Illness, Injury and chasing a snail

Bumper edition

What a day of racing

Nail biting

CP3 update

 On-road vs off-road

T for Tajine

One slipped through the net

Is it a Hash?

Pairs category and the fun bus

It feels like this edition of the AMR was plagued with illness and injury and certainly in the first few days of the race some big names succumbed early, with reports of stomach or breathing issues being the main reasons for riders scratching. 

In 2023, records show 78 riders scratching from the race, this from 194 riders taking to the start. this is a near 40% scratch rate. So far 83 riders are scratched in this years race from 227 starters. That’s a 36% scratch rate so far - currently below last years race, despite it not feeling so.

The after party starts tonight but with 24 hour delay to the start, riders get a day’s grace to still get a stamp in their brevet card. 93 riders completed the course as at this report. 39 riders are ahead of the the Snail who sits at 1,008km (as at 17 February 10:00 CET) indicating these 46 riders will make it to the after party. Three riders remain on route. At 787km, __Rapid Rich Stoodley__ is ploughing his way through the route and it’s unlikely he’ll quit just to get to the party. Being the oldest in the race, 62 years old, Rich returned to AMR to put to bed some unfinished business after quitting early in last years’ race. He’s well beyond his scratch point from last year, so lets keep cheering him on. 
[Rich Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/rapid_rich/)

Chasing the Snail are __Eric Zachhuber__ and __Andy Lingham__. They are not too far behind the snail and should make the after party but not before it is in full swing. Neither Eric’s nor Andy’s Instagrams say much about their bikepacking history and neither show up in the dotwatcher.cc rider profile which show the races they’ve done before. It’s safe to assume this could be their first bikepacking race and if so, they are doing a good job.

[Eric Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/_speee/)
[Andy Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/andy_lingham/)

__Update__: and just as I was doing a find check of the race, I noticed __Rapid Rich__ off route doing 57kph. He’s on his was to the party. So off we go to cheer __Andy Lingham__ as the Lantern Rouge.

# #Dotreporter

Your dotreporter for this race is __Peta McSharry__. New reports will be dropped into my [Instagram Stories](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) when the are published.


# Women’s winner

How is it that someone so fast still finds time to stop and feed all the donkeys and cuddle all the cats along the way? The Atlas Mountain Race was an unknown distance for __Cynthia Carson__, it being her longest race yet. She pinned her race on a win in the women’s field and Top 10 overall. The strength of competition in this year’s race was particularly high, coming in 15th overall in this field is admirable.

From the gun, the pace was high with Cynthia and __Nathalie Baillon__ neck and neck, bunny hopping each other during resupply and sleep breaks. It was looking to be a sprint finish, but a chest infection for Nathalie saw her dropping pace but continuing in the race.

In the graph below a steady gap held between Cynthia and __Hannah Simon__. You can see Nathalie dropping from pacing alongside Cynthia to just holding off Hannah. The sprint ending we were hoping for may need to wait for another race, but for sure they are becoming more frequent in the women’s field and it’s exiting to see. 

![women race flow AMR 2024](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5RnKoSWw5WkpSj1SiodkiC/2be41b4761c36c4fd6bcd7df0d53a47b/image.png)

The fight for places on the podium were hotly contested, with not much separating 2nd to 4th place. It was a strong field, so to come out at the top shows that depth is coming to the women’s field and younger riders are taking to ultra racing. Cynthia finished in under 5 days with the next 4 riders coming in under 5 days and Nathalie just missing out on the 5-day cut-off. 

__Women’s field__
1. Cynthia Carson - 4d19h02m
2. Nathalie Baillon - 5d01h58m
3. Hannah Simon - 5d03h23m
4. Jana Mascha Lu Wahlig - 5d6h21m
5. Marion Dziwnik - 5d19h45m

![womens top 5](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3yznG7hMXvnLlXJwlULAgQ/9d7b4eb649055c7f1c78e706d4ac7b3f/image.png)

Illness plagued the field, stomach issues and chest infections were abound and even a bout of Shermer’s neck reared it’s ugly head. Some riders were able to continue while other saw themselves arranging taxis in their hotels.

![Shermers Mel](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/9XI2zv52hlSXVMkYGSFWh/265d8fb9c145a730d61f82d213c4de85/image.png)

It was so for the tandem pair of __Shona and Rich__. An overzealous group of youngsters put paid to their race after they crashed trying to avoid them. Under the spike of adrenaline, they were able to ride to their night’s accommodation. But morning revealed some injuries that made sitting the saddle an impossibility. The bike was fine and thanks to some nifty decoupling brackets, they were able to fold the tandem to get it into a car and head to the finish town.

![tandem](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1QJmR0HEi3cH9mXpvZIq2d/d0de01c6d6f2beaa9802df9c7ae0e234/image.png)

Returning for a second go at the Atlas Mountain Race and also being [first to complete](https://sour.bike/atlas-mountain-race/) all of Nelson’s races in the women’s field, __Quinda Verheul__ appears to be enjoying the ride. She thought it might be her causing the adverse weather at all these races. Only time will tell.

__Pairs field__
Returning to the race with a different partner, __Federico Damiani__ won his second Atlas Mountain Race in the pairs category. __Manual Truccolo__ partnered up with him and the duo were able to complete the race in 4d22h10m in 21st, just missing out on a top 20 place. It’s not an easy thing to race as a pair and to return for a second year and successfully defend the title clearly shows Federico holds a secret formula for pairs racing.

__Angus Young and Megan Casebow__ rolled in as the second pair home and the first mixed pair to complete the course, in 5d17h41m. They toured Morocco before, but the pressure of the race didn’t seem to impact their enjoyment either.

Decoupled from his riding partner, __Adrien Liechti__ chased back into the top 10, picking off riders who could only see their grimacing faces in his mirrored shades as he pressed on through the field. Finishing in 4d13h48m Adrien took 9th place overall, but given the rules of these races, it’s not certain where he falls within the GC.

![Mirror Liechti](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2a9m95xNjOBz5i8N2BO9dF/986cd6a5ef18aefad94d96aba879759b/image.png)

# Men’s top 5
The incident filled final stretch to the finish line allowed several riders to make it into the finish without fanfare here on Dotwatcher.cc. Thomas Boury was the hot favourite from Rich Rothwell (on the expert panel) and he didn’t disappoint. Riding a quiet  and faultless race, he kept to his plan a delivered a podium place in a very competitive field. He finished 8th in the 2022 Atlas Mountain Race, 6th in the 2023 Hope1000 and 2nd in the Further Pyrenees where riders face torrential rain and thunder storms in the high mountains.

In 4th place and winner of the best kit for the race, Elijus Čivilis also put the small nation of Lithuania in the headlines, chasing home nation rider Justinas Leveika to the finish. He was also locked in his hotel along with Ulrich Bartholmoes but from his tracker he appears to not made a daring escape from the window. He was overtaken by a few riders at his involuntary internment, but managed to claw his way back into 4th. 

![Elijus](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/72w3sGysWXLgJYwa1I9zAO/285a9e23c21dd020ebdc17fa662dbe79/image.png)

Dropping into 5th place is Alexander Kopp. A fellow cake lover and participant in the Deadends and Dolci family, he was one of 5 riders who also finished the race in the Ticino last year. He finished second in last years Istra Land and 3rd in the Lost Dot Trans Pyrenees in 2022.
![Ali Kipp](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2rzV65WRCiK2XJa3ZPByKr/856dbc39f511c2c03ed1230c47d1f996/image.png)

__Mens top 5__
1. Justinas Leveika - 3d19h16m
2. Ulrich Bartholmoes - 3d23h56m
3. Thomas Boury - 4d4h3m
4. Elijus Čivilis - 4d6h6m
5. Alexander Popp - 4h6h36

While on the topic of cake lovers, the others taking part are __Justinas Leveika__, __Adam Palin__, __Manuel Truccolo__, __Nathalie Baillon__ and __Adrien Liechti__. It seems if you want to do well in Atlas you need to go and eat Dolci in the Tocino with the Deadends race organisers. 

![Dolci](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3EYDEmGByJfz0n5lfzhC88/098b92919a88101a6cc7be7909c9e609/image.png)

There’s still a heap of riding still to go before all the riders make it to the finishers’ party, stay tuned for some mid bunch reporting.

# #Dotreporter

Your dotreporter for this race is Peta McSharry. New reports will be dropped into my [Instagram Stories](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) when the are published.


You could not ask for more suspense or more drama coming into the final 100km of the race. It was edge of the seat stuff. Three riders within such close quarters and with the leading pair of __Justinas Leveika__ and __Drikus Coetzee__ separated by a mere 11kms with __Ulrich Bartholmoes__ further back.

At CP3 Drikus arrived 8 minutes after Justinas. Ulrich arrived just over 3 hours after Justinas. Justinas stopped for 58 minutes, Drikus for 1 hour 57 minutes and Ulrich just 8 minutes. 

In the town of Ait Baha, Justinas stopped for around 45 minutes to refuel and rehydrate. After this stop there is a long section without resupply and it seemed a wise decision to take the time to do so even though Drikus was closing the gap to Justinas. 

Justinas took 7h1m to get between CP3 and Ait Baha, while Drikus took 8h10m. From Ait Baha to where Drikus stopped racing, it took Drikus 6h20m versus 6h47m for Justinas.

These may just look like incomparable numbers. To simplify this: Justinas took 14h33m between CP3 and the ‘scratch point’ versus Drikus at 14h30m. The difference here is the 45 minute break Justinas took in this time, giving him a ride time for 13h45m versus Drikus’ 14h30m. The resupply stop for Drikus must have been very quick as you can’t see it on the tracker. 

In the 251km after Ait Baha, Drikus buried himself taking 30 minutes into Justinas. We could see this gap closing as the race headed into the final 100km. While Drikus did crash, it was his recognition of suffering from dehydration which made his decision to scratch.

![Drikus scratch](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/Un1ycEXHim3oXZDImbYK9/c9ac66f9008e19d95bd31a121ee3d97a/image.png)

![Drikus announcement](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/55zR9X9iZNQhyWZZRq5YWd/da0a5c31777e10f75011e2a40b935508/image.png)

Coming from a very hot and dry climate, it’s certain Drikus would recognise the signs of dehydration and understand the longer term impact of continuing to compete with severe dehydration. The inability to reduce body heat, the shut down of kidneys and liver result in the body not being able to get rid of waste which can damage internal organs. In mild dehydration it can take a few hours to rehydrate with electrolytes, in more severe cases it can take a few days with the need for intravenous drips.

The challenge Drikus brought to the front of the race was a real surprise and hopefully we’ll see more of him. But the considered racing from Justinas showed a different tactic for the Atlas Mountain Race while losing none of his joie de vivre for enjoying the racing, the people and the food. He brought his A-game, but also his cake-loving, happy disposition to the race.

![Drikus and Justinas](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7HcKcncXyjFXc8fA3Lti7V/384b1391eb3b77289bc3e71da1dd0f42/image.png)

Starting with some illness put __Ulrich Bartholmoes__ on the backfoot early in the race. However, he slowly picked his way through the field, even making a daring escape out a hotel window after being locking in the building. Clawing his way back to the leading pair, misfortune in the form of an overethusiastic dog getting under his front wheel saw him break out his firstaid kit - the one Nelson designated mandatory in the race manual. While the bandages were able to patch up a nasty cut to his elbow, the fractured ribs put paid to the chase and Ulrich rolled into the finish line under a large amount of pain. Greeted by Justinas - a palliative care nurse - he received a delicate hug before getting his dressing inspected by the resident expert. A small shake of the head confirmed Ulrich failed Level 1 Wounding Dressing - but for a single arm attempt under the pain of some broken ribs, it looked like a sterling job on my part. 

![Ulrich](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4FojXbRu9uQPoZIF4ggADs/75ffabbb020cf4744bb49b135aa7120d/image.png)

Race reporting is currently chasing it’s tail. With so much action in such a small amount of time, bedtime appeared two hours earlier than normal yesterday and a day job prevented more reporting and Istagram locked me out my account - apparantly too much activity on my account. Fear not normal services will return tomorrow with a few reports to catch up on those who are not in the front of the race.

# #Dotreporter

Your dotreporter for this race is __Peta McSharry__. New reports will be dropped into my [Instagram Stories](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) when the are published.


11km and holding. That’s all the separates __Justinas Leveika__ and __Drikus Coetzee__. The chase continues. Pacing each other for most of the race, the lead exchanged hands on numerous occasions, where sleep breaks gave the chasing rider a chance to jump ahead.  On balance it looks like Justinas is higher up on sleep, but not by design. Oversleeping his alarm by three hours before CP3, he conceded the lead to Drikus who then took time out at CP3 to catch up on sleep, allowing Justinas to retake the lead. 
![Drikus](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/22sIEnxzaqC9820GCskMW9/31b2d09b7bed77bc2f8fc320a883d07e/image.png)

Justinas pressed on through CP3, taking around 10 minutes to conclude his business with a stamp and some refuel. Justinas rode through to Ait Baha where he took around 50 minutes for resupply, allowing Drikus to close the gap. Neither Drinkus nor __Ulrich Bartholmoes__, in third place, stopped in Ait Baha for resupply. Overnight the gaps between riders remained steady, with Drikus holding Ulrich off by around 20km. These gaps will ebb and flow as the riders face the undulating terrain leading them to the coastline. There is nothing flat along this section, it’s leg sapping terrain, but with a tailwind, they should be aided a little through this section.

![Ulrich](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/RNDYuYLcOT9Decou0BsNY/052316d07526d1e61861fbbdb0f6ae75/image.png)

Then it’s a cross tailwind all the way to the finish as the riders head north along the coast. In pro races, a cross tailwind makes it hard for the chasing group to catch the breakaway. But this is bikepacking and lady luck is more of an influence than a chasing wind. However, the tailwind will aid tired legs rather than a battering headwind.

As at Wed 14 Feb 08:45am
- Justinas: 92km to finish
- Drikus: 100km to finish
- Ulrich: 141km to finish

At the same point, 1,231km on route, Justinas came through 45 minutes before Drikus. Looking at the graph below, the two have been pacing each other across all gradients, indicating they may not hold an advantage over any one gradient. Barring any unforeseen stoppages, there would be around 4-5 hours of racing left.

![Race pace](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/53MMQqUu70hEHIwijTrtNG/2c7f2361cb778f9fbfa076e2c1b4606e/image.png)

- At 5 hours of race time left, Drikus would need to ride at 23.5kph versus Justinas at 18.4kph.
- At 4 hours of race time left, Drikus would need to ride at 30.8kph versus Justinas at 23kph.

Whatever happens, there is no doubt, this is going to be a nail biting next few hours. From the messages on the tracking app, both riders are in equal standing with supporters willing them onto the end.

# #Dotreporter

Your dotreporter for this race is __Peta McSharry__. New reports will be dropped into my [Instagram Stories](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) when the are published.


Roving reporter, __Vincent Szusta__, called in from CP3 with a snap update. __Justinas Leveika__ slept around 4 hours last night, compared to around 1.5hours for __Drikus Coetzee__. Arriving at a similar time to CP3, Justinas took a quick 10 minute break before pressing on. Drikus took the chance to get some additional sleep, leaving around 1 hour behind Justinas. 

A quick evaluation from the tracking page shows Justinas 1h15 ahead of Drikus at the 935km mark. Justinas is at the valley bottom facing the next climb, so expect their dots to get a little closer as Drikus starts the descent.

The weather is perfect. Warm and no wind. Expect the pace to be fast under these conditions.

# #Dotreporter

Your dotreporter for this race is __Peta McSharry__. New reports will be dropped into my [Instagram Stories](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) when the are published.


Or smooth versus rough would be a better classification. A 1,300km race over tarmac or smooth gravel would most likely be ridden in one go but the leading riders. However, once it gets rough this isn’t an option.

On a smooth road, there is time to relax and recover on the descents. More opportunities to eat and drink while on the bike, thus aiding recovery but also enabling riders to make good progress along the route. As soon as it gets rough, there is no recovery time. The descends are as taxing as the climb, in different ways. Arms and concentration are worked hard, There’s less time spent in the saddle as riders stand to use their legs as shock-absorbers. Sleep is needed as much for tired muscles as it’s a welcome break for the brain to stop concentrating for a while. 

While bikepacking is often an eating competition on two wheels, when the roads get rough, it’s a tactical game of sleep. Last year’s winner, Robin Gemperle, took two sleep breaks of around 4 hours and 5 hours, the first coming slightly later in the race than we’ve seen this year. This could be largely due to the delayed start to this year’s race where riders were hanging around waiting to race rather than a relaxing day in recovery. Many riders queued for quite some time to rebook themselves into their hotels, adding time on their legs and less recovery pre-race. The heavy winds and long draggy climb over to CP1 would also impact the earlier need to sleep. 

# Blistering
It’s been a blistering pace to the race. No surprise with such a strong field. Comparisons to last year’s pace will be tough, given the diversions at the start and a 30km deficit between CP2 and CP3 in this year’s route. 

# Sleep
From my calculations all the leading riders are taking sleep breaks. Drikus Coetzee took a small diversion off route for a 4 hour break. It was suggested he may have some technical issues to resolve, but looking at his sleep pattern, it appears he stops earlier in the day and leaves in the early hours of the morning. Temperatures are the lowest just before dawn, so this could be a good strategy. However, a message in from Justinas last night suggested the night time temperatures were around 22°C, making it easier to pick a sleep time when needed rather than dictated by the temperatures. 

# General Classification
(Tuesday 13 Feb 07:00)
Justinas was in good spirits, noting he was sat on the side of the road after eating a huge meal and enjoying the warm temperatures. If there’s one thing he enjoys as much as cake, it’s sleeping under the stars. He pressed on for the night, stopping along side route to get in a few hours of sleep. One advantage of being along side the route - it’s hard for the competition to sneak past in the middle of the night.  Drikus woke first, coming past Justinas. He opened a gap but from the last check on the tracker, Justinas and Drikus appear to riding together. 

Ulrich Bartholmoes and Elijus Civilis, who are pacing each other, stopped at the same time. However, Ulrich go going earlier than Elijus, putting a good gap between the two, allowing Josh Ibbett to catch Elijus. Thomas Boudry, Alexander Kopp and Adam Palin moved into the gap ahead of Josh and Elijus. 

(__Update__: Elijus got locked into his accommodation - that is why is dropped off the pace so much).

# Women’s field
(Tuesday 13 Feb 07:00)
Cynthia Carson, Nathalie Baillon and Molly Weaver were holding their positions upfront. Cynthia dropped of the pace of the leaders to deal with some cleat issues, but easily rode back to the front, catching Nathalie. Overnight Cynthia took the lead with a gap of around 40km to Nathalie, while Hannah Simon and Jana Mascha moved into 3rd spot. A top 10 finish was a goal for Cynthia, along with trying to win the women’s category. Without wishing to jinx her ride, she appears to be on target for both those goals. But there’s still a large amount of rough terrain between now and the finish line, so anything can happen.

(__Update__: Nathalie Baillon reported she is ill, she'll ride to finish, just a bit slower than expected).

![Nathalie Baillon](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4M0IAQuWvP3uZHqSpNSxnp/7354b0488cb5e03c2f3c38bde002aa08/image.png)

# Pairs field
(Tuesday 13 Feb 07:00)
Partner-less rider Adrien Liechti set a goal of making it back into the top 10 of the field, he’s done just that and is currently sitting in 9th position. He’s also sporting the coolest glasses out there. 
![Adrien Liechti](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4ipuCvjLfrB3nKft4UACY2/4abae252fd355d5f4a6d941a6238797d/image.png)

Manuel Truccolo and Federico Damiani still hold the front position for the pairs. Angus Young and Megan Casebow appear to be enjoying their adventure together and are currently sitting third in the pairs and first mixed pair on the road. 

![Angus Young](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4XNTWDXwpahdCkowy4rcfz/174268ceb56f53b6b4e30595beb3e83a/image.png)

# Call from the tandem
The tandem is making good progress over the terrain, holding up well in the conditions. Day 2 of the route saw riders crossing many rivers, still flowing after the heavy rains. The river depth appears to be passible and offers the opportunity to clean some of the mud off the bikes from day one. Some of the route goes over some craggy terrain, meaning progress is a little slower for the tandem as the length makes it a little less easy to move. Rich and Shone appear to be in good spirits, sleep deprived but well feed.

![AMR rivers](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/37xzTHNaS6Qive4Zpo2k0n/98fde795f8001638732d803c1afef468/image.png)

# #Dotreporter

Your dotreporter for this race is Peta McSharry. New reports will be dropped into my [Instagram Stories](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) when the are published.


For the pie lovers out there, we’re not serving pies at this race. It’s all about the T in tajine. The astute among you will be wondering why the fancy graphs weren’t presented as usual. They were completed, but just not presented due to real life commitments. 

Drum roll please…

The nations turning up at the start line are divided into two categories, those with more than one rider and those with just a single rider. The UK comes top with the most riders turning up to race, followed by France and Germany. 18 nations see more than one rider on the start line, while 15 nations bring just one rider each. No local riders are on the start line this year. 

# More than one
![more than one](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1v0xUtYgcJZhSFF9kTEF1g/fb29463b27353e9886f2c604ff35d13c/Nations_on_start_line.png)

# One rider

![one rider](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6Lgg7Brh0iBWPr5pMh52Em/39314471f304ee99dc039c84700efd36/Nations_with_one_rider.png)

# #Dotreporter

Your dotreporter for this race is Peta McSharry. New reports will be dropped into my [Instagram Stories](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) when the are published.


It happens, but with a panel of experts keeping a close watch on proceedings, this omission on my part can be easily corrected. 

# Drikus Coetzee

Currently upfront in the race, Drikus is fresh off setting the course record for the Munga Race in South Africa - his first ultra-distance off-road race where he knocked 3 hours off the previous record. 

The Munga MTB race is 1,100km gravel race from Bloemfontein to Wellington (in the winelands near Cape Town). There is plenty of washboard and a tonne of wind, in dry sandy conditions. Five resupply points and numerous water stations support riders, so resupply is not an issue. 

Coming from Namibia Drikus will be used to the heat, the wind and the washboard. He trains on really rough roads to mentally prepare for races, meaning he could be ready for anything the Atlas throws at him. He also won’t be a stranger to torrential down pours as this is how it rains in Namibia.
![Drikus](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4GWCx6P6tpXhISKLHvjg3U/dd5dff33c82f315951da0bf6c4d2828a/image.png)

A national time trial and road champion, competing in the Common Wealth Games in both road events and triathlon shows he’s competed at a high level. At 1.88m tall and 80kg, his good Namibian genes should see him more on the rugby field than the cycling track. Coming from Swakopmond in Namibia gave him a chance encounter with triathlon at a young age, he moved onto cycling, his prefered discipline. He only recently came to gravel racing, which he confesses he loves.
[Drikus' Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/djcoetzee101/)

[Munga Race video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIPFjeIhbB0)

# Marin de Saint-Exupéry

Marin’s dot is stopped just outside of Marrakesh. He’s taken ill with food poisoning, returning to Marrakesh where he’ll try to recover before restarting his race. A target to complete all of Nelson's races this year means he'd like to get to the finishers party at Atlas before making his way over to the Hellenic Mountain Race by bike too. Get well [Marin](https://www.instagram.com/marinstex/).
![Marin](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/lYSlmUI9QNYEHxEVVdinD/84f9500cc8af721848d47ad328713f7b/image.png)

# #Dotreporter

Your dotreporter for this race is Peta McSharry. New reports will be dropped into my [Instagram Stories](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) when the are published.


Not in the true sense of the word, but more in line with a decades old expat running club. If you’ve not lived in an expat community, the concept of Hash House Harriers will be alien to you. A way to keep running social and to ensure the field arrives back to the club house together for beers, the course setter devises a cunning route to penalise the faster runners allowing the slower ones to keep pace and not end up with warm beers at the finish.

A route is set and then false paths are added along the way. At junctions with set markings, runners face a few paths they can follow, not knowing which is the correct one. This means the fastest runners are out to scout the route and find the deadends before running back. When a runner finds the next road markings for the the correct course a call of ‘On-On’ alerts everyone else to the correct path, keeping the field together. 

Without the means for race organiser Nelson to re-scout the route and see where landslides or washed away roads may require deviations, could we be looking a Hash Race where the leaders are turning back due impassible roads allowing those behind to catch up?

# Who’s been missed

On the women’s side, __Marion Dziwnik__ is another to keep an eye on. She took 2nd women in the 2023 Trans Balkan Race and 4th in the pairs for the 2018 Transcontinental Race.

__Jana Mascha Lu Wahlig__ took to The Goats race in 2023, with an 8th place overall, she’s flown under the radar completely.

# Joining the fun bus

Whilst already on the fun bus, __Mel Webb__ got a double nomination to join. This gives her full access to the open-top upper-deck where a large supply of tajine and a comfortable bivvy awaits her arrival. 

Joining the bus is __Thomas Boudry__ and from some of his [Insta](https://www.instagram.com/totosupertramp/) posts you can see how he got the nomination. 

Nominations are coming in hot and fast, if your rider isn’t on the bus yet, the conductor is issuing tickets as fast as possible.

# News from the tandem
A call in from __Shona__ confirmed the long drag up the diverted Col de Tizi, this was one of the three diversions in place due to safety concerns from the police for the existing route. Facing winds in excess of 50kph, the tandem was blown into the side of the mountain. The extra weight on a tandem lets them fair far better in the winds, especially cross winds. This left some solo riders struggling up the climb and taking caution down too. 

Check point 1 was heaving, people sleeping everywhere and hot tajines being served even at 6:30am when __Shona and Rich__ arrived. They’ve pressed on, passing through some of the smaller villages where resupply is non-existent. 

# Upfront
Riding in 4th and 5th places on the GC, __Elijus Civilis__ and __Jost Joller__ are less familiar to regular dotwatchers. The Swiss athlete, J__ost Joller__, comes from a cross country skiing, running and triathlon background and can be seen taking part in Swiss-kit. It’s no surprise we see him upfront in the early parts of the race. __Elijus Civilis__ from Lithuania - hopefully he is sporting his full pink and purple kit for this race - he comes from a road racing background, but appears to cover all types of racing on a bike: track, cyclocross, mountain biking and gravel - with the likes of the Migration Gravel Race, Race Around Rwanda and Tarka 360 as some of his off road rides last year.

__Justinas Leveika__, __Drikus Coetzee__, __Mattia de Marchi__ are holding the top three positions currently, while __Ulrich Barthlomoes__ is in 6th place. Around 20km back Rafael Wyss is a notch ahead of __Josh Ibbett__ who is clustered with a group of 4 or 5 riders. 

__Cynthia Carson__ and __Nathalie Baillon__ are neck and neck, they’re holding off __Molly Weaver__ with a buffer of 17km.__ Jana Mascha__, H__annah Larbalestier__ and __Hannah Simon__ trail the leading trio with around 20-30km off the leading pair.

In the pairs - the sad news that __Steven Le Hyaric__ scratched, due to some on going fatigue not letting up for the race. He’s left __Adrien Liechti__ to continue alone and the dotwatchers without some great video updates from Frenchmen’s handlebars.

__Federico Damiani and Manuel Truccolo__ are leading the pairs with a 40km gap to the next pair of __Dawid Stolc and Aleksander Pachulski__.

# #Dotreporter

Your dotreporter for this race is Peta McSharry. New reports will be dropped into my [Instagram Stories](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) when the are published.


# The race is underway
Without the consent of the police for the race to continue, the decision to race was left to the riders. A unanimous agreement to start the race saw riders heading out of Marrakesh on Saturday evening, following a diversion to take them over the main road towards Check Point 1.  This left the tracking page in disarray as it attempts to catch up with the changes to the plan. You may find the stats out for the race and dots jumping forward at random intervals. 

# Pairs
The strong riders in the this years pairs category could see a top 10, if not top 5 finish for one of these pairs.

__Adrien Liechti and Steven Le Hyaric__
Pairing up for the first time, __Adrien__ and __Steven__ are well matched. Holding a similar pace over any gradient and equally matched at travelling all over the world for very long distances  in all conditions, this pair will work like a well oiled machine. The small fly in the ointment is a pre-existing commitment for Steven who needs to catch his flight. The race delay of 24 hours means Steven’s tight schedule may see him cutting his race short, leaving Adrien on a limb. Or will this see them forgoing some sleep to get to the finish line?

__Angus Young and Megan Casebow__
A string of firsts and the holder of the record for the length of Europe off-road, __Angus__ is no stranger to the dotwatching community. What is new is his diversion away from solo racing to compete at this year’s race with partner Megan Casebow. There is little information on __Megan__, but ailing from a triathlon she’ll be no stranger to hard training and digging in deep when needed. The pair toured the Atlas Mountains late last year, so will be familiar with how they ride together over this terrain. 

![Angus and Megan](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4ArTEcFuX65xUMdSuVnMZ/ffcfe7ae9f1ca875eca427bb94ed6aeb/image.png)

__Federico Damiani and Manuel Truccolo__
__Federico__ won the pairs category in the inaugural Atlas Mountain race with partner __Andrea Galanti__. He’s also completed the Silk Road Mountain Race and Badlands in a pair.  __Manuel__ took  a solo win in the 2021 Bohemian Border Bash Race and a pairs win in the 2022 Basajaun. However, it will be the first time these riders are paired together. There previous experience and wins will show them as a strong pairing to contest the win. 

# Tandem category
Returning on a tandem are __Rich__ and __Shona__. The initial plan was to ride single speeds in the pairs category, but an injury to Shona meant she wasn't able to lift the bike alone, so out came the tandem. Will minimal duties at the back of the bike, Shona is hoping to provide some race updates for us to post. 
![tandem AMR](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4Kyw8dghq8AUi8nJEy0ONx/bffb371572916b5c0dd5a01e87e417d6/image.png)

# In the fun bus
While the front runners keep us hitting the refresh button, it’s those in the fun bus who give us the real bang for our buck. The bus conductor will be gifting tickets for your nominations, send us your pick to gift a rider a free ticket to the fun bus.

[Sophie Jail](https://www.instagram.com/potter.sophie/) (aka Potter)
[Bagoly Leventy](https://www.instagram.com/bagolylevi/)
[Mel Webb](https://www.instagram.com/melwwebb/)
[Adam Palin](https://www.instagram.com/adampalin/)
[Stephane Ouaja](https://www.instagram.com/kiwistephane/)
[Shona and Rich](https://www.instagram.com/keep_pedalling/) - the tandem riders

# #Dotreporter

Your dotreporter for this race is Peta McSharry. New reports will be dropped into my [Instagram Stories](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) when the are published.


Peta McSharry

Tracking and commentary for the 2024 Atlas Mountain Race (AMR), a gravel and off-road bikepacking race across the Moroccan Atlas.

Atlas Mountain Race Tracking 2024

For the fourth edition of the race, riders will tackle plenty of climbing through the Anti-Atlas and High Atlas before dropping down to the wild Atlantic coast.

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Atlas Mountain Race 2024

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