Day 8 - Women's winner and CP2 cutoff!

Day 5 - The Podium, Pairs and Lanterne Rouge

Day 3 - Haute Cuisine

Day 2 - Bats and Railways

Day 1 - A Triple High Pass

We have our women's winner! Wero Szalas took finished early this afternoon to take sixth overall and first female. She's ridden with immaculate consistency over the past few days and has barely changed position since the first day. A cycle tourist with a handful of races and rallies under her belt, she has cooly ridden her way into the top ten and first woman. A massive congratulations to Wero!

![445894434 2630359463809765 6677432364866027834 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1O0gk0HHncuTxbz5eSYsVj/da2565f5dfa3dc82270a2744df19e70b/445894434_2630359463809765_6677432364866027834_n.jpg)

India and Ollie are currently the second pair and their lead over the next pair is sizeable. They had only 100km of riding left as night fell on the race and were pondering whether to continue riding through the night to arrive earlier or stop and enjoy the last day’s riding in the daylight. There’s been some movement within the pairs category as Köves Lajos #42b scratched at CP2 due to an injury, leaving his pair Peter Olah #42a to continue riding, albeit out of category. He’ll be awarded a Finish out of GC, meaning he’ll receive a finish time but no position. This leaves third pair as #41 Isabelle Berti and Samuel Rosport who are 160km behind India and Ollie.

CP2 in Peshkopi closed at midnight last night meaning our lanterne rouge, Damian van Loon, is now out of the GC. This is sad news indeed given he’d put up such a valiant fight to stay within the GC and arrive at CP1 in time with a smile on his face and a story to tell. We've also enjoyed seeing the race through his lens on his Instagram so we hope he'll continue to Shkodër for a finish out of GC alongside Lissa Breugelmans who has continued riding having missed the cutoff of the first CP, she is the remaining solo woman. Thomas Chateau joined her however has since scratched due to missing the cutoff. This now leaves Sönke Kreft as the lanterne rouge. He now has 360 km kilometres to the finish and less than 48 hours to complete this. It will be tight given his daily average until now has been 140km but with a strongwill it’s entirely possible. Godspeed Sönke!

# The Podium

Following Alex’s win this morning, Adrien arrived four and half hours later in a total time of 6 Days, 6 Hours, 12 Minutes. Last night Alex rode through the night while Adrien took two stops, the first of three hours and then two hours due to pain in his knees which he chose to rest and then enjoy the last 100km stretch. Alex’s lead was unbreakable by this point so he had nothing to lose and decided to make the most of the last day’s riding. Alex led Adrien over the first half of the race, but Adrien managed to wipe out Alex’s lead throughout the second half to eventually overtake him and they leapfrogged for much of the fourth day.

![445110093 290002954188755 5434121410351456448 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6mCyqBJoAxmdw8IMVz0Q4I/63eb7a11180b905baac2ceae0c3b0b7e/445110093_290002954188755_5434121410351456448_n.jpg)

*Alex's bike post-event!*

Josh took the final step on the podium five hours behind Adrien and ten hours behind Alex. He maintained a consistent time difference to the leader throughout the race and has established himself as an unflappable and consistent rider over the past few years. He’ll admit that there are faster and hungrier riders coming through the sport since he took the win at TCR in 2015, and he’ll be lining up against some of these young guns in Roubaix at TCRNo10 this summer.

Wero Szalas is the leading woman and sits in sixth overall, a position she has maintained for much of the race. She'll be the only female solo finisher in GC given Lissa missed the CP1 time cut. Wero is due to finish tomorrow evening alongside the leading pair, Julien Gravaud and Simon Taulelle.

![444236976 18287754616160564 7528328231639974939 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/R3uXrQIhCLdtA8oYnNRww/53419d7f89e339308ba21691eb359034/444236976_18287754616160564_7528328231639974939_n.jpg)

# Lanterne Rouge

Our current lanterne rouge in general classification is Aussie rider Damian van Loon, who arrived at the first control point only fifteen minutes before closing in the very early hours of this morning! He rode through the snow and thunderstorm, descended so fast his hands froze and booked it to the CP in Berane to arrive in the last quarter of an hour. He chanced a meal out of the kitchen past midnight and tucked himself into a bed in the hotel, a very happy man!

Damian's a dab hand at taking photos from the saddle so here's a selection of today's riding.

![444805808 827467449246113 7210953366207826832 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5ELAqsimq5thPfFw26ChC3/92efecbcea1a7d0cf550e33cef0a4cef/444805808_827467449246113_7210953366207826832_n.jpg)

![444746797 969937601341852 8328637589747996348 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3KlQrJjgwZVcNgQalayfrA/6d3710ce34cd9c9f52d5624efc277cbc/444746797_969937601341852_8328637589747996348_n.jpg)

There are two riders behind him who missed the cutoff for CP1 and are now out of GC but keep riding. Lissa Breugelmans and Thomas Chateau will continue their rides for a finish out of classification, providing they continue on the track and adhere to the other rules of the game. Lissa raced the inaugural Hellenic Mountain Race last year but fell out of the time cutoffs and continued on to the finish regardless so she’s well-versed in persevering when necessary.

There’s a gaggle of six riders due to arrive in to Control Point 2 in Peshkopi tomorrow morning, and four riders behind them. The second pair on the road who are making the most of the Control Point accommodation offering are India Landy and Ollie Radford. They met on the Tour Aotearoa earlier this year when India made the journey to ride this well-established off-road bikepacking event the length of New Zealand’s North and South islands. India has ridden multiple events in a pair, with her then partner in Transpyrenees 2019 and Badlands 2020 and also with her mum at NorthCape4000 and Bright Midnight so she's no stranger to the difference of shared kilometres during an ultra. India and Ollie are only eight hours behind leading pair but given Julen and Simon only have 200km to the finish, it's likely India and Ollie will need to settle for second pair.

After a hard fought battle, Alexander Kopp has won the first edition of the Accursed Race.

Alexander has been a staple of ultra-distance racing lately. Especially those more challenging off-road races, including GBDURO22 where he commuted to Lands End then continued the race with a single gear after fixing his hanger with a hex key.

His tenacity and determination has paid off, taking the top spot at this new and thrilling race from the Lost Dot team!

Chapeau Alexander.

As this literally just happened, we've got a photo of Alexander's meal last night!

-Kitty

Alexander Kopp Wins the Accursed Race No1

The big news of today’s riding has been a change of the lead; Adrien Leichti has been on a mission and wiped out Alex’s 20km lead over only three hours of riding this morning! Last night Alex took a four hour rest while Adrien only had two and a half, but throughout the day their dots have been leapfrogging. Tonight, Adrien backtracked ten minutes down the big climb to the petrol station due to a storm on the climb. He stopped there for two and a half hours before re-starting the 1,000m climb, I can only assume he took a resupply and a short nap. It appears that the storm has dropped enough water to turn the mud into the dreaded peanut butter mud, something Adrien will be well acquainted with having finished the Tour Divide in 2022. Alex has just started riding again after a suspiciously long six hour stop at the base of the climb with only 400km left to go which leaves Adrien’s lead at three hours. Adrien is avoiding knowing his position during the race so we’re unaware of whether he knows he’s leading!

Behind them Josh’s position as third place looks all but sealed. So far, he’s stopped for five hours at Control Point 2 in Peshkopi and has hours to play with to maintain his podium position.

For those who have arrived at the first Control Point in Berane this evening were greeted by a lively wedding party, such as pair #41 Isabelle Berti and Samuel Rosport whose fluorescent jackets weren’t the brightest thing in the hotel reception! The party lights and music will likely be a shock to the riders’ systems after many solitary kilometres in the mountains.

If you’ve made it this far through the commentary and are wondering which folklore inspired the Accursed Mountains’ name, then read through these posts on The Accursed Race's Instagram from before they released any details about the event: [Act I](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxm8iUzM-mz/), [Act II](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxm8brds0WW/) and [Act III](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxm8VesMCZd/).

Day 4 - A Changing of the Guard

Just a short one from me today as it is Friday night after all! Alex still leads Adrien by three hours, both crossed into Kosovo this morning and are now already back in Albania ready to tackle the dog-leg last section of the route before reaching the finish in 485km time.

Australian rider, [Damian van Loon](https://www.instagram.com/ultracyclinglife/), has been posting some beautiful photos to his Instagram stories so do check them out! He’s a veteran of the Tour Divide, Trans Am Bike Race, Race from the Rocks and the Indipac so he’s well versed in taking photos of beautiful places from behind his handlebars. He’s currently 20th overall with only friend of DotWatcher Thomas Chateau behind him so is giving a good insight into life in the race for those who aren’t nudging the front end of the race. All photos below have been swiped from his stories, including the photo of a very questionable meal. Is that an Aussie thing?!

![443732657 1177791466747333 3467653384857533843 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/10tM8iOFKLy4l4N4soEef4/e138d30c6719751940ce1fa251f52cb2/443732657_1177791466747333_3467653384857533843_n.jpg)

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![443888924 761288486035644 191740102501340467 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1N8hIAOnmOIrTWo6XsYGYy/d677510e02fa9141555535e90fc6baf4/443888924_761288486035644_191740102501340467_n.jpg)

![443842761 960475005626502 7774760277609735238 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1mq5jcw9Piu9vDsnm1oMh0/e8b1aa1fc9e4ecda0a258ebf4ca24a12/443842761_960475005626502_7774760277609735238_n.jpg)

![443590581 426392260345331 5592573942105292274 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1wXcjLF32aS2l6GV4GEiIn/f5a76c74768b86f63a7de62669783ca3/443590581_426392260345331_5592573942105292274_n.jpg)

Day 4 - Brief Update

Alex arrived at the first Control Point this evening in Berane four hours ahead of Adrien and had already ridden off into the night when Adrien arrived and took a room in the hotel for some rest. Alex checks the tracker every morning and is surprised Adrien hasn’t caught him while he has been sleeping, but there’s plenty of time left. Josh is currently still sitting in third and twelve hours behind Alex which means it’s a tall ask for him to take the lead without some bad luck on Alex and Adrien’s behalf.

# The First CP

When riders reach CP1, they are already over halfway at 825km with 760km of riding left back to Shkodër, but the CP is sandwiched in the middle of the four highest peaks en route, all topping 1,750m where there is apparently a significant wind blowing at the moment, which is the reason Josh has stopped only 15km from the CP for some rest.

![WhatsApp Image 2024-05-16 at 14.11.15](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7Mx0fTDw6hSVcquPICYzJw/0f85dd3a97414bdd2e00f03cc0090ae8/WhatsApp_Image_2024-05-16_at_14.11.15.jpeg)

The CP hotel’s entrance is lined with gold posts and red rope, akin to a red carpet, and the food available appears to be in keeping with the grand entrance, if not a little on the small side for these riders. I think we can all agree, it was a wise move of Alex’s to order two portions of pasta. Meanwhile, Adrien has been tucking in to the infamous 7 Days croissants; the staple diet of a TCR racer.

![443887494 493541053002367 3551168084861017812 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1pOh4DZFpy2Qr840JGEKCg/53656bc99e2ac82a572026dea4cea5cc/443887494_493541053002367_3551168084861017812_n.jpg)

Speaking of TCR, the midpack is currently approaching their re-entrance into Montenegro and with it the Durmitor National Park, a park used only twice by Lost Dot as a TCR Control Point but it’s in the hearts of many a veteran for its beauty and demanding riding. It’s iconic for cycle tourists in the Balkans.

Once riders re-enter Montenegro, there's barely a kilometre of flat riding between them and the following 800km. There’s also notably a lack of options to scratch! Aside from crossing a handful of main roads, for many without impeding mechanicals, carrying on will simply be as easy as scratching! However, the route does feature a sting in the tail. The manual says the “home stretch will be neither short nor straight” as at Kukës (1,075km), riders cross a main road which they could use to make a beeline to the finish. Instead, they’re being sent out on a 520km tour of Northern Albania before returning to Shkodër.

For some, their second night on the race was a wet bivvy and they have taken to a hotel tonight in order to dry off before yet another big day of riding and climbing tomorrow. There is a small gaggle of riders in Ulog (517km) who appear to be in hotels. 30km behind them and slightly off route are David Kealhofer and Raphael Evans who rather ominously are in the same town that Hans-Rudolf Nyfeler and Bernarda Juric scratched yesterday. Bernarda’s scratch left the remaining four women in the race: two women in the solo category and two in the pairs, both in mixed pairs.

Weronika has been the leading woman for the race so far and is currently sitting in a staggering 5th place, having crept up from 15th at the close of the first day and maintained 5th throughout the past 24 hours.

![436419401 1007096290935422 8190643722175514641 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/463FjcjJOlQ3ReG0xBoDlm/ffb46bc96e2e2c76263c9af766a2027a/436419401_1007096290935422_8190643722175514641_n.jpg)

![443277623 413319031521138 4250458166274257032 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5j25vy0KojFUgphO0VjzEC/7026f89bcdd5da73674266cfe8558629/443277623_413319031521138_4250458166274257032_n.jpg)

A Traveleur's Pocket Phrases

Ahead of each ultra, Lissa Breugelmans likes to make a note of useful phrases and basic numbers in order to help her through the simple interactions with locals. Having learnt a handful of Greek words for Hellenic Mountain Race, she made a note of some Montenegrin words this morning, given there are still two new countries en route, as well as Albania and Montenegro again, she'll be learning even more words over the coming 1,300km.

![443696673 751732360499492 7601549523533710915 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/tvDsOahQHcsrvkQsVNaFR/fcde703b6968da453a5e3fd6137b3e1b/443696673_751732360499492_7601549523533710915_n.webp)

The leading three all had at least three hours of sleep on the first night, with Josh nudging an extra hour over Alexander and Adrien. During the night Hans-Rudolf Nyfeler overtook Josh in the rankings as Hans did not stop to sleep, this is a strategy that does not appear to have worked in his favour as his speed fell significantly during the day and he’s now in 7th position and 80km behind Josh. Adrien is keeping Alex within reach and after 43 hours of racing, only 7km separates them with a little over 1,000km remaining.

![443006636 862234789048535 4154616190605680776 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/15Uxzjf7eF03n63GHnnZlK/ead8079241f837315de5b6e627094932/443006636_862234789048535_4154616190605680776_n.jpg)

Lost Dot’s Komoot description of the 220km after the Albania/Montenegro border contains the following details:
> “to the Karstic plateaus of Montenegro and Bosnia. From here the route follows a disused Austro-Hungarian railway line north”

Karsts are a type of cave, and railway lines at night are only for the brave! Check out both these videos from Weronika’s Instagram from last night and tonight. It would appear the adventure is on!

![wero batcave tar film](//videos.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7szlNdKXbAw0bs8f6GtVGv/d51cd0ec88bf9983648d81d97636a05b/24-05-15-21-46-31_01.mp4)

![Wero film TAR railway](//videos.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/191E7gLGQnIfnbbUOXe1kC/da807a1f7cefc56bc205e26d9b050255/24-05-15-21-46-46_01.mp4)

Weronika has ridden remarkably consistently all afternoon, her track on the race flow graph barely falters, and she is now sitting in fifth overall and first woman! While Wero may not be a seasoned racer, she’s as consistent as you might expect an experienced bikepacker to be.


The 35 intrepid riders headed out from a rainy Shkodër this morning towards the Theth National Park in the Dolomitic Mountains. Between them and the Montenegrin border at the 160km mark lay three mountain passes to navigate which all lasted an hour each for the fastest riders and totalled almost 4,000m of climbing. For most riders, their goal of the day was to make it to Montenegro, and they’re on track to achieve this. This cumulative elevation on rough riding has surprised and worn down a few riders as progress has been slower than hoped, Josh Ibbett has said these climbs would be tough on drop bars but nice if you’re on a full suspension bike! I was surprised to see the handful of riders lining up on full suspension bikes given the route isn’t packed with much singletrack but I doubt these riders are regretting their decisions now.

Podgorica at 186km offers the first opportunity for a big resupply before heading up to the plateaus which hover around 900m and will be vast green expanses which will nicely contrast the first day’s riding in the Theht valley. They may even be treated to some wild flowers if they’re lucky. Currently nine riders have made use of the accommodation options in Podgorica tonight given it’s so perfectly positioned after a first big day of riding and there will be a stream of riders heading out in the early hours tomorrow morning.

# Leaders

We all know that comments on riders' positions after only one day of racing is futile, but that’s not going to stop me!

The leading riders of Alexander Kopp, Adrien Liechti and Josh Ibbett are the three most well-known racers here and it’s no surprise to see them up at the front of the race together. They have joined each other on many top tens in varying orders over the past few years so it will be interesting to see how they fare against each other on an unknown course but a terrain they’re all competent on. Josh has claimed that riding conservatively early on will be a sensible strategy, so we wait to see when these three riders, and anyone else who joins them, will really start the racing. For now they’re only 35km apart after 17 hours of riding and closing in on the second country en route, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Leading female is Weronika Szalas who spent much of the day in the top ten but has slipped down to 15th during the late afternoon and evening due to no obvious reason. She spends much of her life riding around Europe so is no stranger to long days on the bike, but isn’t a self-proclaimed racer at heart. She penned [this beautiful piece](https://www.albioncycling.com/log/road-to-shkoder) for her sponsor, Albion, accompanied with some of her excellent photos taken during her travel from Poland to the start, much of which she did on two wheels to first immerse herself in the Balkan culture.

# Same same, but different

There’s been a change at the helm of Lost Dot over the past few years and it’s interesting to see this new leadership’s influence on the way the race is run and documented. While the no-fly rule is arguably the biggest change to Lost Dot’s races, they have also employed a new approach to the interaction with riders. The Control Points will not be staffed as we know the TCR CPs to be, instead riders will need to ring a Blink doorbell and be greeted by a remote volunteer from somewhere else in the world. This tactic also reduces the race’s overall emissions 
documenting the race as there’s no need for volunteers to travel as well. In addition, the media brief is more akin to a wildlife or documentary style using long lenses, less close ups and less intrusion to respect riders. The exception is for Ross and Tom who are the race’s reporter and podcaster, respectively, who obviously need to converse with riders!

For a race that is intentionally taking a light touch approach to its own media, it was surprised to find Albanian TV crew arriving at the start who wanted interviews with the organisers and to see the riders off! Once the race starts, the riders will be treated to the tranquillity and peace they’ve come so far to enjoy.

Packing for a race that nobody has ridden yet poses unique challenges, so check out the wide array of bikes riders have chosen for the race at the [Bikes of The Accursed Race 2024](https://dotwatcher.cc/feature/bikes-of-the-accursed-race-2024).

There are flat bars and drop bars, varying tyre widths and a healthy mix of bikepacking and racked setups for this off-road Balkan race.

The Bikes!

The race’s announcement last Autumn was most notable for the introduction of a no-fly rule, following in the likes of GBDURO. This was in an effort to reduce the race's carbon emissions and has been coupled with unstaffed CPs to limit volunteer travel. This has meant riders’ dots have been crossing paths over the days before the race even started as they ventured overland on trains and buses from elsewhere in Europe, many converging like streams into rivers to take the same transport routes towards the end of their journeys.

The no-fly rule has encouraged some to be creative with their commutes. Adrien Leichti has spent much of the past two years travelling by bike and has, naturally, arrived on two wheels to the start having ridden from the Atlas Mountain Race. Not racing, but noteworthy, is Marin de Saint-Exupéry. A multi-time TCR veteran who has embraced his own no-fly culture and is riding between the three Mountain Races; Atlas, Hellenic and Silk Road this season. He’s in Albania and helping as a volunteer before the Hellenic Mountain Race in Greece at the end of the month.

Christopher Rißmann will be lining up having made the journey from Berlin, however, en route he finished the Seven Serpents Quick Bite! earlier this month; a 500km gravel race through Slovenia, Croatia and Italy. That’s quite some warm-up!

Instagram has been popping with photos of fully-loaded bike slotted into train carriages, riders sitting side by side or sharing cabins on sleeper trains. We look forward to hearing from the riders how this enforced shared time together helps to build a community around the race before the riding has even begun!

The No-Fly

Beccy Waters

The Accursed Race 2024 Tracking and Commentary: The brand new no-fly race from Lost Dot takes riders on a fixed-route off-road course through the Accursed Mountains in Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. Follow along to see who takes the inaugural crown.

The Accursed Race 2024 Tracking and Commentary

The brand new no-fly race from Lost Dot takes riders on a fixed-route off-road course through the Accursed Mountains in Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. Follow along to see who takes the inaugural crown.

DotWatcher.cc

The Accursed Race 2024

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