Race Preview

And they're off

First riders through CP1

Christian Meier scratches

Sofiane opens up a 100km lead

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

James admits defeat...or does he?

Sofiane wins AMR2020

A day of firsts

The [Atlas Mountain Race](https://atlasmountainrace.cc/?utm_source=dotwatcher&utm_medium=commentry&utm_campaign=amr2020) is the new sister race to the [Silk Road Mountain Race](https://www.silkroadmountainrace.cc/?utm_source=dotwatcher&utm_medium=commentry&utm_campaign=amr2020) but without the high mountains of Kyrgyzstan. The inaugural edition opens the off-road unsupported ultra season from Marrakech at 9am on Saturday 15th. Racers face 1,145km of almost entirely unpaved roads with an occasional token stretch of tarmac. With 16,600m of climbing to do the riders have just under eight days to tick off the three checkpoints and make it to Sidi Rabat by midnight of Saturday 22nd. The clock doesn’t stop and the first rider to Sidi Rabat wins. Simple, in theory at least.

The race takes place in a desert mountain environment. It is a Northern Hemisphere mountain range at the end of winter and riders could be faced with a multitude of conditions. The Atlas Mountains can easily provide all four seasons in one day which will be sure to test the mettle of the racers. Daytime temperatures are forecast to sit between 15 and 25 degrees and night-time 0 to 8degrees, depending on elevation. This is most certainly a winter race and is reflected in the mandatory kit list which includes a down/synthetic jacket, a waterproof jacket, a survival blanket, two pairs of gloves and a “suitable sleeping system”. “Suitable” is sure to be interpreted differently and will likely distinguish the racers from the riders.

If the forecast is to be trusted, the riders will profit from a westerly tailwind on their approach to Sidi Rabat, and as the finish is West of Marrakech they may even be lucky enough to have more tailwind than headwind during the race. The finish also sits 400m lower than the start meaning riders have a negative net elevation, although 400m pales in comparison to the 16,600m total climbing involved.

<iframe src="https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=31892048&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%; height: 700px; border: none;" scrolling="no"></iframe>

We'll be bringing you updates from the road courtesy of [Beccy Waters](https://dotwatcher.cc/contributor/beccy-waters).

It's been a busy morning for riders as they get themselves temporarily settled in Marrakesh and make their way to registration.

![markus stitz amr2020 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7ALvid4xccdWEZDqxDQwQZ/dc12db6ef896681bdb43e749a39b1940/WhatsApp_Image_2020-02-14_at_08.15.23.jpeg)

📷 [Markus Stitz](https://www.instagram.com/reizkultur/)

Upon landing in Marrakesh, the anticipation of bikes surviving the trip across reached a fever pitch. A quick taxi to their hotels and riders began fettling.

![Jule Boetel AMR2020 spoke](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6dO9oFoXPwSl9yB97hx1ZW/1a8bc0402233b4826c8aeb17072ca0ef/IMG_3974.PNG)

[Jule Bötel](https://www.instagram.com/jules_mit_mumm) reported a broken spoke which was quickly repaired thanks to an emergency trip to a bike shop 😅

![Liam Yates AMR2020 James Hayden](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6Ew3uhfUcBsN8x0Z5ZRe0q/97ea10ce80f6672181e6d0cefc08a953/IMG_3975.PNG)

Once rolling, it looks like some last minute training was in order for Liam Yates and James Hayden, two riders we believe may not be so friendly in a few hours' time 😉

![Jenny Tough AMR2020 love](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/I0voncsl7RWJpFKphieAd/cb5ddd21f4c6c1925981d431abe8b6be/IMG_3976.PNG)

And in case you weren't aware (of course you were!), it's Valentine's Day today and [Jenny Tough](https://www.instagram.com/jennytough) devoted a whole Instagram story to the love of her life.

---

Don't forget, the wonderful team behind the race will be updating their social channels with the latest and greatest so keep their profiles close.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8gzpLaol58/

---

We'll be back with another update later just as riders tuck themselves into their nice comfy beds for the final time.

Less than 24 hours to go...

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8jSv4Lo4IG/

Registration looks to be complete and riders have their numbers. If you're looking for anyone's specific number, take a look at the panel inside the Maprogress window.

[Bikepacking.com](https://bikepacking.com/bikes/2020-atlas-mountain-race-rigs/?utm_source=dotwatcher&utm_medium=commentry&utm_campaign=amr2020) has a feature on 85 of the bikes taking part in the race and there's some serious bling amongst the crowd.

Speaking of bikes, it looks like one participant has been unlucky with the arrival of their bike. Torsten Frank (cap 147) is hoping to pick it up from the airport at some point during tonight. Not the most ideal prep, you might say.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8hMf5aIFHp/

The [Atlas Mountain Facebook Group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/atlasmountainrace/) is alive with a flurry of last-minute cries for help.

![AMR2020 FBgroup1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5DXUfPHiSd9XiJayQyFwvG/e24cf7c93418caa1afebd26aae184d98/Screenshot_2020-02-14_at_18.17.46.png)

And a bit of an off-piste request perhaps...🤔

![AMR2020 FBgroup2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6rRtl8cfDEhykMgbhbgLnI/022c70348eec9bc17fe3edc5d1a3d967/Screenshot_2020-02-14_at_18.18.00.png)

---
## Checkpoints

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8jdeRmlz_R/

There are three checkpoints between Marrakesh and the finish: CP1 in Telouet at 121km, CP2 in Aguinane at 665km and finally CP3 in Ait Mansour at 940km.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8jZj0DFNaD/

All riders will be donning their caps throughout the race and we've got to say, that's some swish-looking head gear right there 😍

---

## Broomwagon Podcast

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8i5eMlBJZb/

[Stefan Nucera](https://www.instagram.com/calamarocc/) is up to his usual tricks again as he interviews riders throughout AMR2020. Keep your ears out for the episodes [here](https://atlasmountainrace.cc/podcast-2020/?utm_source=dotwatcher&utm_medium=commentry&utm_campaign=amr2020) as we're sure they'll provide valuable insight into what it's like to race in the Atlas Mountains.

--

## Goodnight, world

The sun has set on Marrakesh and we're about to tuck into a Friday night feast (or Valentine's Day treat...whatever floats your boat), but there's one thing we are making an exception for tonight and that's a Saturday morning alarm.

The race rolls out at __9am local time__, so be up, have your coffee poured and be ready to watch the dots make their moves across the map.

<center><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/Is1O1TWV0LEJi" width="480" height="272" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe></center>

Twas the night before

![AMR gif 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/0uLyVKaCXRq83KOrB6C7v/4323d81f12f8fca268896c39b7fa3b48/ezgif.com-video-to-gif.gif)

The field is now spread across a total distance of around 60km. First in line to receive a stamp was __[Christian Meier](https://www.instagram.com/christianmmeier/)__ at around 16:15 local time meaning he's averaged a cool 17kph so far. If you follow professional cycling, you may recognise his name from a few years back when he rode for Orica GreenEdge on the WorldTour and it doesn't look like he's held back since retiring securing a top 100 place in last year's Dirty Kanza. Definitely one to watch.

Hot on his heels was Frenchman [Sofiane Sehili](https://www.instagram.com/sofianeshl/) who rolled into CP2 at 16:55 and shortly after him [Joeri Wannijn](https://www.instagram.com/joeriwannijn/) and [Jay Petervary](https://www.instagram.com/jay_petervary/).

![AMR mattia de marchi gif](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4x0IKREdUhhx3ikeExhBHy/b46f7be20c015517308529d8e9148e1c/ezgif.com-gif-maker.gif)

We're not quite sure what [Mattia de Marchi](https://www.instagram.com/mattia_de_marchi/)'s dot is playing at but it seems to be all over the show!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8lZfeeHUyD/

Aleš Zavoral posted these stunning pics a few hours ago. Can't complain at scenery like that can you? 😍

---

## Women of AMR2020

While you're dotwatching, we have just published a feature on the [Women of AMR2020](https://dotwatcher.cc/feature/women-of-amr2020). There are just twelve women taking part in this year's race but they're some of the strongest, most determined athletes out there.

---

## Podcast update

Stefano has released episode one of the Atlas Mountain Race Podcast which you can listen to right [here](https://atlasmountainrace.cc/podcast-2020/?utm_source=dotwatcher&utm_medium=commentry&utm_campaign=amr2020). It's an hour long so while you wait for our evening update, enjoy zoning out to the wisdom (or stupidity) of riders taking on this amazing race.

What a first day, hey? It looks like Mattia de Marchi is indeed in the pack of front runners despite his dot debating otherwise. For a while it seemed as though he was much further back but we've been refreshing for a while (who hasn't?) and he seems fairly stable where he is.

Have you seen his bike? If there was an award for bling bikes, he would win it hands down.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8HblEUoLbe/

So, as we wind up for the night let's assess what's happened for the day.

Former professional cyclist Christian Meier has bedded down for the night and in that time a few of the others have overtaken him. They'll have to stop eventually so maybe Christian will attack again in the early hours.

A little further back a few new faces are making their way up the ranks: Jenny Tough is leading the women but with Ernie Lechuga's dot in her vicinity, she can't be far away from fellow woman Scotti (despite her dot showing 16km back).

Lexi Brown has said that GPS devices are somewhat surplus to requirements given the police are directing riders in only one direction (that of the race)!

There are still around 25 riders yet to check in to CP1, so it'll be interesting to see whether they hang around overnight or press on into the dark.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8mNgqpgOBZ/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8mqb8sBHAy/

It's very early days and as we always say with these races, anything can happen.

Into the first night

![AMR Night 1 gif](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3To2Hqx4IKA9KNXsgasrkC/f84dec7c09a452ee73b8257d3232588c/Night_1.gif)

Ain't no rest for the wicked as they say and these riders are an active bunch. A couple of small pit stops for the front runners but nothing that a mortal would count as quality sleep that's for sure.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8n4hReIqAm/

There's some really stunning photography from [@saltlake_lian](https://www.instagram.com/saltlake_lian/) and [@jonnyhinesphoto](https://www.instagram.com/jonnyhinesphoto/) over on the Atlas Mountain Race instagram page. The backdrop, the riders, the locals 😍

![AMR LFGSS](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/aNANJqyZ9W6mmHSNhydLy/c012374a90680dc23c274673a9f7c6a2/Screenshot_2020-02-16_at_10.06.36.png)

The [LFGSS](https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/343783/) community is wide awake doing a spot of early morning dotwatching. Christian Meier's lead on Sofiane Sehili remains unchanged at a tantalisingly close 4km. But, as giofox says, over this kind of terrain, Sofiane will need to be efficient with any resupply or general stopping time in order to catch his rival.

36km behind Sofiane is [Carlos Mazón](https://www.instagram.com/biziosona/), organiser of [Badlands](https://www.transiberica.cc/badlands?utm_source=dotwatcher&utm_medium=commentry&utm_campaign=amr2020), [TransIbérica](https://www.transiberica.cc/transiberica/?utm_source=dotwatcher&utm_medium=commentry&utm_campaign=amr2020) and [TransPyrenees](https://www.transiberica.cc/transpyrenees/?utm_source=dotwatcher&utm_medium=commentry&utm_campaign=amr2020). We'll be interested to see what he makes of this gravel race ahead of his own in May!

James Hayden has made good progress overnight working his way up the leaderboard which is great to see. We dare say James Craven isn't going to sit back and let that happen without a challenge though!

Jenny Tough continues to leave riders in her wake and she's almost 60km ahead of the next woman, Jackie Baker. The Atlas Mountains is a region with which Jenny is really familiar and we think this could play an important part in her race. Stay tuned!

__CP1 IS NOW CLOSED__

---

## Pairs race heats up

Scotti and Ernie are homing in on the leaderboard at a rate of knots. Their performance in last year's SRMR may be repeated in a few days' time. 

---

## A note on tracker issues

It seems a few riders have tracker issues: Quinda is using a spare tracker but has now appeared on Maprogress - phew! Scotti and Ernie Lechuga are riding as a pair but their dots are separated by quite some distance. We'll use Ernie's dot as the most accurate one until we hear otherwise.

---

## The Road Ahead

Most riders will today tackle this stretch of the race with no opportunity to resupply. If you hover over the POI on the map, you'll see that there's a Type 2 canyon: beautiful but with potential for hike-a-bike. It comes at 311km into the race and will no doubt force a few choice words from riders!

<iframe src="https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=31933707&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true&overlay=satellite" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%; height: 700px; border: none;" scrolling="no"></iframe>

While you were sleeping - Night #1

If there's one thing dotwatching reveals quite obviously it's when riders aren't on a mandatory course with their fellow competitors. When we saw [Nico Deportago-Cabrera](https://www.instagram.com/indigo_nico)'s dot heading down a main road, we thought for sure he's missed the turning but it turns out it's bad news for the TCR veteran as he took to Instagram Stories to explain.

And the actual damage?

![Indigo Nico fork AMR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3az8Fg8qyh8n3ZajSZTCE1/f73f6f0079ab3f0c8cdb10e6437c9de5/b4109967-0f4a-41ec-8a7b-cbd0ead9159d.JPG)

😖

It looks like some riders are going to have to get creative with their mechanical skills soon as I dare say there are very few bike shops in the Atlas Mountains.

https://twitter.com/Chrs_H/status/1229023656325656576?s=20

Good luck, Chris. If Markus Stitz can ride the route singlespeed then so can you!

https://twitter.com/JamesIllman13/status/1228996795071713280?s=20

Praise be to Allen keys 🙌

![Mattia shifter AMR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5vDpoDqpl6ejAwSy2vuiyq/5611deaf33f21202d488f7814611c76f/Mattia_shifter_AMR.png)

Bad news for Mattia de Marchi based on this Instagram Story from the folk at [PEdAL ED](https://www.instagram.com/pedaledjapan/). This would explain his slow-down. Fingers crossed his fix works...

![James Craven AMR2020 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3WvJnBgRHzBqfkRPMMZzzx/a348d2a5a8fa5fbc6dd7e466df100bbb/IMG_4008.jpg)

After a lengthy descent into Afra, it looks like most riders are taking the opportunity to get some food into them before the next sector of the race. As I type, James Craven and Mattia de Marchi are refuelling (and probably discussing their mechanicals). It's an opportune time to stop as riders can digest and warm up again along a relatively flat stretch in the valley before the next big instalment...

---

## Omar-gosh, that's a big hill

<iframe src="https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=31933713&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true&overlay=hybrid" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%; height: 700px; border: none;" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Christian and Sofiane are midway along the mountain pass out of Tizgui: a mighty 20km beast with some spicy looking gradients to test the legs and/or pushing capabilities of its victims.

"The Quad" (which I am now calling the group of Jay, Carlos, Laurens and James as they keep yo-yoing between 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th places) will be heading up imminently so look out for any brave attacks. Will any of them take Omar up on his offer of food, I wonder?

Mechanicals and a rather big hill

![Christian Sofiane graph 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6Zg8sN8C26t96FmdwRJ2uC/6689c7113a18c7d99a5e868af1e126c0/Screenshot_2020-02-16_at_20.18.15.png)

Well, well, well, it looks like Sofiane found some power and used it to get a little ahead of Christian Meier. They're both moving at almost the exact same pace, however with Christian being better rested than Sofiane at the moment (see flatline above), it'll be interesting to see whether one of them breaks free.

I wish we could be in the media cars witnessing the action first-hand! I bet they're having some fun if Sofiane's earlier serenade to camera is anything to go by (see his Instagram Stories!).

---

## The Quad has crumbled

Maybe I jinxed it! Jay Petervary's tracker hasn't updated for over an hour now, so we're unsure whether he's still "with" the others or whether Joeri has indeed overtaken him. Carlos and James are still within a small distance of each other however Laurens is a good 15km behind Carlos. Could fatigue be setting in?

## Meanwhile in Afra

![AMR2020 gif 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3dhjUEdArWp4G5jv8rtv8d/f368bba4cf34a0ceeea281bdd1bd194b/ezgif.com-video-to-gif.gif)

Afra has played an important role for riders in their race with most (if not all) riders stopping for resupply here and it's not about to slow down any time soon with a whole heap of riders still to follow. Do Morocco's towns stay open late?

---

## Coming up

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8pBPKzltzH

There's a good resupply point coming up for the leaders but will they stop and what will remain open into the night?

<iframe src="https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=31933720&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true&overlay=hybrid" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%; height: 700px; border: none;" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Christian and Sofiane have around 170km until CP2 which, based on their current moving speed, could see them arrive at around 10:00 local time (around 12 hours from now).

See you tomorrow for more exciting dotwatching!

Neck and neck at the pointy end

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

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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