Party day has arrived

Racing to the Finish

First finishers are in

Magnus Opus Mens Race - NEWS FLASH

Riding Fast (Tuesday Lunchtime update)

How different can 2 set ups be?

The UDS returns to the PCR

Sign On Day. Oh… and the Start of the PCR 2024

Craig makes it to Liverpool👏👏

All eyes on Craig Nilsson

Back to where it all started - Inverness!

It's party time tonight and data will have been scrutinised to align TT times and overall race times and we will hopefully see the overall winners announced.

The majority of riders look to be on track to make the party with the finish line open until 8am on 20th July.  The PanCeltic tradition is to cheer on every rider and it's not over until they are all home. It's been a great race, although tricky to follow from a Dotwatcher point of view due to multiple different routes and people swapping between routes, but it's been an epic adventure through multiple countries and the clan is strong.  What will come next?

#wewhotravelhavestoriestotell


A steady stream of riders are now heading into Inverness and the finish of this year's PCR.  Lots are still racing, with a few touring into the finish with Stu Blofeld heading up the Caledonian Canal on his Pan Canal Race.  A last minute picnic for some at Applecross - weather looks lovely.

Tamzin Dewar had to have an impromptu rest with 68km to go, but has made it to the end![Tamzin](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6RiYWvrBpUNvTSOKcKPLhS/05202b35639b90fd8f1002afc8d7cea6/IMG_8704.jpg)

Well done!

And some riders, worrying about a car heckle were delighted to find former PCR rider and all round cycling extrordanaire Jenny Graham leaning out the window to support them on their journey.
![Jenny G](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/LuFQGygdeQr2xl9pCMC0p/0d7dfac0c3617779d848e4c46a7995c8/IMG_8705.jpg)

The clan are massing at the Inverness finish line

We now have our first finishers across the line on the long route. 

David Scott was first across, followed by Chris McNaughton, George Morton and Trystan Sanders.  Rachel Nolan is on the run into Inverness and will be the first
long route female finisher.

There's a steady stream of riders now making their way up the west coast. Definitely mention of midges now - they can be a real pain! Lots of riders will be enjoying the short wait for ferries at Mull and Syke & will hopefully enjoy the breather to look around snd see the beautiful scenery.

Long route riders reach the finish

While the short route race is reaching its conclusion in Inverness, in the long route race there is plenty going on.
The ferries have certainly had their effect. Alex just made the last one onto Mull on Wednesday, but the effort to get it seems to have come at a cost since then as he has not progressed around Skye with the same speed as the others. He definitely created a seamless route through the ferry timetables, but this far into an ultra race often burning a match is balanced by a period of slower riding along the way. 
Chris missed the ferry onto Mull on Wednesday. Forced to rest, he saw an opportunity to race round Mull with recharged energy (and motivation?) the next day. To great effect he made the last ferry onto Skye last night and put himself back on an even keel with the three riders already on the island. They all had enough time to get around the route on Skye with time to rest and wait for the first ferry off this (Friday) morning. The three ahead retain the advantage of more rest. Significant? Definitely. But we are getting to the end of the race now and motivation & desire will play a part in defining what these riders can achieve.

This morning Dave, Josh and Craig were on the first ferry off Skye and ahead of them there is a 200 mile wheel to wheel battle to the end. Dave has had the most rest on Skye, Craig the least. Josh is reporting to be struggling with a sore knee. Alex looks to be on schedule for a mid afternoon ferry off Skye.

Stay tuned as Dave and Craig battle it out for the PCR long route win, what drama can unfold over the next 10 hours or so?

Back on Skye: Craig Nilsson was forced to wait for the ferry, the resulting rest has focused his mind on getting round the Skye route in a single day to keep himself in the Magnus Opus race with Alex ahead of him. Looking good at the moment, he has until about 7pm tonight to keep that race alive.

Sitting in 8th place Rachel Nolan has consistently been at the front edge of this race throughout. To the best of my knowledge no woman has finished the PCR in the top 10 overall. The next woman back is Kirsty Bramley with her husband (and her pairs partner) Dave, 115 miles away. After that Kelly-Anne Speight and 2022 womens Champ [Simone Eder](https://www.instagram.com/i_like_the_long_way?igsh=N3R6Ym5vb2o5Z3Yw) sit 160 miles behind Rachel. They are now in a race for 2nd solo Woman with Rachel so far ahead of them. The big question now is how motivated is Rachel and how many men can she beat to the line?

![simone eder insta pcr](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5LwAm3mRPhUGIAC9qukiuF/087d4bedd8ab4248c2a504ff6a40375b/Screenshot_20240712_124659_Instagram.jpg)


We have a few more shorter route riders across the line now - remember the final time will be taken on both time from Heysham to Inverness, but also the Isle of Man Time Trial.  Some riders are Magnum Opus completers and some are not, so we rely on the team at PanCeltic HQ to keep us right and they will announce winners in due course.

On the longer route, riders are closer than ever with the front 3 on Skye and several riders waiting in Mallaig for the first ferry of the day, which looks to be 0740. There were updates yesterday on drivers being less than courteous on Skye, so wishing everyone happy riding.


Friday morning

We have 2 riders across the line in Inverness!  Jonathan Gould and Tom Morgan crossed the line together, with data crunching and validation ongoing before any formal winners are announced. 

![Tom Morgan](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3NXtkGhHliMt36uRu37Glf/221c75acae5ba28f20d50b45ea680639/69a8c880-0e6f-41dc-a291-98f63ddf3807.JPG)

Josse and Loz are not far behind, guessing they'll push through to the finish tonight.

On the long route, David Scott is about 50 miles up the road currently.  There was an exciting development from Chris McNaughton, who, managing to get a last ferry to Skye finds himself a close third behind Josh Reid. Alex Boswell is just behind Chris on his Magnum Opus route and Rachel Nolan has moved into 7th overall currently in the long distance riders.

Lots of social media stories today of people losing things - inner tubes, jackets and bivvies to name a few. Look after your possessions peeps! And great to watch those at the back working hard.  We're rooting for you guys - keep going.

It will be an exciting few hours with Tom and Jonathan literally neck and neck on the shorter route less than 100mi to the finish.  Who will triumph? (And will Tom make the fabled wedding?) 

Josh and David are also neck and neck on the long route traversing the Ardnamurchan peninsula, which is a beautiful but barren part of the world as they head towards Mallaig and the next ferry.  Alex Boswell is not far behind, but has a ferry from Tobermory to navigate next.

Gaele Atkinson was the first woman to pass through CP2 with Kay Heenan also having passed through and is back on the mainland.  The long route shows Kate Brennan and Rachel Nolan have made it to Mull and are heading to CP2.

There's a big bunch of riders just arrive on Mull and another block waiting for the ferry from Oban, so it will be a busy day at CP2. The weather looks........sunny on Mull today, and even a little warm, so will hopefully provide some respite after the rain in Southern Scotland.


Race is on!

Three riders in the long race made the ferry from Oban to Mull today. Dave and Josh got the evening's penultimate ferry and are back racing. 
![dave and josh on ferry to mull](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/AiT9ZvLQIL4pTcBQfLyoa/98c1d1116d8d5096e9ed80a1a3e0b917/20240710_201451-COLLAGE.jpg)

The last ferry is about to leave Oban and Alex Boswell has made it to the port with minutes to spare. (I think he is happy with himself, I got this selfie just now)
![alex mull ferry](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/sb1R5NVcG6NpwTeOmaIfZ/7355bb62f21a873057eec499c2a946db/IMG-20240710-WA0007.jpg)

These 3 riders have separated themselves from the rest of the pack who will need to wait until about 0730hrs for the first morning ferry. 

The men's Magnus Opus race is now fully alive as Alex has created a significant gap from himself to Craig Nilsson who is currently 70 miles further back. He will need to get those miles covered and wait for the ferry, then get riding on Mull, before we can see exactly what the true gap between them is. It could be that the rest Craig gets waiting is well timed, Alex will probably need to spend some of the night resting too. Alex will enjoy having water between them and turn the screw to keep the pressure on Craig. (Craig had in the region of 20 hrs advantage over Alex in the MO race when they departed Haysham)


What's going on further back in the race?

There was some consternation earlier on due to a closed road just outside Stranraer, with Jonathan Stainsby getting a sound telling off from the workmen and several riders having to re-route round the diversion on the A77.

Seun Alba has been sharing his journey with type 1 diabetes on socials as he crests the Rest and be Thankful.

A scratch for Mike Kear who came off the bike just before Gretna on Monday and although he made it to Stranraer, decided to call it and head home.  Safe travels Mike!

Simon Wood reports feeling great after a long sleep at CP2 and his watch telling him he had 80% recovered - got to believe the watch?

Cat Dixon is making great progress just coming through Arrochar and heading towards the Rest and Be Thankful.  You may recognise Cat for her Tandem WoW adventures, currently holding the womens record for cycling round the world on a tandem and having recently completed Solstice Sprint on the tandem as a warm up.  Word on the street was that Welsh hills and tandems are not compatible and Dotwatcher is betting she's glad to be riding solo on this adventure.

And if Dotwatcher minds a little indulgence, John Casey, on his Magnum Opus ride, is currently riding directly past my parent's home in Johnstone! I hope they're giving him a wave.

Further back

The long route is now hotting up with the leaders on the Mull of Kintyre and Josh Reid and David Scott battling it out.  Alex Boswell is alongside them on his Magnum Opus. The women's race is also super exciting, with Rachel Nolan leading the pack, despite a dodgy sandwich giving her 24 hours of misery.

Tom and Jonathan on the shorter route look to be waiting for the same ferry from Mallaig taking them onto Skye first thing this morning.

Our Ultradistance scholarship riders all look to be having a great race.  Taylor Doyle, PCR veteran and UDS founder is riding strong.  Musa Akinosho is getting ready to start for the day after his first tubeless puncture in 8 years!Cai Wang is resting in Ayr and Fatima Ahmed is just noth of Carlisle, hopefully soon to be at CP1.  Previous UDS recruits and friends Usman Omar, Seun Alba and Tamzin Dewar are all doing great.


Day 5

Paul Wainwright

Jen Graystone

Pan Celtic Race 2024 Tracking + Commentary

Pan Celtic Race 2024 Tracking

The Pan Celtic Race's fifth and final year was always planned to be epic and titled the Magnum Opus. Riders will visit the Isle of Man for the first time and tackle the island's notorious time trial route. The traditional short and long routes accompany a mammoth free-route called the Magnum Opus, with options to travel through all five Celtic Nations to create a monumental last race. 

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