Jack Childerstone

Joseph Thomas

Alasdair Hitchen

Anthony Funnell

Ashley Scott

Jack Nixey

Elias Lambrix

Jakob Poffley

Ross Thomas

Steven Moatt

Hatty Doherty

Bob Ghandour

Steve Lewis

Peter Belcher

Nat Haden

Jon Regler

Jules Stallaerts

Vlad Bodgan

Aldo Lambire

William Stewart

Megan Barclay

Alasdair Mcleish

Perry Taylor

Ben Hinsby

Penny Wilkin

Tom Guppy

Alex Mabey

Nicholas Buffery

Daniel Ede

Cole Sale

Ward Van Hooreweghe

Peter Rose

Sam Watson

Dylan Hubble 

George Sales

Liam Fleming Nicol

Annie Dixey

Jon Pring

Paul Rendle

Adam Gorman

Oliver Herdsman

Chris Brettell

Matt Gowar 

Adam Lennon

Harry Fisher

Sam Winter

Warren Ginder

Jeffery Koekens

Lydia Godfrey

Natalie Creswick

Mathew Vann

Benjamin Powell

Dave Mustoe

Nicholas Carroll

Cara Dixon

Peter Cashman

Chris Hawkins

Mathew Vermont

Travis Bramley

Courtney Currier

Michelle Lindley

Ashley Johnson

Chris Andrews

Joe Fox

CC 1

Ben Thomas & Metheven Bond

Bryn Dukes & Ryan Scott

Christopher Puddifoot & Duncan Mellish

Rowan Hedgecock & Filip Bastien

Colin Harris & Jake Stow

Alun Lewis & Chris Purt

Mike Davis & Oscar Davis

Mark Turner & Oliver Burke

Costanza Del Gobbo & Marco Basso Bondi

Megan Young & Nada Oran

At just after 10:30am yesterday morning, Sam Watson rolled into the finish line as the Lanterne Rouge and so brought this years edition of the Dorset Divide to a close.

Some great rides out there but what really stood out from observing it all was how much fun people had and how much they enjoyed the camaraderie and atmosphere of the event. The chat on the rider WhatsApp has been full of joy and enthusiasm and of a shared adventure. 

And for many, the highlight of the weekend might just be the barbeque Harry put on for the riders on Saturday night.

A cracking weekend and congratulations to the riders, to Harry, to the photographers and all the supporters and volunteers. 

![Finishing](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/yKOQlKUfIUJP1qwX0iajO/102ee971b47b8e2596551da7b384d0d2/WhatsApp_Image_2025-08-04_at_08.33.35.jpeg)

![Barbecue 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/552ene2TRMZwtdYXxPfP3j/5897e064786d7171f51d1946dbcb81c6/WhatsApp_Image_2025-08-04_at_08.33.34.jpeg)

That's a wrap!

Ben Thomas and Metheven Bond came home yesterday in a time of 37h 13m. A cracking ride from the pair. Their Instagram updates showed they were having a great time and prioritised a bit of sleep to enable them to ride faster and no doubt enjoy it more.

Great ride guys

We have our first pairs home

As Day 3 commences we have 11 solo riders and 5 pairs out on route. The story from the trail is one of extreme undergrowth in the second half of the race. Penny reports needing a machete to get through some of it. But, battered and cut, she pushes on and has just 40km to go. She’s ridden non stop since the start with no sleep. Some effort. 

The trail has taken its victims, Dylan Hubble falling agonisingly short with a cut sidewall with 58km to go. Ultra racing can be a cruel sport.

Food choices are often limited to what riders can find at petrol stations on races like this, but Liam Nicol found a Kebab Van in Milborne Port. Well it would be rude not to. 

The remaining riders should have great conditions for riding today. Sunshine but not too hot. A great day to be out riding your bike. 

Battling the undergrowth

Hatty Doherty is the first woman home in a time of 38h 48m and 11th overall. What a ride. A battle through the night became easier when Annie pulled out this morning leaving Hatty with a clear run home. Great ride Hatty!

We have our first woman rider home

Congratulations to Jack Childerstone who is our first rider home. A stunning rider to finish in 27h  42m, nearly half an hour faster than the first rider last year. Harry was there to meet him at the finish line and said he looked like he'd been out for a 20km spin!

Chapeau Jack

We have our first rider home

What a night. The excitement was in the women's race. Last nights leading trio became a pair as Megan decided to get some sleep. That could pay off later today though.

Hatty and Annie rode through the night never separated by more than a handful of km. A missed turn from Hatty allowed Annie to catch up but in Annie's words Hatty was riding much faster. As they came into the morning Annie declared she had never been so happy to see a Greggs as she was very hungry!

Both of them are closing in on CP2 where I'm pretty sure they will not be drinking beer. Although if some of the photos from this years TCR are anything to go by, a non-alcoholic beer might make for a very refreshing option. Nat Haden has overtaken Megan for third and Penny rode through the night and is in 5th hot on Megan's heals. 

At the front, Jack continues to set some ferocious pace. At this rate he'll be home in time for a late breakfast. He's got just 37km to go and this last section, other than the push up to the finish line, is relatively straight forwards. An astonishing ride.

George was seen stumbling into CP2 in the small hours of the morning desperately in need of food and water, talking of badgers eating frogs. Sadly it looks like his race might be run as he's now heading back towards CP2. Maybe he wanted that beer after all.

Whilst Joseph has given up 2nd place to Alasdair he did get some sleep in an actual bed so with a 14km deficit and 100km to go the game is on!

The photographers, Eddy and Paisley, have been out on course capturing some amazing images. Do check out the @dorset_divide instagram account for a full view but here's a selection of them. 

![Through the woods](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/64QeHjaE5ohZMqrNGmKYd/19069f7aee7d76c234fdd5bbd6b111c2/WhatsApp_Image_2025-07-31_at_23.42.46.jpeg)

![Riding off Portland Bill](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4M0OEyfdjl5aGlCI7I0EVG/4697e7f3ae66207651901c52b6f58776/WhatsApp_Image_2025-07-31_at_21.33.23__1_.jpeg)

![Heather](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6eSOsVgZLeCi0Wfmwkh0vy/b061373dd7c08b5e16652d2ddd46314e/WhatsApp_Image_2025-07-31_at_21.33.23.jpeg)

![Hills](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1f27y72vlzYgwv3jDp0I9B/e42fbb24c9ab1929a948234b3086a955/WhatsApp_Image_2025-07-31_at_21.33.22.jpeg)

The race hots up overnight

What a first day of riding. The pace out there is incredible. As we head into the first night we have a clear leader out front in Jack. He is over half way through and the sun has barely set on day one. We could be seeing a record time for the race here. 

Joseph and George are pushing on and still have good lead over the fourth place rider, Alasdair Hitchin but they are both struggling to hold the pace of Jack. 

Ben and Methevan have continued to entertain with their video updates throughout the day and are somewhere between George and Alasdair. I expect all of these riders to push through the night.

The womens race is hotting up with Hatty, Annie and Megan separated by just 6km. Annie has been seen on instagram saying she is actually enjoying herself on her mountain bike (a rare occurrence 🤣). Hatty has also been smiling all day and is excited to push on through the night, as I'm sure the other two will.

Looking through the images coming through most riders seem to have dodged the rain today but not all. Annie shared video earlier of her hiding under trees as in her words 'the heaviest rain I've seen' came lashing down. The rain has cleared away now and the sunset should have been amazing for all. Tomorrow will dry up and the course could be really fast in the second half.

Tonight will be some good dotwatching as we look at who's sleeping in a ditch, who's gone for a nice hotel and who's pushing through the night.

I'll be back in the morning with an update


Into the first night

As always in a short event like this, the start has been fast and furious. The lead riders are already through CP1 and heading round to Poole.

At the front a lead trio of riders have established a lead; Jack Childerstone, George Sales and Joseph Thomas. They are closely followed by the pair of Ben Thomas and Metheven Bond. They've been sharing some chat as they ride so go check out the @dorset_divide instagram page for more!

The weather looks interesting today with some strong rain bands coming through at the moment. And it looks like riders arriving at CP1 are choosing to wait out the weather with a big group collecting there including Hatty Doherty and Cara Dixon with Annie Dixey not far behind.

Sadly a long line of riders look like they might be getting hit hard by the rain as they come along the exposed ridge of the Purbecks. Hopefully the wind isn't blowing them off the tops!

According to the rain radar this heavy band of rain should pass by around 1pm with the weather remaining damp through to the evening. After that it clears and tomorrow looks great! Hold on in there riders!

They are off!

With 63 riders on the start list (although there are always some who can't make the start, more on this later), it will be exciting to see the unknown names come through and have a strong performance. Who's taking part in their first ultra and is going to surprise us with a good ride?

But there are some strong experienced riders amongst that start list so here's a few I suggest keeping an eye on!

George Sales has been building his experience in some of the hardest races out there including strong performances in the Atlas Mountain Race and Hellenic Mountain Race. 

Cara Dixon will be looking to build on her win at the Great British Escapades and I expect her to go out strong from the start and have a solid plan.

Will Stewart took his first step into the world of ultra racing at the Alps Divide last year, definitely a baptism of fire but he's fast and I can't wait to see what he's learned in the last year of racing.

Annie Dixey recently finished first women and third overall on the Transatlantic Way Sedanta route with an incredibly strong ride. This is her first offroad ultra though so expect a steep learning curve.

Steve Moatt has taken part in every edition of the Dorset Divide and is a Portland Bill local so knows the course better than most. Last year he achieved his best result with 2nd place. Can he use that local knowledge to go one better. 

Sadly one Portland Bill resident who can't make it is 2024 British 24 hour time trial champion Michelle Lindley. A crash on her final training ride left a large gash in her knee which needed stitches. Such a shame as I think she would have done well.

Expect lots of animal photos from Penny Wilkin as she makes her way round. She's a tough competitor having ridden through the night to finish the Dales Divide in 3 days earlier this year but in her words, is here for the Wallabies. 

Riders to watch

The Dorset Divide is a 480km off-road ultra event with 8000m of climbing taking place within the county of Dorset in Southern England. It's been designed by race organiser Harry Whiles to take in everything that the county has to offer. It's one of a growing list of short, accessible events in the UK that provide a challenge to experienced riders and a great starting point for those new to the sport.

I rode the event in 2023 and so know what is awaiting the riders. Over the next 5 days I'll be bringing you all the latest as the race develops along side some insight into what they are going through. Hopefully I'll be able to share some stories and images from out on the race course.

In this update I'll give a quick overview of the course and expected conditions.

This year the course is running anti-clockwise, the same as last year. The race starts on Portland Bill by the lighthouse, an epic, windswept headland with sea all around. The ride off the Bill is quite cool with some stoney tracks through the cliffs followed by a terrifying straight descent down to sea level.

Riders will have a few hours to ease themselves in with a loop round Dorchester before heading down to Lulworth Cove and the Purbecks. This series of steep climbs and descents will test the riders, and if a storm is blowing as it did in '23 then this is very tough going. However the last hill is now avoided with the new check point at the Square and Compass pub. Time for a pint for those on party pace?

The race eases off for a while now as the course goes round Poole Harbour on flat cycle paths, eventually reaching Moors Valley Country Park. Here a great single track MTB trail awaits, finishing at the visitors centre and hot food.

Moors Valley marks the start of the long inland section with lots of bridleways, country lanes and a fair amount of vegetation to deal with. For those riders looking to do this in a single hit, the first part of this will be done through the night. Now resupply becomes a challenge, especially water. Riders will want to have marked the Dorset County Council water stations.

One advantage of doing the route this way round is that riders will get to descend Gold Hill. Gold Hill was made famous in the Hovis ad from 1973. The director of this ad was non other than Ridley Scott of Gladiator and Alien fame. It's a right nasty climb up that's for sure.

CP2 also involves beer being located at the Cerne Abbas Brewery. With a few campsites near by as well this could be a popular point for riders to get a last nights sleep before riding to the finish on a 3 day pace.

Riders rejoin the coast at Lyme Regis for a beautiful, rolling, course back towards Portland Bill. The reward for all the effort so far will be sweeping views across Chesil Beach with plenty of options to get ice cream. But be warned there is a sting in the tail. The terrifying descent off the Bill on day one now becomes a vicious walk up towards the finish line!

I'm sure we'll see a variety of bikes on this from very cut down gravel bikes to some full sus mountain bikes. I think comfort is king on this and would be taking my full sus, with XC tyres being faster than a lot of gravel tyres and some aerobars on then not much is given up on the road sections, and the comfort will help towards the end. 

An epic route and one that hopefully all the riders will enjoy. 


The Dorset Divide 2025 - Race Overview

Niel Copeland

Megan Casebow

Paddy Chapman

Dorset is the home of the Jurrasic coast. Well-known for its beautiful landscape and coast line this 320 mile route takes in its iconic places and best kept secrets! Although the landscape may be breathtaking so is the route.


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