Once more with feeling.

Day 0 - Chaos Theory

Day 1 - A day and a half!

All change!

Day 2 - No rest for the wicked..

Day 3 - Scratch that...

Day 4 - Top ten reasons to keep pedalling

Day 5 - Beginning of the end

Day 6 - So near, yet so far.

Day 8 - The end


## Intro

After a mixed up couple of years a sense of normality returns to the Race Around The Netherlands. Back at it's usual May slot, and with no restrictions due to plague. 

## Part 1: Route updates

For a full description of the overall route, see the [Love letter to Dutch Cycling](https://www.dotwatcher.cc/race/race-around-the-netherlands-2020?post=6nPxjQGK6ii0XZlq2qbh3r#posts) I wrote for the 2020 edition of the race. There are two main changes relative to that version of the route. The first is that the route is wholey within the Netherlands. No crossing the border into Belgium, this means missing out on Baarle-Hertog/Baarle-Nassau border crossings. The second is that as the Sea Locks at Ijmuiden have been completed. This means that the route no longer takes the ferry at IJmuiden, instead crossing via the the lock. This lock is the largest sea lock in the world. It's been under construction for a number of years, which meant that the only way across for cyclists and pedestrians was via the ferry. With the lock nearing completion a competition was run to find a name. Whilst many looked at this and expected a Sluisje McSluisface, there was actually a strong support for naming the lock "Irma Sluis", after the sign language interpreter who came to fame providing sign language coverage for Prime Minister Rutte and Health Minister de Jonge's Corona Press conferences. Alas rules meant that the locks could not be named after someone who hadn't been dead for at least 10 years. As the wonderful Irma is very much still alive, it put her out of the running. And thus after much voting and deliberation they came up with the name "Zeesluis IJmuide" (Sea Lock IJmuiden). This delightful diversion into the Dutch sense of humour is a long way of saying that there's no ferry on this years route. The main impact his has is it means your commentator can't loiter at the ferry and use the 10 mins or so that riders are stationary to interview them. Sorry. 

Aside from a few minor tweaks elsewhere, the route remains the same. 

## Part 2: The riders

We have a full slate of riders entered this year including our highest number of women. Twelve in total (previous record was 11 in 2019 - 4 in pairs, 7 solo). Nine solo, one all woman pair, and a mixed pair. 

Of the solo women cap number 8 - Baptistine Smets is the only one to have riden RATN before. She started last year, and was the last rider to finish, but in 10d 13h 23m she was over the time limit.

Both Els de Clercq (cap 6) and Hilde Geens (catp 10) have completed the Transcontinental before (TCRNo7 and TCRNo4 respectively). This should stand them in good stead for RATN. Tho the shorter distance, and the lack of mountains makes for a very different race.

Of the other solo women riding - Delphine Morel de Westgaver (cap 2), Anouk Wolters (cap 4), Hanneke Brouwer (cap 9), Naomi Gilhhuis (cap 15), Géraldine Ventoruzzo (cap 42), Sherry Cardona (cap 43) - RATN2022 is their first ultra. The last of these, Sherry, could be a rider to watch. She did her [first Brevet](https://www.strava.com/activities/6849578502) (Audax) in March, during which she took the QOM for [one segment](https://www.strava.com/segments/30709701?filter=overall&gender=F) beating a time set by an [Annemiek van Vleuten](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annemiek_van_Vleuten) by 10 seconds. She's test riden the whole course, including a ride of the first ~480km of the course, [a ride](https://www.strava.com/activities/6999596942) in which she covered a total of 582km in just over 24 hours. Shelly is going to be one to watch on this race. 

In the pairs best friends Linda Kleeven (cap 13), and Michaela Stuart are riding together. This is their first Ultra. Michaela has been dotwatching for a number of years (good to see the Dotwatcher to ultraracer pipeline working :p) and was persuaded to enter RATN by a number of ultraracing friends. When asked about her goals for the race she said "My goal is to finish and enjoy the race to the fullest".

The final pair rider is Jori Klomp (cap 35), who is riding with Robert Haaijema (cap 36). 

Over in the Men, Bas Vlaskamp (cap 1) is back to see if he can do the back to back double. The rivalry between him and Daan Marsmans has captivated dotwatchers in previous years, alas Daan has been riding Desertus Bikus this year instead, so we won't be getting a repeat of their previous duels. It'll be interesting to see what Bas can do this year.

In all over 100 riders hope to line up on the start at Amerongen on Saturday, ranging from previous winners to first time ultraracers. Previous years have taught us that nothing is certain in this race. The wind, the sheep, and just bad luck can all have far reaching effects across the whole field. Riders have to remember, in order to finish First, first you have to finish.

Friday afternoon saw the traditional pre race registration, bike check, and pasta meal. This is the point where the organisers check that the bikes are all road worthy, make sure each rider has done all the proper paperwork, and issue their tracker. There is then a pasta meal for everyone to carb up before a good nights sleep. 

Nearly all ultraraces rely on volunteers assisting the organisers to be able to function. RATN is no different. Bike check and registration yesterday was aided by previous RATN Riders Jair Hoogland, Francien Peterse, and Eline van Straalen who all rode in 2020. As well as myself (2018 and 2019). Across the afternoon over 130 riders turned up to De Proloog for registration. Each rider's bike needed to be checked for handlebars/headset, wheels, brakes, reflective material, front lights, reare lights, hivis vest, reflective ankle straps, and reflective material on the helmet. The requirements for this are all outlined in the race manual, and the vast majority of riders have things all set. But there are always a minority who have forgotten something, or not put enough reflective tape in the right places, or don't know how to turn on their bike lights. Some have come straight from the ferry, or the airport. Others have just assembled the bike after it comes out of the car. The afternoon is one of trying to rend order from Chaos. Jair and I each checked approximately 70 bikes each. As this is a side that is not often mentioned in the race coverage I thought it might be interesting to mention a few hilights. 

Somehow I got both recumbent riders. The bike check form has a check box for reflective tape on the fork. A recumbent trike (Marian Bobko - Cap 41) does not have a fork. Took me a few seconds staring from form to bike and back again trying to work out that one. The two wheeled recumbent (Paul Moraal - 114) had a fork, but doesn't have seat stays, providing a mismatch with the check box on the form for seat stay reflective tape. 

But these are minor admin issues, and are easily resolved. What surprises tho are the number of riders who when asked for their helmet, or hivis vest, say "oh, that's in the car" or "It's back at my hotel". Each one has to be told to go get it so we can sign them off. 

In 2021 Bas rather memorably arrived and discovered he'd forgotten one of his wheels. In a lull between bike checks we had a bit of a bet going as to which bit of his bike he would forget this year. The answers appears to be his derailures - He's riding single speed again this year. 

Bas forgetting a wheel is one thing. One rider did turn up to the bike check without his bike. I'm not sure who was more confused by that one, me or him. He did eventually reappear with a bike and everything went smoothly. 

Something that's really interesting to watch are the pairs. Each pair is unique. One pair really stood out for how one of the riders was the epitomy of organisation, everything was ready, all things packed neatly. Their partner was the total opposite, and spent a few mins adding tape to their bike, arranging all their luggage, fishing for hivis items, locating lights, etc..., before being able to get their bike checked. It's going to be really interesting to see how they do on the road.

It's perhaps at this point worth talking about pairs. Most race coverage focuses on the solo riders (Sorry I'm guilty of that one too), there's more of them after all, and they are usually the first riders at the finish. Any ultrarace is hard. Just getting to the start line is an achievement. But doing so as a pair is doing the event on a higher difficulty level. As a solo rider you ride the speed you want, you sleep the hours you want, you eat when you want. But as a pair you have to coordinate, so you stop for meals or sleep at a time that's good for both of you. You have to go at the speed of the slowest rider. Pairs are allowed to draught each other, which in theory should give them a big advantage. A pair doing a two person pace line into a headwind should be faster than a solo rider. Yet we don't see the pairs toping the overall timing charts. The coordination of everything else just makes it all that much more difficult. The friendships that form most pairs (some are familial) are often pushed to the limit on an ultrarace. Be it from Tiredness, hunger, pain or discomfort.

With the 8am start, many riders choose to stay in a hostel near the race start, so they don't have too far to travel in the morning. The room with all the bikes in, resplendant in their reflective tape makes for an interesting sight. 

![Bikes of RATN2022 - Flash edition](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6EkU7d2L7Rn8K2sfLjp1ZE/0087342d40fd6991ce0e3e0a5e7ee2a9/IMG_20220429_212757.jpg)

I stayed at the hostel last night too so I would be at the start to get photos. I shared a dorm with four riders, and before we went to sleep I asked "Does anyone have any comments they would like to make for Dotwatcher the night before the race?" The answers I got were:

"Non"

"Nein"

"Nee"

"No"

Ultraracers can be so verbose... 

That brings us to the end of the day before. I'll give a full update on the first 24 hours once we've actually had all 24 of them, but suffice it to say, all riders who completed registration got away ok. The pace at the pointy end was impressive with over 80km covered in the first 2 and a half hours. As I write this at about midnight they've already covered 500km. Riders are now spread over several hundred kilometers of the route, with some bedding down for the night, and others pushing through. But I'll give you more info on that around lunchtime tomorrow. 

A brief check at the weather forecast shows incredibly light winds from the north, just 7kph. Such light winds on a RATN are practically unheard of, especially in daylight (Winds at night tend to be less than by day). Will be interesting to see the impact this has on the race.

![Wind forecast](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2mQyjakpvBUizlGzkhOFbG/3516365760dd447e49fa40ca2d83d40e/FRoA5U7XMAIFC3R)

### Corrections and updates.

In my race preview I missed one of the mixed pairs, Mirja Eisenblätter (cap 11) is riding with Frank Eisenblätter (cap 12). Naomi Gilhhuis (cap 15) was unfortunately a DNS. And for the astute that noticed that Bas Vlaskamp is not riding with cap 1. The box of caps arrived missing a cap with number 1 on it, so he got the lowest available number, which is 25.  


The first day of this year's RATN got off to a strong start. The riders heading up the Amerongse Berg, the small speed bump spreading the riders out nicely. The start of RATN is always a bit chaotic as everyone tries to get out the square in front of De proloog, navigating the crowd of onlookers who've gathered for the off, many of whom stand in front of the assembled riders to take photos, not quite realising that when the clock strikes 0800, over 130 riders are going charge towards them... Fortunately everyone got out the square just fine, made the 90 degree turn onto the road, and headed up the hill. Peace descended upon the square as those who had come to watch the start rapidly left.

At the pointy end a blistering pace has been set, in the first two and a half hours they covered 80km. Further back the pace was slightly more sedate. The day was relatively cool, with light winds, and cloud. Things seem to have been largely uneventful for most riders, tho Robert Glen (cap 123) reports to having been bullied by geese on his way along the edge of Flevoland. This is a common problem, there's a lot geese along this stretch of the route, many have goslings, and are most put upon by the hord of cyclists riding through their home. They hiss a lot (the geese, not the riders), but generally don't attack. 

Several riders reported some GPS issues, a number relating to their devices, but in some cases such as Hanneke Brouwer (cap 9), when she had split the route using Komoot, it had made some changes that she hadn't picked up on. This resulted in her having to go over the Posbank twice. Not an ideal situation, all in all this error cost her about 20km. 

As night began to fall riders started to bed down for the night. Anouk Wolters (cap 4), Mirja Eisenblätter (cap 11 in pair with cap 12), and pair Michaela Stuart & Linda Kleeven (cap 1314) all chose to stop for the night at Enschede (263km). This is a common day one target. Baptistine Smets (cap 8) stopped relatively early, both in terms of time (before 2000), and in terms of distance, choosing to sleep the night at Lichtenvoorde (208km). She looks to have got a good nights sleep and was on the road again before 0600. Els De Clerc (cap 6) took the unorthodox decision to stop just over the border in Germany at Zwillbrock. 

Of the women riding this year only Sherry Cardona (cap 43) rode through the night. She covered 520km in the first 24 hours, and has pushed through to the 780km mark in 36 hours to bed down at Rijs. That's an astounding effort. Will be interesting to see what she does next. 

Having slept on Saturday night, the others have been chasing down Sherry. Anouk Wolters (cap 4) just logged on strava that she has finished her day 2, reaching Groningen at the 540km mark. Baptistine Smets (cap 8) has stopped for the night at Boutrange (465km). The others are still moving. 

At the time of writing 36 hours of race time have elapsed. During which time Bas Vlaskamp (Cap 25) has managed to cover just over 50% of the 1957km route. His tracker updated at 19:58 at the 980km mark. From what we can tell. He's not slept yet. Hot on his tail Lennart Nap (cap 5) has been chasing him down, he was briefly in the lead, tho he posted on instagram that he stopped to pee, and lost two places that he has not been able to regain. He's currently about 40km behind Bas. Unlike Bas he has stopped. During the night it got so cold he couldn't feel his hands, so stopped for a 1 hour nap wrapped in a space blanket. The weather has been almost perfect. Relatively benign temperatures, incredibly light winds, and on Sunday afternoon the sun even came out. Winds this light are really unheard of for RATN. After the 600km headwind slog I had in 2019, I am feeling decidedly jealous. 

Current lantern Rouge is Bruno Queiros (cap 55), he looks to have stopped for the night at Coevorden (405km). Alas not everyone who started is still riding, a number of scratches have been reported. Jan-willem Bobbink (cap 82) managed a monster 658km effort, completing ~627km of the course before he turned south and scratched. Jan-Willem was due to ride in the first RATN in 2018, but had to DNS, let's hope he can come back in two years to have another go. So far a total of 5 riders have confirmed scratching. 

As the sunsets upon the course once more many riders are continuing to press on into the night. Monday looks to continue the good weather we've had so far tho wind may pick up a little bit with 10-15kph winds from the north west on the coasts. Those able to make it to Den Helder before Tuesday morning should have a nice tailwind to look forward to as they head down the west coast. 

Next update will be Monday evening.

At about 2337 this evening Lennart Nap (cap 5) overtook Bas Vlaskamp (cap 25), as Bas was sleeping in Den Helder. Bas stopped at approx 2250. Lennart has so far only had a single 1 hour nap. How long with Bas sleep for? Will Lennart need to sleep again? We'll soon find out. 


As the sun sets for the 3rd time on the riders of RATN it's time to look back at the last 24 hours and have a look at where the riders have got to. 

Sherry Cardona (cap 43) stopped for the first time at the end of Sunday, she had managed 780km without any sleep. By 0750 this morning she was up and on the road again. Alas the puncture pixies visited her somewhere in Flevoland in the early morning, but a brief stop in a bike shop saw her on moving again without much delay. By the time the sun went down she had reached the 1030km mark and looks to be settled in to ride through the night once more. It's hard to be sure what her strategy will be here, another 780km without sleep seems unlikely, but time will tell where she chooses to stop next. But what ever she chooses this has been an awesome effort. 

Further back Hilde Geens (cap 10) has been chasing down Sherry. Hilde has made it to Almere (886km), having spent the previous night in Appingedam (572km), banking a good nights sleep before tackling the sheep slalom of the Friesland coast.

Anouk Walters (cap 4) and Géraldine Ventoruzzo (cap 42) have both chosen to stop at Harlingen (730km). Anouk opting for a campsite, while Geraldine has opted for a proper bed. They should wake to a nice tail wind in the morning, tho by the time they turn north again at Amsterdam, they may not be quite so pleased. 

One rider posted on instagram of his delight in the [Wind turbines pointing the right way](https://www.instagram.com/p/CdEXkQ-sdOn/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=). This stretch just after Lemmer is one of the few places you get a tail wind if the wind is from the North. 

Baptistine Smets (cap 8), posted a video (in French) [on twitter](https://twitter.com/BullittEnVille/status/1521229737594880000) from her bed in Oudebildtzijl (696km). She seems to be really feeling the distance now, tho thankfully she didn't need the air ambulance that she rode past.

Bringing up the rear Els De Clercq (cap 6), Hanneke Brouwer (cap 9), Delphine Morel de Westgaver (cap 2) are in a close battle. Barely 20km covers all three, with two of them (Els and Delphine) stopped for the night in Holwerd. All 11 women who started are still riding strongly. As are all of the pairs. Pair 3334 - Uwe Schmidt & Niklas Muxel, have a commanding lead having achieved 1200km so far. 

![20220502 110819](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5jdaPBpZH4FgfliJkwNhN1/ad8f4bd0651a612a1381ff53ef030910/20220502_110819.jpg)
Photo credit: Enrst Huijboom

Far out in front of everyone Lennard Nap (cap 5) is trying to consolidate his strong 140km lead over Bas Vlaskamp (cap 25). Bas bedded down in Den Helder late on Sunday night. He was stopped for almost 10 hours, which is unusually long for him. He woke this morning to find himself in 3rd, with Jos Koop (cap 87) chasing him down. Second through fourth have all swapped places multiple times over the course of the day. Bas has managed to pass Gereon Tewes (cap 66) and Jos on the road and is starting to hunt down Lennart.

![20220502 114652](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/feXznIC2EkNHm6NVJuZyI/551257d89fb1a5f363f781cd92d452b4/20220502_114652.jpg)
Photo credit: Enrst Huijboom

Lennart has so far had a 1 hour nap on Sunday Morning, he also reported a 90 minute sleep stop on Monday morning in the main square of Schoorl (1075km). His lead over Bas is currently about 140km, and shrinking fast. Bas is going to be much much fresher for having had a sleep. It's not just about the quantity of sleep, but also the quality. Bas slept in a bed. Lennart wrapped himself in a space blanket on a bench in a town square, this puts Bas in a much better position, if he can catch Lennart. Lennart has ~400km left to go. If he can pull that off without any further sleep, he should hope to arrive before 1600 CEST on Tuesday. But there's still the looming question of Limburg. The RATN route packs about 90% of it's climbing into a single ~90km stretch down in Limburg. This is a greatest hits of Dutch climbs. The [Cauberg](https://veloviewer.com/segment/2362047), [Keutenberg](https://veloviewer.com/segments/628031), [Gulpenberg](https://veloviewer.com/segments/696406), and [Camarig](https://veloviewer.com/segments/866472/) may not be large climbs by global standards, but they are all short, sharp, and punchy. The 22% gradient of the Keutenberg is going to really hurt when you already have 1650km in your legs. Mathieu Van der poel went up the Keutenberg at an average speed of 33.8kph. It's unlikely we'll see any of our riders anywhere close to that. Bas has a single 54/16 gear on his bike, which is enough to make you whince just thinking about it on hills like these. Lennart on the other hand has a full cassette of cogs at the back to choose from. On the plus side once the riders make it to Vaals, it's going to be all down hill from here on, as there's no more European Netherlands to go up to... well except for the handful or so of minor speed bumps between there and the finish in Amerongen. 

So far 16 riders have had to scratch. But with over 100 riders still on the road, this race is far from over. Who will be first to make it to Amerongen? Who ever it is, they should be arriving sometime around 1600-1800. 


Tuesday evening finds us with three and a half days of the race complete. It's been a tough 84 or so hours with the number of scratched riders increasing dramatically. Both Hanneke Brouwer (cap 9), and Anouk Wolters (cap 4) scratched today. Hanneke having issues with her Achilles. This is a common issue among ultra cyclists and one it's not easy to rectify on the road. I finished RATN 2019 with an achilles that had swollen to double in size, it's a slow one to recover from. We wish Hanneke all the best for her recovery. 

The scratch total currently sits at 28, but with a number of dots on the map not having moved for quite some time, this number is likely to continue to increase. 

Answering the speculation as to how far she would go since her first and at that point only sleep (780km Sunday night), Sherry Cardona (cap 43) has pushed out an impressive 628km to make it to Goes in Zeeland. She's put all the coastal riding behind her, and now faces Noord Brabant and the looming hills of Limburg. Sherry has just 549km to go once she wakes in the morning. This should put her on for an early morning finish on Thursday. 

Hilde Geens (cap 10) is hot on Sherry's tail, having reached the Dutch pronounciation test that is Scheveningen (1176km). This seems to be a popular place tonight, with Hans Kroodsma (cap 18), Heero Zwart (cap 76), Johan Lowette (cap 85), as well as pair Jelle Fokkema & Fimme Veldhui (cap 2930).

Amsterdam is also proving similarly popular, tho considerably easier to pronounce. Els De Clercq (cap 6), Baptistine Smets (cap 8), Géraldine Ventoruzzo (cap 42), all appear to be bedded down for the night in the Amsterdam area. 

Baptistine posted on instagram her joy at having passed where she got to last year. It's always a great feeling riding past the point where you scratched a previous year. 

[Baptistine's instagram post](https://www.instagram.com/p/CdG285YsXxK/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=)

Further up the road Bas Vlaskamp's (cap 25) chasing down of Lennart Nap (cap 5) has been captivating us all. The gap between them both was about 140km at one point, but by morning was down to under 100km. Lennart posted on Instagram that he was having some issues with his electronics:

![Lennart out of battery](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/mRTWUsknqM4ZmDqQ4SyET/f51b8a2dc5ae46899ae78ab6ff1fb3bc/FR3r1ejWYAIECau)

He found a bakery, and watched what must have felt like the slowest ever Wahoo charge.

Alas the issues weren't to end there, and a few hours later he posted that he was having the worst 129km of his life.

![Worst 129km of Lennart's life? ](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2vRq8ZGbgK7dv3uPBSFysz/a71631bf3a95d6e543165a5486bf3f05/FR3sLrOXsAAueIJ)

1636 came and went, and with it the chances of beating the course record. Something that was always going to be a big ask, given the course is about 50km longer this year, but still something several riders were aiming for. 

As Dotwatchers repeatedly hit refresh on the tracker Bas's hopes of catching Lennart drifted away, he closed the gap to within 60km, but was unable to make up the distance. Lennart reached the finish at 22:43 on Tuesday evening, making for 3 days, 14 hours and 43 mins. An incredibly impressive time. When Lennart reached the Finish, Bas was 72km behind him.

Things appear to be going from bad to worse for Bas, as I do a quick refresh of the tracker before I hit publish, I notice that Jos Koop (cap 87) has passed him with 38km to go. Both riders should hope to be finished by about 0230. Truly impressive riding from all three. 

With the next nearest rider still 200+km from the finish, it's time to get some sleep before seeing who's where in the morning. The full top ten is far from settled, and anything could still happen. 


Ride, eat, sleep repeat. This has been the routine for our riders since Saturday morning. Each rider trying to find her personal optimal balance of the three. We've had 4 and a half days of racing and things are starting to shake out. The map is littered with the dots of scratched riders, while the first riders have reached the finish, everyone else continues the progression to towards the same goal. Each one riding their own ride, racing their own race. 

Wednesday morning saw Sherry Cardona starting before dawn in Goes, Zeeland. Sherry has only stopped to sleep twice in the 1408km to Goes. At the same time 232km behind her Hilde Geens (cap 10) was also setting out on the road trying to catch Sherry. There was some debate as to how far Sherry would try in this stint, so far she had slept only on Sunday night, and Tuesday night. Would she do another 2 day stint all the way to the finish, or break the journey somewhere in Limburg? Her dot seems to be stopped for the night near the foot of the Cauberg, a good place to rest up and prepare for the greatest hits of Limberg climbs. This was a relatively short 266km leg for Sherry. Hilde used the day to reach Goes, the same city where Sherry stopped last night. Hilde gave be a bit of a scare as her dot looked to be stopped at the station, tho zooming in further shows it to be at the hotel next to the station. Phew. 

Further back Delphine Morel de Westgaver (cap 2) resolved her tracker issue (or discovered pedal powered flight...) her dot making a big jump from Friesland to where she slept on Tuesday night in Amsterdam. The trackers only have a battery life good for about 4 days or so and requiring charging. Each rider has a charging cable and instructions, so it's an easy fix, once you know your tracker isn't working. It's good to see Delphine moving. She looks to have covered the main Noord-Holland leg on Wednesday, as has Baptistine Smets (cap 8), Els De Clercq (cap 6), and Géraldine Ventoruzzo (cap 42). All four started in the Amsterdam area this morning, Delphine and Baptistine both have made it to Ijmuiden. Els is in Zandvoort, and Geraldine is in Noordwijk. All four riders are spread over a distance of just 36km, and any of them could round out the podium. Baptistine has reported the headwind slog to Den Helder, but also the joy at the tail winds down the west coast. And you remember the Zeesluis IJmuiden mentioned in the race preview? 2km from her planned stop for the night, the bridge across the Sluis was open, so she had to wait for it to close before she could complete the day. Having to wait for a bridge is an occupational hazard of cycling in the Netherlands unfortunately. Murphy suggests that the likely hood of the bridge being open, is directly proportional to how annoying it would be for it to be so. Bit like red lights... 

On the subject of Baptistine, a small correction for yesterday's post. I mentioned that she had passed the point she scratched at last year. That was infact a mis understanding on my part. She over took her self for the same time as last year. Baptistine did NOT scratch last year. My apologies. 

![Michaela's Ride Summary for Wednesday](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6NFjRNaZL1wEH8VATBTgcS/7bf3f579b2f24872815b47d7b0375d17/FR86YPdWYAMYzRo)

Michaela Stuart & Linda Kleeven (cap 1314), followed a similar pattern to the others, starting in Hoorn and making it all the way to Scheveningen. Michaela comments "still fighting one of the hardest battles of my life". You're doing great Michaela and Linda. Keep pedalling!

Talking of pairs, Uwe Schmidt & Niklas Muxel (cap 3334) have made it to just past Venlo, and have a little over 100km to go. They look to be stopped for the night, and should have a realitively easy run into the finish in the morning. 

Uwe and Niklas have what looks like an insurmountable 400+km lead over their closest pair, Robert Haaijema & Jori Klomp (cap 3536). Robert and Jori have been making steady progress having made it to Schore. Based on their daily distances to date, they should be hoping to finish on Friday.

On the subject of finishing. When yesterday's update was written Lennart Nap (cap 5) was the sole finisher. Now he has company. Not just a podium but a full top ten. Jos Koop (cap 87) came in just shy of 4 hours after Lennart, with Bas Vlaskamp (cap 25) 40 minutes after Jos. All three riders put in a really impressive ride. After the first 3, there was a lul in arrivals, until 9.5 hours later Daniël Walraven (cap 57) came in in 4th. Arrivals were relatively steady after Daniël's arrival. Robert Webb (cap 127) rounded out the top ten coming in at 1802. Representing a time of 4 days 10 hours 2 minutes. At the time of writing 16 riders have completed the course. With a very few riders between the Limburg hills, and the Finish, there's going to be another lul before the next flurry of riders arrive sometime on Thursday evening. With any luck Thursday should see our first pair, and our first woman reach the finish line. 

That's it for tonight's update. Hopefully tomorrow's will have a lot more finishers, and be published a little earlier! Ride strong everyone! 


Five days, 13 hours, and 50 minutes after leaving De Proloog on Saturday morning, and 1957km later, Sherry Cardona (cap 43) arrived back where she started. Sherry is the first woman home, and 30th finisher overall. A little over 24 hours slower than the course record set by Jasmijn Muller in 2020, but a truly impressive ride non the less. (note direct comparisons are hard to make as the course is not identical each year, this year's course is about 50km longer than previous editions).

Hilde Geens (cap 10) is continuing the pattern of being one day behind Sherry, doing on thursday the same 266km from Goes to Valkenberg Sherry did the day before. All being well this sets Hilde up for a finish on Friday evening. 

As for 3rd place, Géraldine Ventoruzzo (cap 42), Baptistine Smets (cap 8), Els De Clercq (cap 6), and Delphine Morel de Westgaver (cap 2), have been trading places all day, and including some times spent riding together (this is allowed as long as it's not all the time, and there's no drafting). Géraldine has managed to put just over 20km on the other three, stopping for the night in Zoutelande. The other three riders have all bedded down for the night in the aptly named Vrouwenpolder. At 1342km, this leaves them with just over 600km to the finish. A 600km that contains the bulk of the event's climbing. Today's ride included the traverse of Rotterdam, something Baptistine seems to have not enjoyed (somehow it's a city where every traffic light is red when you arrive at it...).

[Baptiste Smets on twitter.](https://twitter.com/BullittEnVille/status/1522310271812915200)

In the pairs Michaela Stuart & Linda Kleeven (cap 1314) have made it to Goes (1408). Goes is proving to be a very popular stopping point in Zeeland ahead of the push in land through Noord Brabant into Limburg. Will they follow Sherry and Hilde's lead and stop tomorrow in Valkenburg? or can they push further into the Hills ready for a easy ride to the finish on Saturday? 

Thursday has seen the arrival at the finish line of our first and so far, only pair. Uwe Schmidt & Niklas Muxel (cap 3334) rolled into Amerongen at 1003. A time of 5 days 2 hours and 3 minutes. Setting a course record for paired riders. Beeting the previous record by over 15 hours. (Technically Richard Frans finished 2020 in 4D 17H 36M, but finished solo, having started as a pair). Currently mixed pair Robert Haaijema & Jori Klomp (cal 3536) are in second place, having made it to Epen (1702km), with Ramon van Stijn & Maurice Heemskerk, currently in Weert (1600km), completing a potential podium. 

![Limburg is busy tonight](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4Z6ir1nLksdssE2CJick0a/de8b48fae78a88e36b68e5c4c5c8f771/FSCDqdFX0AAkveX)

It's been a busy day at De Proloog with 18 finishers arriving on Thursday, bringing us to a total of 33 solo and one pair. With only one rider left in Zuid Holland - Lantern Rouge Willem van der Zalm (cap 142) - and riders spread over 700km of the course. At the time of writing there's 64 hours left on the clock, it'll be interesting to see who can make it to Amerongen for the 1800 CEST cut off on Sunday. 



Friday evening arrives, and while many in the Netherlands are heading out for a drink or 3 with friends. Our riders have been pushing on before searching for a bed for the night. This far into the race few are riding deep into the night, instead choosing to bank quality sleep so they can move faster when they ride. 

So far 57 solo riders and two & a half pairs have made it to the finish, leaving just twenty-five solo riders and five pairs out on the course. Spread from Goile (1530km) to The Waal (1920km), just five solo riders and three pairs have got the hills of Limburg behind them. Michaela Stuart (cap 13, in pair cap 1314) summed it up nicely on instagram "Ready for the last 300km! hope my body will survive... it's completely broken"

![Michaela Stuart's instagram story](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3Yzdlp1B0LQqV4b6Da80q6/50b40b5b1e5e8d155736ca9e0f53a502/FSHP5RYWUAAVlXH)

Our riders have been on the road now for over 160 hours, and been through a feet of endurance few ever experience. Knees, achilles, hands, wrists, necks, shoulders. All parts of the body can be hurting by this stage in the race. At the time of writing there's 40 hours of the race left, and for some riders upto 420km still to complete. It's going to be tight on Sunday. Especially as the weather is not looking like it's going to cooperate. Forecast for Sunday suggests headwinds for those heading up the Maas towards the finish. 

![Limburg weather forecast](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5I71Dt4TV8bM6kGv3SraO2/1fb54d63f627c92ca7f8e9585f7012f0/FSHP3fxXwAULgVH)

Baptistine Smets (cap 8) and Delphine Morel de Westgaver have made steady progress to Eersel (1563km). Baptistine has been fighting a mental challenge today to find her Rythm on the bike, that finally kicked in around 1800. Let's hope she finds this easier tomorrow. Elsewhere  Els De Clercq (cap 6) and Géraldine Ventoruzzo (cap 42) have both reached Weert (1600km). Weert has proved to be a popular sleep stop before the hills of Limburg. 

Back at De Proloog Friday has been busy with finishers. Notable arrivals today have been our second woman, Hilde Geens (cap 10), our only remaining recumbent rider Paul Moraal (cap 114), and our first mixed pair Robert Haaijema & Jori Klomp (3334). Hilde rolled into the finish at 20:59, and Paul arrived at 16:46. Robert and Jori finished at 20:27. 

This wraps up day 6 and a half of RATN2022. The next update will be on Sunday evening at the end of the race. Good luck to all those still out on the course, and congratulations to all those who've made it to Amerongen already. Ride strong! 


It's been a nervous day and a half for dotwatchers, following the riders trackers as they progressed through Limburg and the final 400km of the race. Compounded at this stage in the race by tracker problems, making it harder to follow who was still moving. They all set off on Saturday morning, with the single goal of making it to the finish line in Amerongen. Between them and the finish lay various quantities of climbing in Limburg. By the time night fell, some riders had chosen to bed down for the night. In the case of Els De Clercq (cap 6) once again showing an affinity for the German border, this time choosing a hotel right on the border.

![Dots by night...](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1W9N98OMVyRSnQdtCLmKUC/499b937f74ea5dad798d0243ae60affc/FSMfgmsXoAECjib)

For other riders time was not on their side and they didn't have the luxury of a proper bed for the night. Baptistine Smets (cap 8), Delphine Morel de Westgaver (cap 2), and Géraldine Ventoruzzo (cap 42) sleeping for approximately an hour in a cemetary in the town of Pey. One of them was fortunate enough to have their bivvi bag, the other two opting for space blankets. Alas a churchyard is not always the best places to sleep, as the church bells woke them up. Feeling a bit more rested than before, they set off again just after 0400, with 200km to go to the finish, and 14 hours to do them in. 

With so many riders living in the Netherlands, it is inevitable that the route will take you close to your home. This often means cycling past your nice warm bed, to continue on into the wind. But it also means that friends and well wishers are able to show their support for the riders (except no material support that isn't available to all riders). In the case of all woman pair Michaela Stuart & Linda Kleeven this took the form of supportive graphitti on the road of one of the hills. Simple gestures like this can really mean a lot for riders. And it's great to see that supporters and Dotwatchers have been out in force. 

![Michaela & Linda Support](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/20pnZNZbHxc3vkcZCGOE5r/9aae0a5c3be67f1e7dc29e73cc737b81/FSMgFMiX0AM_gJk)

The last day of Race Around The Netherlands 2022 brought with it blue skies, beautiful sunshine, and because this is the Netherlands, a force 3 wind from the north. The same north that our riders were all cycling towards. Something Baptistine summed up elloquently:

[Vent de face sa mère jusqu'au bout !!!!](https://twitter.com/BullittEnVille/status/1523211805023252481)

For the Netherlands a force 3 headwind is relatively benign and by mid afternoon a steady stream of riders was making it to De Proloog. Michaela Stuart & Linda Kleeven (cap 1314) arrived at 1406 (8d, 6h, 6m), the last of the pairs still riding, whilst also first placed all female pair! Géraldine Ventoruzzo (cap 42) was the 3rd solo woman to finish, arriving at 1453 (8d 6h 53m). A little over an hour later Baptistine Smets (cap 8) arrived at 15:58. Just inside the 200 hour mark. 

![Baptistine Arrives at the finish](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6wtmMVhWzcsuQIGbr0x9tL/3bd8e5e0fa40fb7c9aeaa0b576581b0f/Q5089006.JPG)

Baptistine was followed by Delphine Morel de Westgaver (cap 2) at 1635.  With Delphine's arrival all eyes turned to the tracker to see how far away Lantern Rouge Els De Clercq (cap 6) was. Not far behind it turns out. Els came in 8 minutes later for an overall time of (8d, 8h, 43m). All riders still riding had made it within the cut off. Congratulations to you all!

In total eighty solo riders finished, along side 7.5 pairs. A total of 41 solo scratches, and 2.5 pair scratches, round out the 141 riders who left Amerongen a week ago. Every rider has been pushed to their limit, and possibly beyond. They have experience the full range of emotions it's possible to have on a bike. From the sheep of the North, the engineering wonders of the west, and the hills of the South. Each rider takes with them the memories of an adventure well riden. 

Congratulations to all our riders! 

### Postscript

After five successful editions of RaTN, next year's race will be a bit different. From 2023, Race Around The Netherlands will alternate between a gravel edition, and a road edition, taking it in turns each year. The gravel edition will mean the 6th edition will give riders a whole new way of looking at the Netherlands. Taking in some of the finest gravel cycling and national parks the Netherlands has to offer. As it's not permitted to cycle through most national parks at night, the gravel edition will be run in June 2023, to maximise daylight available to the riders. The gravel edition will also break free of the mainland and visit the Wadden Islands. This should make for an excellent race! 

Fast and flat; what the Netherlands lacks in elevation and terrain it more than makes up for with its wind and characterful villages. Don't let the elevation profile fool you, this is not an easy race. What doesn't go up, can't come down and is devoid of rest.


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