve [women started AMR2020](https://dotwatcher.cc/feature/women-of-amr2020) but just five remain. Barring any disasters, we'll have a podium later today!

## Catch up on the AMR Podcast

Stefano has posted [4 episodes](https://atlasmountainrace.cc/podcast-2020/?utm_source=dotwatcher&utm_medium=commentry&utm_campaign=amr2020) now and we're told more are to follow to keep your ears out for those.

## Thanks for joining us

This update concludes our coverage of the AMR2020. It's been a thrill to deliver live coverage over the last week. DotWatcher will be back in May with Italy Divide and a whole host of other races - stay tuned!

Yesterday saw a flurry of riders make the finish line in Sidi Rabat. Off the back of his win, Sofiane uploaded the final instalment of his journey to Strava which reveals he burnt over 7000 calories on that stretch alone!

![Screenshot 2020-02-20 at 10.16.46](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/PeLVZjzyYRO1wXEjfOy8i/fe58a3ae04c76d2a2fe75bfe80c0c165/Screenshot_2020-02-20_at_10.16.46.png)

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8xIY4Zl4uG/

Jenny Tough looks to be holding her own, though we have no info of how she's feeling. Expect her to be rolling through CP3 in a few hours' time and on to the finish late tomorrow. Andrea Seiermann is just 60km behind her.

In the pairs category, the Italian duo of Federico and Andrea are chugging along nicely having just ticked over the 1000km marker. Behind them, to the tune of only 20km, is the British team of Scott and Mitchell.

## Party Train!

The few scratched riders have gathered together to ride to the finish line together in time for the party on Saturday. It's been a great display of camaraderie throughout the race and sometimes things don't go to plan. The best thing you can do afterwards is make it into an adventure like these riders have done and it's all in the name of making new friends.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8wcKkFFSlf/

p.s. this is the same Chris Herbert who spent a full 12 hours with food poisoning days earlier so it's great to see he's back to his usual antics.

Top 10 are home

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8vV2TpIAEI/

On next to no sleep for the entire race, Sofiane Sehili becomes the first winner of the Atlas Mountain Race.

Congratulations, Sofiane!

## James Hayden claims 2nd place

It was a great showdown between two riders at the top of their game and who we've seen fight for a 1-2 before. Sofiane may have won this battle, but I dare say the war continues and I for one am looking forward to their next showdown.

## Jay Petervary rounds out the podium

Sneaking past Klaus while he got some rest, Jay made his move to claim his podium position. At the time of writing, Jay is still 50km from the finish but Klaus is 50km behind him, so I think it's safe to say Jay will get bronze.

### Day 4 elsewhere

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8uhAu4FQdH/

Gutted to hear The Lechugas had to scratch! It's a race between Italy, the UK and Poland for pairs podium places with just 10km separating first and second placed pairs and a further 20km for the third placed Polish pairing.

https://twitter.com/dotwatcher/status/1229831166062186500?s=20

We asked on Instagram and Twitter whether you thought James might catch Sofiane and it looks like you're not a very optimistic bunch. Shortly after we posted the polls, James took to Instagram to concede defeat saying he's proud of second place.

I can't help but think he might be calling Sofiane's bluff but in any case second place is more than admirable.

Based on the fact Sofiane has covered 1054km in 84 hours, it could still be another 7 hours (ETA: 04:30 local time) until victory is his. However with adrenaline running through his veins, no major climbs to overcome and the promise of a warm meal and comfortable bed, I think we're looking closer to 5 hours from now.

## Jenny is through CP2

So far, Jenny Tough is the only solo woman through CP2. Second placed woman, Andrea Seiermann is around 40km away. Jackie and Quinda are within a few kilometres of her. Riders have until 21:00 local time tomorrow (19th Feb) to get there.

It's downhill from here (kind of)

![Night 3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3IlwsSxAJ0D8h5v5PBcSRD/f3440e135c9dc44094e1ec0014ac4b76/Night_3.gif)

Now we don't want to jump to conclusions or anything but it looks like Sofiane actually stopped in one place for an hour last night. Could it be a tracker glitch? Did he *actually* close his eyes?

![Sofiane slept](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5oCGDeDPHJ6paFhkSrSaqS/bb05ed17a38384cfb7457cccd52965ec/Sofiane_slept.png)

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8sz486IOcg/

How can he leave us hanging with a caption like that?!

In any case, he still has a strong lead of 60km, though this may be about to increase as James Hayden takes a bitter-sweet break. Looks like he had a mechanical this morning but he's all fixed up now, so he'll be in hot pursuit of his rival after a can of coke.

![85132552 607205859837755 5370525267972903798 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5he2phr6TNHJUvUZdHadoH/cc8ec38e6fd0f6cb76844d6f5eb005e1/85132552_607205859837755_5370525267972903798_n.jpg)

Last night's Race HQ update provided a bit more info about the other riders on the leaderboard including Laurens, Joeri and Klaus.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8r5YLJotRF/

## 3rd place battle

Klaus Thiel and Jay Petervary are currently neck and neck as I write. Based on the progress graphs, they both got some rest but it appears to have recharged Klaus more than Jay as he put the hammer down to catch Jay and snatch 3rd place...for now!

## The road to CP3

<iframe src="https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=31933737&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true&overlay=hybrid" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%; height: 700px; border: none;" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Sofiane is (relatively speaking) a stone's throw from CP3. I expect he'll be there within a couple of hours at the rate he's going. He'll drop down into a valley and begin the ascent up to CP3 where we'll hopefully find out a bit more about last night and his plans for the final 200km.

## Markus sets up camp

The sole singlespeed rider, [Markus Stitz](https://www.instagram.com/reizkultur/), has been in touch with a few photos of his exploits in Morocco and he's having a brilliant time by the look of it. The beauty he's managing to capture on his journey through the Atlas Mountains is incredible. Feast your eyes on these...

![Markus Stitz AMR2020 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2yXwYMCbAyC1oN3Z2O5xpb/71f4aca5a70513b0b00e6d13c2fba520/WhatsApp_Image_2020-02-17_at_21.13.28.jpeg)

![Markus Stitz AMR2020 3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6fn7cV948f926UklGkkAzq/e8c8b3d9d3d261eda2f0a3478dee7653/WhatsApp_Image_2020-02-17_at_21.13.27.jpeg)

## Chas Christianson joins Nico at the beach

We heard a couple of days ago that the rockstar pairing of [Nico Deportago-Cabrera](https://www.instagram.com/indigo_nico) and [Chas Christianson](https://www.instagram.com/notchas) came to an end when Nico's fork snapped. Chas forged on without his comrade like the noble ultra-racer he is but unfortunately he pulled the plug this morning in good spirits and is making his way to the finish now.

When you enter a race as a pair, you're mentally in it together. You've entered a mindset that means you'll be able to rely on someone else for emotional boosts, help with mechanicals and running into the shop for coffees. When that suddenly falls apart, it's mentally tough to keep going alone. This dream you both had about riding through a gruelling challenge together is shattered. Luckily, Chas doesn't dwell for too long and he's reassured us that his world is still rocking.

>"Heyo! Gonna call it, twisted knee is not getting any better, can pedal out of the saddle, and climbing is painful... BUT the stoke is still high!  So stoked to be out here!! Had a great 4 days of the race, now time to find the beach!! (But first a taxi, an adventure all in itself)"

## Tuesday morning reading

If you're a German speaker, you may enjoy [this article](https://www.biketour-global.de/2020/02/09/atlas-mountain-race-2020-jetzt-geht-es-los-ausruestung-rad-dotwatching/?utm_source=dotwatcher&utm_medium=commentry&utm_campaign=amr2020) from pairs riders Tobias Köpplinger and Martin Moschek. They've listed every piece of kit they've taken including its weight. This one's for the gear nerds and weight weenies amongst us. For non-German speakers, Google Translate is your friend.

![3rd Night GIF](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2Gs5m0ZhnF2Hv0xjuYFkCw/723319bba021e09f53e91eb00b8c13c5/3rd_Night_GIF.gif)

Apologies for the stuck record but Sofiane continues to lead by an incredible margin! There is no rider within a good 6 hours of him so he could have a nap if he wanted...

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8rh-vilS2d/

Anyway, it's about to get realllll tricky where he is. The POIs on the map on our previous update only tell half the story. Our insider Neil Davey has all the gorey details as he explained what the next section holds for the riders.

> Sofiane will be riding the colonial piste after Tagmout in the dark. It's a gradual ascent, but continuous for a long way. It's really rocky and degraded, and there are three washouts through which he'll need to carry his bike. One of these hike-a-bikes is a climb down. That won't be an easy task on no sleep for three days in the dark.

And if Sofiane has to do it in the dark, that means at least the top 6 or 7 are likely to barring any extended sleep stops.

The next decent resupply stop is at Issafen (843km) some 50km from Sofiane's current location.

## Questionable resupply from James Craven?

![Craven mechanical resupply](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1YeapWv8z0j8uvAB5IzsPD/c7c85e38f09d9a42ee5d637513dd277c/Craven_mechanical_resupply.jpg)

The spectator seats are alive with the whispers of a few questions around James Craven's order from a bike shop in Marrakesh. In the rule book it states the following about incidents like this:

> We will allow you to hitch or pay for a lift out, but also back, as the distances involved are such that riding back to the spot where you had the issue would essentially mean the end of your race.

The question doesn't concern his ordering of the bike part but more the fact someone is dropping off the part to CP2. What do you think? Would the bike shop have offered this service to other riders and it is therefore open to all? Or is it a step too far and James should make his way to Tata?

## Food poisoning strikes

We got wind last night that Chris Herbert's tracker hadn't moved for some time and attempts to contact him failed. This morning it moved very gradually to rejoin the flow of riders on the course but *gradually* is the keyword. TAs soon as he had phone reception, he updated the world with the happenings of the previous 12 hours of his life. The poor chap had been sheltering in an abandoned hut on the remote mountain side before Afra and conjured up every last ounce of his energy down the pass to safety.

https://twitter.com/Chrs_H/status/1229314351775002625?s=20

https://twitter.com/Chrs_H/status/1229393104823816192?s=20

https://twitter.com/Chrs_H/status/1229402821428158470?s=20

https://twitter.com/Chrs_H/status/1229472748604416000?s=20

## Top 3 solo women

1. Jenny Tough
2. Quinda Verheul
3. Andrea Seiermann

Still only 30km separates Jenny and Quinda so their steady pace throughout today continues. Andrea Seiermann has just overtaken Jackie Baker while she has been stationary for a little over an hour now. Perhaps she's getting in 40 winks ahead of a long night? This will be a battle we look forward to following into tomorrow.

## Lechugas get stitched up

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8rNXgMFL5K/

Scotti and Ernie were making great progress until Ernie's tyre required his finest embroidery skills. A number of flatlines on their progress graph below can be seen and it looks like they may have just stopped again. Here's hoping it's not to repatch the tyre!

![Lechuga progress day 3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7xcdyCd5QwTNv9LfNUN9PQ/30e405274ab0f2bdc14cab48ea81c791/Screenshot_2020-02-17_at_20.21.10.png)

Business as usual

![Sofiane 50 hours AMR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3YLSLT92CG71mdIh7mv00b/0860c963b72fa6012467fbb544098982/ezgif.com-video-to-gif__1_.gif)

Source: [Atlas Mountain Race](https://www.instagram.com/atlasmountainrace) Instagram Stories

With Sofiane swiftly through CP2 with no signs of slowing down or, you know, sleeping, the main question is will anyone be able to catch him? I'm not sure I've ever seen a more consistent line during a race!

![Sofiane CP2 AMR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6iecWCi1z3TjqOYZn7cOW3/b4a7e21d9b8fe2491046a90ecb78f22e/Sofiane_CP2.png)

## The road to CP2

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8qpx_fFwk4/

Neil Davey has been a fount of knowledge when it comes to the route and even managed to get some cool pics while he was riding it a couple of months ago. It's a rocky descent and riders will want to tune their concentration levels to avoid any spills. Riders have around 6 hours of daylight left until it becomes a night time activity for the brave.

## Puncture Fairy

A lot of riders continue to be sitting trailside repairing punctures like it's some sort of competition for who can get the most. Liam Yates has scratched after receiving seven since yesterday. When asked whether tubeless may have helped his cause he said, "Yeah I think tubeless would definitely be much better. They have all been thorns. Lesson learnt."

Shortly after his tasty breakfast, Janis Viskers found himself using his newfound energy for puncture number six.

![Janis Viskers punctures AMR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/52zdPooq0YJ6xCgSBbC4O3/9f9dd57b4ebeca5a52f6aa578fe48b5a/84862810_176172247129661_7792491980738069688_n.jpg)

What tyres would you choose for this race? Gravel grinders? 2-inch MTB tyres? Tubes or tubeless?

## Dwindling resupply points

We heard reports late last night of resupply points selling out, particularly in Imassine which became a hub for refuelling on days one and two. Further along, Afra and Taznakht provided much needed sustenance and a bed for the night if required. With riders in the front half of the race potentially taking their share of what's on offer, it leaves limited options for those further back meaning their race gets even harder.

### Beyond CP2

<iframe src="https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=31933727&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true&overlay=hybrid" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%; height: 700px; border: none;" scrolling="no"></iframe>

From CP2 there are a couple of big mountains to ride/hike-a-bike over which may well slow everyone down let alone the leader. At 800km (140km on the embed above), the POI indicated that the road is destroyed meaning riders will have to get nimble on their feet. Sofiane will be lucky to tackle this in daylight which leaves the other leading riders little option than to don their headtorches or wait until sunrise.

![Christian Meier scratch](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/42hbvBdJnnvkK6DArd1DJX/74233e49c0a921e01f0fa91c611dcc77/Screenshot_2020-02-17_at_11.14.54.png)

The former race leader didn't look to be enjoying himself yesterday but we have no further information at this stage. More to follow.

## Update from Race HQ

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8qo6tMohMP/

In case you missed anything yesterday, Race HQ has been posting daily recaps complete with some real nuggets of inspiration like one 73 year old rider!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8pVszCIrWb/

## Sofiane the Unstoppable

https://twitter.com/highbark/status/1229151520211525634?s=20

We've seen our fair share of races, especially those with Sofiane on the roster. As Chris states in his tweet, during last year's [Tour Divide](https://dotwatcher.cc/race/tour-divide-2019), he didn't stop until the town of Helena, Montana some 60 hours (1000km) after he started. Should we be surprised that he hasn't yet stopped? Yes. Are we surprised that he hasn't yet stopped? No!

So much about these races is living by the "constant forward progress" motto and we're being shown how from the expert. Sofiane is due into CP2 in just shy of an hour's time.

## Christian takes a back seat

We saw last night that Christian stopped while Sofiane continued on his merry way to CP2, what we didn't expect was for Christian to not get going again. The guys at PEdAL ED caught up with him before pausing for the day to reveal he planned to find somewhere to sleep. He also revealed he had five punctures yesterday 😬

![Christian Meier AMR2020 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4zqL0DwiikKvG9diDibOHj/3b60de150e5386d9726cab805e4f1332/ezgif.com-optimize.gif)

At the time of writing, his dot is just closing in on the 500km mark after a full 12 hours with no movement.

## 😴

It seems 4 hours of sleep is the strategy a lot of the front runners are using. While Jay Petervary took an early nap then rode through the night, James Hayden, Carlos Mazón and Joeri Winnijn all managed to get their heads down for at least 4 hours. Adrien Liechti is running on a little less opting for just a couple but maybe the idea of catching Joeri was keeping him on his toes.

![Quinda AMR2020 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7jXVSKGKZHXJU0ymyZzmy7/57914ed01c1ade786986b0ec0bbf22a1/IMG_4018.jpg)

[Jenny Tough](https://www.instagram.com/jennytough/) and [Quinda Verhuel](https://www.instagram.com/avoidtheavoid/) are also on a 4 hour sleep allowance with just 30km between them. Quinda looks like she's had an eventful 24 hours but she appears to be pushing on in good spirits.

The top three pairs teams of Italians Andrea Galanti and Federico Damiani, Americans the Lechugas and the British pairing of Mitchell Jones and Scott Cornish all managed 6 hours each. Why do pairs riders appear to sleep for longer than solo riders? Let us know on [Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/dotwatcher).

## Breakfast is served

What does breakfast look like on a race like this? Well we have a few different perspectives on offer.

![Damiani breakfast AMR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1wynzUj3oROy8VD43r9iWU/5765d6686cc4e717a512f2ccd7f43fab/IMG_4019.jpg)

[Federico Damiani](https://www.instagram.com/damianifed/) is chilling with some teammates enjoying an absolute feast!

![Janis AMR2020 breakfast](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2kfQJCAp9tRNhAi0TcXqPH/08d86755c82614d00feb961d8640177d/IMG_4016.jpg)

[Janis Viskers](https://www.instagram.com/janis_viskers/) has a table for one and it looks damn tasty.

![Bas Rotgans breakfast AMR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2sZ7PKSCcaDkzyK7gMcQnw/89d0009d2ccf39b179e4ed17c6352d7e/IMG_4022.jpg)

...And nothing for poor [Bas Rotgans](https://www.instagram.com/basrotgans/)! Omar probably had a late night feeding other riders so we'll forgive him a lie in.

---
## AMR Podcast EP2

Stefano has uploaded the next episode of the AMR podcast which you can listen to [here](https://atlasmountainrace.cc/podcast-2020/?utm_source=dotwatcher&utm_medium=commentry&utm_campaign=amr2020). Good luck being productive at work today!

While you were sleeping - Night #2

Sofiane Sehili

The inaugural off-road bikepacking race across the Atlas Mountains opens up the season of unsupported ultra-distance cycling for the year.

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