Race Preview

36 hours in - it's heating up 🔥🔥

Day 3 - off the record and questionable heat coping strategies

Day 4 - Hello Mouse and a game of cat and mouse

Day 6 - Those still out there

Day 6 - The finishers so far

Day 9

At 6am on Saturday, June 19th, when the Swiss church bell rings, 87 riders will start the roll out from Romanshorn on the picturesque shores of lake Constance. Ready to tackle a 1000km route, these riders are aiming for only one thing: to be welcomed by Freddy Mercury, some days later, in Montreux.

In its 8th year, the annual HOPE 1000 is a race that traverses Switzerland from North-East to South-West, with a cumulative 30,000m positive altitude gain and on a set route of 1000km. An event originally designed by the organiser (Willi Felix), it will again take this year's fearless riders over spectacular Swiss passes such as Grosse Scheidegg, Kleine Scheidegg and along picture-perfect lakes like Walensee and Lake Thun.

__The Route - shark teeth and more__

As you would assume, a bike race in Switzerland is mainly spent going up or going down - and this event is no different. The first 160km lull the riders into a false sense of security and allow for a speedy start, with gentle rolling byways. The fun starts when they reach Chümibarren, which sits at 1,314m to give them a very gentle introduction as to what is to come. From here, things gradually get harder, with approximately 12,500m climbed in the first 500km. And like all great endurance tests, it keeps getting harder: the second half will require the riders to climb over 17,500m in addition to what they have already done, including climbing to passes over 1900m on five occasions. This is the challenge that awaits them if they want to reach the Freddie Mercury statue and a cold beer in Montreux.

<iframe src="https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=32962062&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%; height: 700px; border: none;" scrolling="no"></iframe>

The route is largely unchanged from last year with a handful of short diversions in towns and villages due to construction traffic, but nothing in comparison to some reroutes we see in other races such as the Tour Divide.

The weather is definitely making sure we are paying attention with orange warnings for extreme high temperatures, riders will find themselves tasked with some high demands for self-management when riding in these conditions.

__Who will be enjoying the music of cowbells along the route in 2022?__

2021 was the second year in a row the record was beaten, and the big question is will we see a third year of record breaking rides?

![YoanDercourt 01](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3zUHbMYlU2ibPFctDY8gAE/c2b9de24727666acdede122c902dfa76/YoanDercourt_01.JPG)

*Yoan Dercourt on last year's HOPE 1000*

__Yoan Dercourt__ is race favourite and came in second in 2021 to Marin de Saint-Exupery by a mere 22 minutes, in a time of 3D 17H 4M which also bettered Jochen Bohringer’s previous record. We suspect he’ll be back for unfinished business with eyes on both the top step and on Marin’s record of 3D 16H 42M.

__Lukas Franciszkiewicz__ is a name some will recognise from the Highland Trail 550 only a few weeks ago, even though he scratched on the second evening. It’s potentially too close to have rested fully but there’s every chance he’ll have hit the sweet spot of fatigue and fitness to come to the HOPE 1000 in perfect form.

Another veteran back for a vengeance is __Markus Hager__ who finished this race back in 2020 in third position but unfortunately scratched last year whilst leading the race due to knee problems. Something we hope not to see happen again for him to be allowed a clear run at the race.

![LisbethHofstetter 01](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5ckg0pPPK2MBeoC7mutxTS/193ba0a7b0c2b8b48d968fa01510a5f1/LisbethHofstetter_01.JPG)

*Lisbeth Hofstetter battling the heat early in the 2021 race*

In the women’s field, __Lisbeth Hofstetter__ is back having finished first woman in 2020 and second to Lael Wilcox last year. Lael also set the women’s record in 2020 in a time of 4D 10H 13M. A Swiss rider with three finishers for the HOPE 1000, Lisbeth has finished 32nd, 33rd and 34th overall which is a fine display of consistency!

The remaining three women are Tanja Baumann, Daniela Liechti and Anke Warlich, which are all names that are new to us. With little information about their bikepack racing backgrounds, we’re very much looking forward to seeing how they get on!

Bisbald / A bientot / A presto!

All photos Rue Kaladyte.

__The Weather__

It'd be wrong for a Brit to open the first update without mentioning the weather! The forecast heat for this year's HOPE 1000 has rolled in and riders are battling temperatures north of 38°C! The higher elevations will offer some respite from these temperatures but it's a little gift that rarely lasts long with an elevation profile that looks like the edge of a saw.

Hit the blue "Wind/Weather" flag button above the map to have a glimpse into quite how hot it is for the riders. Here's a screenshot taken at 13:00 in Switzerland today. For anyone who needed the conversion like I did: 100 degrees Fahrenheit is 37.8°C. Yikes!

![HOPE1000 Day 2 weather screenshot](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3mR1dPP2zRKZal8KlVrhu3/846378e28287dd311bb816a32070b476/dAY_2_sUNDAY_WETHE_SCREENSHOT.png)

__The Racers__

__Markus Hager__ is currently leading the race by 30 kilometres to __Yoan Dercourt__. Markus sits at the 495km mark and appears to be resupplying in Finsterwald, he's a little over 200km off the point at which he scratched last year and reaching Wilderswil tomorrow will likely be a large psychological boost to Markus. He's currently 2hrs up on his ride from last year and is 3H 45M up on Marin's record setting pace from last year which puts him in a great place to set another record, which would make it the third year in a row that the record has been broken. Exciting stuff!

Second place __Yoan Dercourt__ is currently an hour behind his pace from last year. Last year's race was a race of two halves in terms of the weather; the first half was akin to this year's conditions and racers faced the sweltering heat, while the second half was plagued with Alpine rain storms making conditions last year slow going. While there are no major storms forecast, but there could be a few thunderstorms, the weather isn't due to cool any time soon. Unpredictable mountain weather at its finest!

In third place, __Mike Benci__ is a relative unknown. All we've been able to find out about him is he's a South African runner who lives in Switzerland and has a background in Adventure Racing. This would certainly not be the first time adventure racers take easily to bikepacking races. Sally Ozanne and Alex Pilkington are excellent examples of experienced British adventure racers whose foray into bikepacking has proven seemingly seamless and successful. 

The front runners are around the halfway mark and they now head deeper into the Alps for some more elevation. The second half of the elevation chart makes the first half look like cute little baby shark teeth...

__Anke Warlich__ is currently leading the women's race with 25km to Lisbeth Hofstetter who appears to be riding at a similar pace but stopped earlier and longer last night. Both have good length rests in them which will hopefully make all the elevation and heat much more manageable.

![HOPE 1000 Marcin Faryna](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5cQwBi2DwNLMKQOR33Pise/cb8d0a3d689fe2e3d8fbb0c68537f395/HOPE_1000_Marcin_aryna.jpg)

*Here's Marcin Faryna making friends with some locals.*

Scratch report:

- The first scratch reported is Andrew Turner who cites stomach issues before the race which hindered his efforts on the trail. Rest up Andrew!
- TrackLeaders also have race organiser Willi Felix down as a scratch only 100km into the ride. We're unsure why he's out, but will keep our ears to the ground for a reason why.
- Another scratch is Stefan Roeoesli at the 240km mark.

In bad news, former record holder and two time winner, Jochen Böhringer has been involved in a crash at a bike park and suffered a spinal injury. He is currently in a hospital in Czech Republic awaiting transfer for Germany for further treatment. We wish him the speediest recovery! Go show him some love on [his IG](https://www.instagram.com/jochenboehringer/).

Keep following the [#hope1000](https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/hope1000/) on Instagram for some beautiful mountain scenery, without having to face the heat!

There are some riders who choose conventional ways to cool off during a hot day's riding in the mountains; making time for a swim in a lake, some indoor respite from the midday heat, and even getting into roadside water fountains. And then there are those who choose instead to focus on minimising the risk of cramping with their food choices. Here’s Lucas Franciszkiewicz’s submission of gherkins and stock cubes. With a high sodium content to combat cramps, he’s either a genius or has a stomach of steel.

![Hope 1000 cramping snack 2022](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/316zyTLVgz9KrtuQKetu2q/40a64a3c53fbabe21efa9086a0851e68/Hope_1000_cramping_snack_2022.jpg)

*We highly recommend readers do not try this at home! But if you do, let us know how you get on…

Regardless, he’s currently sitting in fourth position, so he must be doing something right! He also managed to pull a slight lead on Mike Benci who was in third position yesterday evening but slipped to sixth after stopping for 4.5 hours last night which makes it the lengthiest stop of all the riders in the top 10. It appears Lukas, Mike, Bernhard Hartenstein and Luca Bernasconi have all taken longer stops last night than the first night. These long overnight stops are perhaps an indicator that the heat has accelerated the perceived level of fatigue and riders are in need of more rest. However, those who continue to ride through the night will certainly be grateful for the lower temperatures.

At the front of the race, Markus Hager is at the 730km mark and is currently 30 minutes behind Marin De Saint Exupery’s record from 2021. At this time last night he was 3H 45M ahead of Marin’s time and it appears Markus has started to slow down. Second place Yoan Dercourt started the day 50km behind Markus but has closed that gap down to 15km. If he overtakes Markus then he’s shown exactly why prioritising sleep (even if only 90 minutes) can reap rewards for some riders later in the day. We suspect Yoan knows his sleep deprivation limits well by now and could be on track to take the win following an execution of a well calculated strategy. Or just pure luck!

We’re hearing reports that both the food and the views are remarkable. Hopefully this makes up for the heat.

British rider, Chris Brettell, posted this photo to his Instagram stories. We have all our fingers crossed this holds out and he has a safe ride to the finish.

![Chris Brettell seatpost crack](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5KCfgjlM6E9r9oiFOezX8t/9b5da72a62f66f25622e2bcb1c756ea6/Chris_Brettell_seatpost_crack.png)

Lisbeth Hofstetter and Anke Warlich are currently only 2 kilometres apart near the 460km mark. Both appear to have stopped early for the night after Anke passed Lisbeth 35 kilometres back but they're now neck and neck and it will be interesting to see if the competitive spirit kicks in between these two over the remaining 540km.

Speaking of finishes, some dotwatchers with a paint spray left a reminder to the riders of who they’ll be meeting at the finish at the 1,002km point.

![Hope 1000 Freddie is waiting 2022](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1vkq9ZGL0uV9zjwlVT4eKC/c1d898342f286ce2313cba576c6a6764/Hope_1000_Freddie_is_waiting_2022.jpg)

Organiser, Willi Felix has told us he scratched on the first day due to not having recovered from a stomach bug he picked up a week before the start of the race. Rest well, Willi!

The organiser’s wife shared these photos from a water station at the 98km mark. It seems a welcome respite for riders and many took the opportunity to refill bottles.

![BFEL04956](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/aCAQ1AcfSKCCckraKucPR/b9aca11935d747b577dc98bebbccd497/BFEL04956.JPG)

![BFEL04913](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4xyRkbYbecNNeEGJkWjdvR/940d060514cb1fe54c34611114ccd65e/BFEL04913.JPG)

![BFEL04949](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4CMjCBYf2NnSiEgdk4CkGT/b27b261f904f30f7b059508424bf1009/BFEL04949.JPG)

Earlier this morning, Yoan Dercourt overtook Markus Hager as Markus appeared to slow down significantly which allowed Yoan to take the lead. While Yoan treated himself to a 3H 30M rest during the night, Markus kept his rest brief at 1H 40M, but Yoan has reaped the benefits of his longer rest.

Yoan has all but won this year's HOPE 1000 and with one final pass to take on, the remaining 50km are mostly downhill which will be descents hard fought for. While the record has slipped away and beating his own time from last year will no longer be possible, Yoan should take great delight in finally stepping atop the top step of the metaphorical podium. In true ultraracing fashion, as he'll likely finish in the early hours of the morning, there will be no fanfare or banner. If he's lucky, just a handful of loved ones and a bed for the night. Failing that, he'll have the Freddie Mercury statue for company.

Yannick Rubuli's rest of 6 hours last night almost cost him his third place but just before he could be caught by Lukas Franciszkiewicz, he was up and riding again, ready to draw out his lead on Lukas from 11km to 29km. Another great example of a rider who's balanced rest with speed for optimal performance.

===

# Love you

A SPOT tracker can have a customised message that is sent to a designated number and Markus has been using his to send back his message to a loved one.

> Hallo Maus alles gut bei mir hab dich lieb

Which I'm told translates to "Hello mouse, all is good, love you". We can only assume mouse is a pet name for his loved one and that he didn't know this would be publicly broadcast on TrackLeaders. Cute! Süß!

===

South African, Mike Benci has slipped from third position to fifth due to his extended sleep on the first night. His dot is now neck and neck with Maxime Besacier's. So much so they could have passed some time riding together today as their race flows are very similar. A kilometre shared isn't quite a kilometre halved, but it certainly passes faster!

As we speak, Anke Warlich has caught Lisbeth Hofstetter who appears to have stopped for the night. Both have 6.5hours of sleep in them from last night and have been making the most of some good rest which should surely help as they approach the second half of the route which is much more taxing due to its steep gradients and higher elevations. Excellent dotwatching indeed!

Chris Brettell currently sits at the 591km mark after having had some work done to his frame. After he found a crack in the seatube/top tube yesterday, he searched to find somewhere that could offer a solution and was lucky enough to find somewhere that welds alloy.

![289582647 5185886738131145 8257821116660771233 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1AYJgM0igkAh20g8EBXj0m/6a4b8ffdc1bd9c2cbc19a815c2ca8293/289582647_5185886738131145_8257821116660771233_n.jpg)

![289350011 1248714222533722 7855784385569901954 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7rCzEiGMa7h1GNANMviJed/8429b5c2ca1f8de314c582eba23528fa/289350011_1248714222533722_7855784385569901954_n.jpg)

Elsewhere in the race, Michael Braun appears to have started on Sunday morning a full 24 hours after everyone else and has ticked off 640km in 2D 16H 43M which is a pace that would have put him in seventh position had he started with the others on Saturday morning. We imagine he'd thoroughly enjoyed working his way past many riders since Sunday morning.

Second time lucky for Yoan Dercourt who took the win at this year's HOPE 1000 in a time of 3D 20H 36M, three and a half hours longer than his second place finish last year!

Yoan rode the race with an excellent pacing strategy and was able to sleep well and conserve energy early in the race, his race was a great display of a rider who understood the route, the heat and his abilities and designed a strategy to optimise all of these.

Chapeau Yoan!


Yoan Dercourt wins HOPE 1000!

In the three days since we last updated, another 22 riders have finished bringing the total to 32 with 39 still out en route and 20 scratches.

In the women's race, we still have three of the riders still out there and one scratch. Lisbeth Hofstetter ended her race at the 550km mark in Shangnau, marking her first scratch of the four editions she's raced since 2019.

__Tanja Baumann__ text in yesterday with the following words and photos:

![Tanja Baumann](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2OII8OAJfDMMUMrSGovJs5/0a498183af26569054353568b71d2f19/Tanja_Baumann.jpg)

![Tanja Baumann pastry](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7aNt5wR12HY1AeuP52ThLV/bd7ff4078ce5a6f7fce3c0ede7b913fd/Tanja_Baumann_pastry.jpg)

*I rode from Flühli to Sörenberg today. The route was so beautiful I nearly forgot everything starts hurting. I am really glad I booked a hotel for tonight in advance. Wouldn't wanna be outside in this storm...*

Looks like she found the perfect pastry to sit out the storm with!

__Daniela Leichti__ is currently battling the effects early in the race and sent in this:

![Daniele Leichti](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5QoZNh6R24P8CDP15sBo6M/2511fcab6d7b89b4f2785811093f26c3/Daniele_Leichti.jpg)

*I cannot recover from the heatstroke the other day and have a tough day. Having lunch and a little nap at km 440?do my best to give a high five to Freddie in a few days :-)*

The same rainstorms that have plagued DEAD ENDS & cake 250km to the east of Montreux. In the same fashion as last year, the early kilometres were defined by the extreme heats and the later kilometres by the mountain storms, it's safe to say the HOPE 1000 is predictably unpredictable!

Here's Chris Brettell's video from yesterday with all the noise you'd expect from a mountain rainstorm!

![424625067D57164D9648E872EF2830AD video dashinit](//videos.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/25J1LKQhj2wIOvhMT5YSV/54a6276632ba9ee8c2d05eeb1671577a/424625067D57164D9648E872EF2830AD_video_dashinit.mp4)

# Scratches

The only scratch we've heard a reason for is Juan Angel Cardenas due to the sun burn from the sunshine earlier in the race. Any updates would be greatly appreciated! info@dotwatcher.cc

With a total of 32 finishers so far, there's plenty for them to celebrate: making it to meet the Freddie Mercury statue marking the end of the race in Montreux, avoid the worst of the storms the remaining riders are now battling through and finally a moment to cool off after some very hot days' riding.

A finish that's lost in the TrackLeaders' leaderboard is Michael Braun's; having started approx. 25 hours after the grand depart, Michael's provisional time is in fact 4D 12H 58M. Take a look at the Race Flow and you'll see his line move its way up through many of the other lines for him to come in 15th overall but his time would in fact place him 5th. A massive congratulations Michael!

![Michael Braun](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3zBwW2d6hfpqJEuGHjY7F0/e41a28c9691276909d1c06d56562f643/Michael_Braun.jpg)

One rider who's had their fair share of struggles is Pablo Wuensch Blanco who made it to Freddie after 5D 18H 41M. Below is his finisher's photo and his words from day 4.

![Pablo Wuensch Blanco](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1SezKSAhnIQWWSIqV7PERB/4a6b4e797e0bea807ac8b42bdcacf517/Pablo_Wuensch_Blanco.jpg)

*Tough day yesterday. Suffering with skin rash from the hike-a-bikes in scorching sun. slow progress Swim in Lake Thun last night. Stomach issues this morning. (Related ?) Doing better. But already 35 degrees!!!*


The first and only female finisher so far is __Anke Warlich__ who rode as a pair with her partner __Tobias Krumm__ and they both finished in 7D 12H 21M. Here’s a photo of them enjoying a short section of hike-a-bike en route, which wasn’t too challenging as they’re runners anyway, before they shared a kiss at the finish!

![Anke Warlich and TObias Krumm hab](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1ZO3TMTwx1ICpTH4Kwd3d/be37d45b2e57be546948eb4595c05dab/Anke_Warlich_and_TObias_Krumm_hab.jpg)

![Anke Tobias finish kiss](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2IYLXV8LE0gCV92uwYqxZg/3fbae6cc42501483b1084674a1775923/Anke_Tobias_finish_kiss.jpg)

__Marcin Faryna__ (pictured below) has declared his love for both riding his bike and Queen. Well, don’t we all?!

![Marcin Faryna queen fan](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4NP1KTPPit0osytsFcPj0a/963183f6fb48fcb6c4bcda24b34feb5f/Marcin_Faryna_queen_fan.jpg)

# Tour Divide, is that you?!

Reminiscent of the scenes on the other side of the Atlantic, riders are battling the ground effects of the hail and rain storms which has wet the surface of the ground, just enough for the dust to turn to mud and stick to the riders’ tyres and make a real mess! This peanut butter mud can be extremely frustrating and energy sapping for those who are so close to Freddie. Here’s __Lukas Müller__ and __Philipp Marty__’s submission for Muddiest Bike of the Year!

![Dirty bike](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6m6zjHNQwiMLsUqUPJKZBr/6313a20f06ece9a7d1964ce9a4956247/Dirty_bike.jpg)

And here they are again tapping into a restaurant’s water supply to keep the wheels turning. It was only a few days ago riders were soaking themselves in hose water to help cool down. Oh how the weather and conditions have changed!

![Bike cleaning](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/nf7M4LdZTv1ejtuu3nPst/ccb76c21ed8995ca1d971426d9f69cd1/Bike_cleaning.jpg)

Meanwhile, Christophe Aude spent a night in Interlaken (706km) and had his brakes looked at and fixed with his mind firmly on the remaining 300km and 20,000m of climbing including 6 significant mountain cols.

# LOST AND FOUND!

Adrian Guggisberg found this pair of sunglasses on the Brünig, likely from another rider. If these are yours, please make contact with Willi Felix or Adrian himself.

![Adrian found glasses](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5CAhzByABZqz8kGQlEoxKq/1fa72570fa2a737fc88ae6382420e104/Adrian_found_glasses.jpg)


The HOPE 1000 rolls out from the Swiss shores of Lake Constance to the finish at the Freddie Mercury statue in Montreux. A true mountain race that can challenge riders with heat and storms, all in one day.

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