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Paris-Brest-Paris 2019
Paris, France
The four-yearly 1200km randonnée is back for its 19th edition. Originally a race, this brevet is a prestigious event steeped in the history of long-distance cycling.
03:00, 18 August, 2019
Total Racers
6000
Distance — Elevation
1200km —
Terrain
Road
Website
Key Events
Randonnée Wrap Up
The final straight
Highlights from the road
Darren Franks c’est fini
Cut-off conundrum
Long-distance dilemmas
Paris bound
17 hours in
And they’re off
Preparation is underway
Leaderboard
Once riders are on the ground we'll be able to provide a live leaderboard here.
Events Feed
Randonnée Wrap Up
Now that the dust has settled on the 6000+ bikes that conquered the roads of northern France, it's time to reflect on the experience of the 19th Paris-Brest-Paris. Based on many eyewitness accounts, it was one of the most difficult editions of the brevet with many citing the brutal headwind on the first day and the relentless undulating nature of the course.
KEY STATS
6674 registered riders
6374 starters (4% no show)
1702 non-finishers/out of time (27% of starters DNF)
The attrition rate is the highest since 2007 when there were torrential rains and the organisers granted a 2H grace period on control times. This year, riders weren't so lucky and were still required to make their cut offs. This resulted in a large number of riders scratching early on realising their fate or continuing the course and finishing out of time.
FASTEST TIMES
The fastest completion time for PBP is 42H 26M and was set by ultra-endurance rider Björn Lenhard back in 2015. This year's fastest time was 43H 49M ridden by fellow German Hajo Eckstein who was on a velomobile, so while the headwind marred others' attempts of beating this time, Hajo was still 1.5hrs behind Björn's record that he set on a standard bicycle.
CLIMBING
There were rumours swirling around after the finish that this year's course was much harder than in previous years. A late change to the starting venue (St-Quentin-en-Yvelines to Rambouillet) meant the route had extra hills that were previously omitted. Based on a few riders' Strava activities from 2015, there was an extra 1000m of climbing in the 2019 PBP. It may not seem much over 1200km but each extra slope adds to the cumulation of fatigue.
EAST MEETS WEST
As the brevet unfolded, it was clear riders from Asian countries were experiencing a culture and climate shock. While the European and North American riders rode in shorts and short-sleeved jerseys, their Eastern counterparts donned every thermal piece of clothing they owned often sporting buffs in the heat of the day. Come night time, the temperature dropped sharply and riders draped themselves in emergency blankets and sought shelter against the warm bricks of homes on the roadside.
Divya Tate, the Indian representative to Audax Clup Parisien (organisers of PBP), explained why her compatriots found the route so difficult.
"Our numbers were worse than in 2015 despite having a much larger group. Our Indian brevets can't replicate the navigation and elevation of European events," remarking that longer brevets are often out-and-back routes sometimes along a highway due to lack of infrastructure.
While there were many heroic efforts from the Indian riders both at the pointy end and towards the lanterne rouge, Divya confirms that it was particularly challenging for a whole host of reasons. "Of the 300+ people from India, most have only been cycling for a couple of years, most have never travelled outside of India, the food is alien (compare it to if European riders were to eat only spicy food on a 1200km brevet!) and the climate has never been experienced by most."
She continues, "cycling as an activity in India is just coming out of naissance. In 2011, when we first participated, most of us had just graduated from mountain bikes and clunkers to road bikes, but we knew nothing. There were no spare parts available in India and no mechanical skills. Things are better now but the cycling ecosystem can only be described as infantile in comparison to 'first world'!"
At the heart of Indian cycling is the changing culture which is why the number of riders has jumped so rapidly over the years of PBP. "Sports in general, and particularly for leisure have not been a part of our culture - it is a luxury for people with spare time and money. India does not perform at ANY international sports except cricket! But there is a huge social transformation underway and this is ground work for the next generation."
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1qYeHmH2hy/
ROADSIDE HOSPITALITY
It wasn't all headwinds, cold nights and suffering though. The general mood around every control and among riders on the road was jubilation. Smiles for miles, chatter among new friends and roadside admiration for those toughing it out on their bikes. Locals lined the streets to clap the riders through their villages, some provided free water, coffee and cake to anybody stopping by while others enterprised with a marquee full of all the delicacies one can expect while travelling through France.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1b2EkWo7j7/
If you have a spare 40 minutes, it's worth watching Adam Watkins' vlog of his PBP. He rode the event fixed in the 90H wave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wfdQtmZsqQ
HONOURABLE ACHIEVEMENTS
In among the finishers were some really quite outstanding achievements. A 1200km bike ride is no easy feat no matter which way you look at it. We already doffed our caps to Hejo's fastest time earlier on but what were the other stand-out rides?
Fastest woman: Ana Orenz (TransPyrenees winner) in 51H 02M
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1o3TUuhRG7/
Most completed PBPs: Alain Collongues (FR) - 12 finishes Fastest time on a fixie: Ian Hands in 56H 07M
But unlike races, PBP does not acknowledge fastest times and for good reason. This event is about a journey across north western France and the four-yearly repetition of this historic event ensures the stories continue. It's not as easy as deciding that you'll ride the event six months from the start, instead a rider must dedicate the 18 months prior to succeeding in this event by means of a pre-qualifying ride and a subsequent Super Randonneur series beforehand. Therein lie more stories.
It is one of the few events to permit special bikes and with that comes a variety of riders all with their own unique tales to tell. Age is also no barrier - there was at least one 80-year-old person to roll out of Rambouillet this year. More women than ever before entered this year's PBP and it was noticeable.
Paris-Brest-Paris is a special event deeply respected by the randonneuring world. In the words of Mike Hall, "nothing worth doing is ever easy" and Paris-Brest-Paris fits that slogan perfectly.
The final straight
Finishers are arriving thick and fast at Rambouillet, and our list of successful sub-90-hour randonneurs now includes Fiona Kolbinger (75 hours 59 minutes) and Björn Lenhard (72 hours 54 minutes).
Graham Fereday crossed the line late last night in just under 74 hours, and had this to say of his experience:
“I was struggling with a sore Achilles on the stretch from Villaines to Mortagne (although I did end up riding part of that with, and chatting to, Fiona Kolbinger and Bjorn Leonard, which was awesome!). Got some pain killers, started feeling better again, and thought at that stage I might be on for sub 75 so upped the pace a bit.
“The support along the road from locals was amazing and really humbling. Seeing people outside their houses in the early hours of the morning giving out supplies to passing cyclists is not something I was expecting. Congratulations to all the finishers, and commiserations to everyone who's had to pull out. It's such a tough event and it doesn't take much to go wrong for it to all be over.”
For Irish rider Helen Kerrane, that’s exactly what happened yesterday. After succumbing to painful mouth ulcers (a common issue from sugary ride food) and dangerous tiredness, she was forced to scratch, reporting last night:
“I’m abandoning in Villanes. I can't eat because of mouth ulcers and I can't stay awake safely to get back. This is my first abandon, so I might as well do it in style – I’m hitching a lift back to Rambouillet with an American and a Canadian who I met in a restaurant a few days ago. #LuckoftheIrish 🍀”
Back in Blévy, British rider Grace Lambert-Smith is roughly 100km from finishing, and should comfortably make Rambouillet in under 90 hours. She’s even found an ingenious use for her bike luggage straps to keep her fuelled over the final century:
Highlights from the road
A large number of our tracked riders are now into the final stretch of their PBP experience. As they near the end of their journey, it’s only right that they start to reflect on the achievement of completing such a prestigious and challenging event.
Helen Kerrane’s highlights include high-fives from ‘grubby handed kids’, and the stretch of riding between Loudeac and Brest, as it reminded her of home roads. She has just left Loudeac checkpoint, and witnessed first-hand how hastily the control points shut down:
For Peta McSharry, her fondest memory came around the first checkpoint:
"I was absolutely frozen solid with a dude sat on my wheel, making me do all the work. Came into a little town where up ahead there was a very jolly group of supporters. The edge of my light caught a murky glass held out in the road. As I neared them I heard someone yell “PERNOT”. I slammed on the anchors and the poor chap behind almost rear-ended me. I took the glass and slugged the whole thing down to a cheers from the Gods of Pernot. Instant warmth tricked down to my toes. I rode on smiling until the Pernot wore off and I blasted past the rider who clung to my wheel like he was standing still.“
And Zoe Holliday’s most memorable moment paints a perfect picture of the eccentric nature of audax riding:
“Last night in Carhaix-Plouguer I was filling my bottles in the toilet and a girl was throwing her guts up. She came out, smiled like nothing had happened, zipped up her jersey and left, presumably to continue her ride. Meanwhile the girl next to me at the sink took a massive handful of chammy cream, stuck it down her shorts and said ‘ahhhhhh.’”
Darren Franks c’est fini
In a time of 53 hours and 43 minutes, our first tracked rider has crossed the line. Darren said of his ride:
“The course is beautiful but I hugely underestimated it. 48 hours is do-able but I need to lose those silly mistakes.
“I caught up with Rory McCarron in Villaines-la-Juhel and we absolutely destroyed the final 120km. Full gas the whole way – proper flow state. One of the most enjoyable rides I’ve ever done.”
Congratulations Darren. Enjoy a well-deserved bier!
Cut-off conundrum
Many riders will now be feeling the effects of what for some is approaching two full days on the road. As if fuelling yourself and continuing riding wasn’t enough of a challenge, there’s also the checkpoint cut-offs to consider.
This year’s ride has a maximum total time of 90 hours, so each checkpoint serves as an intermediary gauge on how close (or far off) you are to your time. These times are starting to play on the minds of riders on our tracker – including Natasha Bysterfeld who missed her Brest cut-off by just 16 minutes.
British rider Graham Fereday felt the pain of many riders:
“I saw a lot of people riding up the hill from Carhaix-Plouguer towards Brest who haven’t got a hope of making their cut-off, if my maths is right (which it admittedly might not be after two days of PBP.”
Back in Tinteniac, Ian McBride has had what you might call a gel-induced second wind:
“Okay all… at Tinteniac. What AMAZING food! I bar/gelled on the way out, but have eaten a real meal on the return at each control and so far this is my fav. Only 340km to go… I can do this it seems. Yesterday’s nightmare, today, is tomorrow’s dream.”
Meanwhile, a number of riders are crossing the line for the final time at Rambouillet – brevet cards completed. Chapeau!
Long-distance dilemmas
One of the main stumbling blocks faced by long-distance riders is pace. When to rest? When to push on? When to eat? For Darren Franks, working out how to avoid the wind and tough riding conditions resulted in complex scenario that may have cost him his attempt at record pace. Here’s his update from the early hours of this morning:
“Second bonk. Frittered away 90 minutes waiting for the group I’d been riding with at Tinteniac. Had to abandon them in the end as it didn’t look like they’d ever wake up from their ’15 minute’ nap. Died a thousand deaths between there and Fougeres, solo in bitter conditions. Now eating for two in the restaurant at the checkpoint. It’ll take a while to process that so I may also grab a 12 minute nap. The sun will be up when I wake up, but 48 hours is sadly now out of reach.”
Paris bound
Darren Franks has set a blistering pace (27.3kph), making it to Brest in under 24 hours. He’s now on the return leg to Paris.
Further back, Helen Kerrane has paused for a late lunch at Villaines-la-Juhel:
And four controls ahead of Helen, New Zealander Ian McBride is fighting the winds:
“I’ve arrived at Loudeac… the headwind has been strength sapping. Eating, then pushing on to the next control. Hopefully I can make Brest and sleep for a few hours.”
TCRNo7 winner Fiona Kolbinger is currently on the road after stamping in at the Loudeac checkpoint around an hour ago. She rode from Brest (the finish of this year's TCR) to the start-line of PBP, and joked that she was riding her own BBPBP (Burgas, Brest, Paris, Brest, Paris):
Stay strong out there, randonneurs!
17 hours in
Darren Franks and the riders of the first wave are now 17 hours in on their journey to Brest and back. Up front on our tracker map, Darren is roughly 70km from Brest, where he’ll have his brevet card stamped before turning back towards Paris for the return leg. Here’s some atmospheric images from the road, captured earlier this morning:
Behind Darren is Will Armitage, who found himself riding solo into a headwind as he made his way towards Loudéac. “Wheels came off about 20km ago plugging solo into a headwind. It was a struggle going more than 20kph having been averaging 30kph so far.”
Further down the course in a later wave, Jenny Dennyson has made it to checkpoint 1, and is refuelling ahead of her next leg. A quick nap in the early hours rejuvenated her strength, and now she’s back on the bike:
And they’re off
The first wave of riders in the 2019 PBP has departed Rambouillet. TCR veteran Darren Franks is among them, in a group aiming for the fastest finishing times (the record is 42 hours 26 minutes). This wave hopes to set a blistering pace of 28kph average over the course.
Currently Darren and fellow British rider Will Armitage are approaching the 40km mark, with around 80km to go before their first checkpoint at Mortagne-au-Perche, kilometre 118. Once here, their timing chips will be scanned with times published by PBP, and we’ll be able to gather an impression of their overall position on the road.
Preparation is underway
Riders in the 2019 PBP are now arriving in their thousands at the departure town of Rambouillet. Ahead of the staggered departures tomorrow and Monday, every participant must attend a mandatory bike check before they’re supplied with their brevet card and frame badges – no mean feat when there’s more than 6,000 bikes to assess.
Helen Kerrane captured these images of the field queuing for their checks, resplendent in their wet weather gear:
This year’s field is packed with ultra-racing royalty. To name just a few, both Björn Lenhard and Fiona Kolbinger’s names are on the start sheet, alongside long-time TCR veteran Mikko Mäkipää, prolific distance racer Mike Sheldrake, and many more. We’ll be keeping an eye on their progress throughout the event, providing updates as they make their way to Brest and back over the next few days.
Until then, do your best to stay dry and enjoy some chocolat chaud and a croissant or two. Bonne chance, randonneurs!
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