That's a Wrap

First Finisher

And They're Off!

Simon Epperlein

James Gill

Alexander Spoelstra

Will Ward

Molly Weaver

Charles Hyatt

Simon Mowles

Graham Spiller

Sam Gorman

Toine Hooijen

Rhys Clarke

Nikki Ray

Fuzz Kit

Franziska Schleypen

Indy Neerhoff

Gill Crane

Trevor Peter

Simon Hunt

Lee Cox

Cat Smith

Dominik Bokstaller

Callum Rae

Simon Wright

Emma Karslake

Conor Gerrard Cairns

Jon Cox

James Page

Crew 3

Crew 1

Crew 2

Just a little earlier this evening, __Charles Hyatt (#60)__ arrived at the finish line, just a couple of hours inside the official time cut. Following __Simon Mowles (#80)__ scratching earlier today, __Charles__ was our last rider on the road. As a result, that means all riders are officially accounted for and the event is at an end!

![P1051985](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5Qtnke9GEhJeKA7yR1Sij1/71a659a1bb76ddf53b4f03524f5d703f/P1051985.jpg)

__Charles__ spent the day pushing through the last parts of Wales and the Welsh Marches where race organiser __Rob__ went out to catch him. He reported that this was a real morale boost! As he cleared the flatter section from Hay-on-Wye he realised that he was in no hurry and opted to take it a bit easier so he could enjoy the beautiful weather!

![DSCF0510](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/HR3h3SSXTHBlrhOcM7rVv/9d96629b883c4e7fec8b6fb8e027d996/DSCF0510.JPG)

He 'enjoyed' the last kick of the route in the form of Cleeve Hill for CP9 and then spent the early evening riding the final stretch through the pretty Cotswold villages to the finish. __Charles__ has been particularly consistent with his riding, averaging a solid 200km a day and has been right on target for a Saturday night arrival pretty much the whole time!

A hearty congratulations to all our riders and especially to our finishers. As per normal for Rob's events, this has been an attritional affair with 8 of our original 25 starters making it to the finish. The route is tough, but we have also seen a huge toll from mechanical incidents and injuries. History was made too - __James__ and __Jon__ became the first pair to finish The Perfidious Albion.

![P1041574](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5qTAoNpkh6hyYYPnzU0Uj9/176a77f796cd2eb38680883f3f1e9194/P1041574.jpg)

What this route brings in brutality it matches with beauty; the riders are surprisingly forgiving of its' creator as a result! The other aspect that comes with an event of this size is community: Louis and I have been privileged enough to participate in the riders' WhatsApp group and there has been continuous encouragement between riders, ramping up as riders finished and spent less time pedalling and more time looking back for their fellow riders.

![P1041563](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2EKkkrf0EPf7vfOEZ4xwjF/bc16c98e0bc6f606a59810fe6fe9472d/P1041563.jpg)

A big congratulations to our podium: __Simon Epperlein (#78)__, __James Gill (#69)__ and __Alexander Spoelstra (#57)__. Congratulations also to our female winner: __Molly Weaver (#73)__ and our pairs winners __Jon Cox (#85)__ and __James Page (#86)__.

All our scratched riders also deserve massive kudos - they all gave this ride everything they could and have all enjoyed fantastic rides.

![IMG 3951](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/EOPLAxg0zxuI1gjQX66qL/ee3b9c49f592cc3d22f4fbcff340a3be/IMG_3951.jpg)

Also a big thanks to the team behind the event - it has been a resounding success so thanks to __Rob__ at the helm with help from __Nadia__, __Kitty__ for her photo-taking and to __Andrew__ and __Hannah__ for manning CP5!

Rob's next event is only a few days away, with [Mountains of the Merfynion](https://dotwatcher.cc/race/mountains-of-the-merfynion-2024) starting on __August 28th__ and it's sure to be a good one*!

![IMG 3961](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/37CgqbMZYIVSvrW3WHpeDb/355a27cc9bc5b903ffc5a630821023ae/IMG_3961.jpg)
\* *Start line cat not guaranteed.*

# First Pair Back 

Late last night we had our first duo to finish this year’s ride (and the first pair to ever finish the event), with __James Page and Jon Cox (#85/#86)__ covering the 1600km in *6 days, 14 hours and 29 minutes*. Worth reminding everyone again that this was the first time they’d cycled together- if they can get through the PFA in one piece then who knows what’s next for them! They’ve been consistent throughout, making the correct choices wherever needed and still covering almost 250km per day. 

![TPA Pair Hug](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2RvySTwYact8kvcBW4Nkto/ec6e8a536bef3f8dd291c5027889694f/P1051963.jpg)

One more DNF to report- __Simon Mowles (#80)__, who had pushed on through the night in the Welsh countryside, has decided to scratch. A great effort all the way through from him, continuing to press on through less than ideal weather despite looking like he’d be outside the time cut. Although the route has been challenging throughout he took time to comment on how beautiful the section through Wales was. Or could have been, if not for the horizontal rain. 

Which means we have one rider left to report on… __Charles Hyatt (#60)__! He has a deadline of 12 hours now to make it to the finish and claim himself a spot on the final standings as an official finisher. 145km to go until the finish. He’s been Mr consistent so far, bashing out 200km a day. The final stretch for him now should be the flattest of the route, and he should have the wind at his back as he goes. Depending on what time he finishes we’ll update you all tonight, or as part of a closing review tomorrow! 


Day 8

Our pair, __Jon Cox (#85)__ and __James Page (#86)__ are very nearly finished with just 30km to ride before they reach the end. The event team caught up with them on Cleeve Hill at CP9 and report that they are in good spirits but definitely somewhat in 'limp mode'. I'm sure they'll be glad to finish and have a chance for proper rest!

![P1041930](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3DDcI4F2et1oC0GsIgNfB4/f0761694973e9e047c6404b21be28966/P1041930.jpg)

Not terribly far away, still in Wales, is __Charles Hyatt (#60)__ who has just come through Tal-y-bont and is getting the last few of the really big hills out of the way! He's about to take on the long Llangynidr Mountain climb and then after not too long he will reach Gospel Pass, the highest paved pass in Wales. With a daily average of 210km and just 230km to go, he looks solidly on-track for a finish within the time limit, especially as the section from Hay-on-Wye through to Cheltenham is unusually flat compared to the rest of the route.

![P1041946](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5PJw94L8SVXJueGXS8VKuu/9d8d46731dca56c22028d73b346cdb84/P1041946.jpg)

With our back two riders scratching we now have __Simon Mowles (#80)__ as our lanterne rouge, currently riding through to the town of Llanidloes. Whilst he's now pretty much guaranteed to miss the finish cutoff, I hope he has the time available to finish this off!

Hopefully by morning we will have a report of __Jon__ and __James'__ arrival at the finish!

Double Act

We’ll go in reverse order this time…

# The Tail End

Our riders at the rear have now all officially scratched- __Franziska Schleypen (#64)__ with some knee issues and __Fuzz (#65)__ with hip problems. They’d both managed to make it over CP4 and will be finishing near plenty of transport links, hopefully avoiding the potential storms that seem to be coming.  A big achievement nevertheless for them both in their own circumstances, and hopefully we’ll see them back at an ultra-race soon. 

![TPA Franzi](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4Wu5JvWfUOc7RDc7WUEung/c92f23ed7aa925aab768cbc4cc6967ff/WhatsApp_Image_2024-08-23_at_10.46.59.jpeg)
![TPA Fuzz](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7pPg0tP1nV7QWvzZVPsYDs/8e8bebeafb9ac9cebc0f374556d18802/WhatsApp_Image_2024-08-23_at_10.35.29.jpeg)

## On Course

Continuing his steady progress we have __Simon Mowles (#80)__, who’s just reached CP6 in the Lakes. The cut off time for a placed finish in the event is Saturday night, so it might be a stretch at this point for Simon to make it in time. We'll keep you updated as he pushes on though!

![TPA Simon](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2PUI68bhS1byla9tOg80za/ed2397d0897d4fd17c4addf71fb75844/WhatsApp_Image_2024-08-23_at_15.30.03.jpeg)

__Charles Hyatt (#60)__ has successfully navigated the last, long gravel section and has 309km to go until the finish. He’d had a torturous night making his way through the previous gravel section during the night, and this time riding in the day had to contend with pretty severe debris that had been blown onto the trail.

![TPA Debris](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/sEDzMkFHARzMoUhVLWRmX/0605be73c1cee73c8275c9d2e63902a4/WhatsApp_Image_2024-08-23_at_14.17.38.jpeg)

With his daily average of just over 200km, we should hopefully see him arrive at the finish and claim 6th place. 

### Finish Line In Sight

In between Charles and the finish we have our pair of __Jon and James (#85/#86)__. They, along with Charles, should have a tailwind to help them on their way. But unlike Charles, their remaining stretch should start to flatten out as they get closer to Cheltenham. The team at the finish will hopefully be able to intercept them at Cleeve Hill tonight, so check back later to see how they’re getting on. 


Day 7

![1000069255](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3CT9ddtYFsDYxkIHNHle4n/a553f145993623a6e042910b88ba05e4/1000069255.jpg)

Well, it's a bit of a waiting game now! We have our first five finishers from the 'front pack' all home and dry(ish). Our 'mid pack' is spread out a lot more, with __Jon and James (#85/#86)__ not too far out from the finish now in the South Wales valleys and then __Charles Hyatt (#60)__ and __Simon Mowles (#80)__ both taking shelter with early stops in Wales.

I imagine we'll see __Jon and James__ finish tomorrow pretty comfortably, especially since they're still riding as I write at 9pm. __Charles__ has been riding pretty much on-pace for the official end of the event (23:59 on Saturday night) the whole way through the race. He has dropped slightly behind the virtual broom wagon this evening with his early stop in Tregaron but this really shows his wise decision-making in not heading into a long section of Welsh wilderness in poor weather at night. Combine this with the determination of his un-scratching today and I'm pretty sure we'll see Charles get this done in time!

![P1041914](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/75AzGzJkHszVkvNNq0PqwS/c84f9dc90fa1305e4d29abcc4cca4f0d/P1041914.JPG)

Unfortunately, it looks like __Simon__ will miss the official cut-off at the finish. I'm hoping he sticks it out and finishes the ride - it will be a huge achievement even if he is behind the clock, even more so given that 14 of our original 27 have scratched from this tough but beautiful event!

Our back two riders, __Fuzz Kit (#65)__ and __Franziska Schleypen (#64)__ are well behind the clock at this stage but still riding. It will be interesting to see how they fare tomorrow with gale-force winds forecast in the north. Will their determination to finish be great enough to push through?

A Waiting Game...

# Finishers

![TPA Molly](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/WWTqJpLveJy8LiymYmrO2/60294922af429a9a617928a7591a9505/1000069347.jpg)

We have our top five! Rolling in over the course of the Thursday we had __James Gill (#69)__ in second, with a time of *5 days, 2 hours and 50 minutes*. __Alexander Spoelstra (#57)__ in third, *5 days, 3 hours and 54 minutes*. __Will Ward (#84)__ in fourth, *5 days, 5 hours and 7 minutes*. And finally __Molly Weaver (#73)__, fifth overall but the first female finisher, in *5 days, 5 hours and 53 minutes*. The finish this year is at Rob’s parent’s house, and the garden party is well underway!

![TPA Finishers](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6JzRKmN0CoUESmmVmbQLLS/2ba42477c56762a6dc8d2f2dc3dab672/1000069385.jpg)

![TPA T Shirt](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4fX3qq3Iyx4TvAYj4yCjl4/d5aaa7ca34c757e2ccb77961778b8065/P1041848.jpg)

## Back From the DNF

> "Rumours of my scratch have been greatly exaggerated" ~~Mark Twain~~ __Charles Hyatt (#60)__. 

After his tumultuous evening and apparent scratch, Charles resurrected himself and has decided to press on! He’s navigating by phone in a zip-loc bag, but is now making his way through the Welsh countryside. Let's go Charles!

The pair of __Jon and James (#85/#86)__ are through CP7 at Devil’s Elbow and will just be about to tackle another off road section. __Simon Mowles (#80)__ is taking shelter in Bala and waiting for the bad weather to clear. __Fuzz Kit (#65)__ made it up and over Hardknott this afternoon, swiftly followed by __Franziska Schleypen (#64)__ 

We’ll get more reaction from the finishers over the course of the day, so check back in for the evening report! 


Day 6

# Winner Winner

Steve reported last night about the mechanical drama- __Alexander Spoelstra (#57)__ suffering a front brake issue after making it to CP9, then having to turn round and walk back to Cheltenham. Everything was finely poised going into the early hours of Thursday morning and boy what an update we have here. 

![TPA Winner](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2OZm3VbarEFU4EyFo9aZN7/b8ee6704a0b1f9a222e88ca6375fc058/WhatsApp_Image_2024-08-22_at_05.50.00.jpeg)

## First Finisher

Rolling into the finish just before sunrise we had our winner of the Perfidious Albion 2024- __Simon Epperlein (#78)__! With Alexander spending the night waiting for a bike shop to open he pushed on and made it to the finish, covering *1606km in 4 days, 20 hours and 15 minutes*. 

### The Standings

There’s been exciting movement in the hunt for the other podium places as well! All the riders in Wales have been commenting on how bad the Wednesday weather has been, with torrential rain, strong winds battering our hardy racers throughout the afternoon. As a result, __Will Ward (#84)__ and __Molly Weaver (#73)__, who have been riding neck and neck for almost all of the route through Wales, look to have found some shelter for the night to dry off; Will in Abergavenny and Molly a little further back in Ebbw Vale. Molly looks to have woken up earlier to press on beyond Will, but they’ve both been overtaken by a __James Gill (#69)__ counter attack! 

![TPA Will Ward](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4OpVCoO88p7DsT4reiwFOF/1a091b7f7af986b35c11191471090062/P1041638.jpg)

James, in fifth place this time yesterday, has played his ace and decided to race all through the night. The result is that he’s leapfrogged into third place, overtaking Molly and Will. He’s just about at Cheltenham now, so we’ll need to see how quickly Alexander can get his bike repaired and back on the road- if James can press on and avoid a similar mechanical issue on the home straight, and avoid the lack of sleep catching up with him, we could see our second finisher by the next update. I’m picturing a special James Gill edition Soreen Malt Loaf to hit the market soon after this exploit (we're obliged to point out he doesn't actually like it, and only ate it to reduce weight. But look at the results!). 

![TPA James G](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6UwJzPEhwJCInFXrFbBVDk/38dbf5269f4027b22fbdf1a462cd64fa/P1041719.jpg)

Bad news behind in the solo category. We mentioned in an update that __Charles Hyatt (#60)__ had foregone his tent to save space, well he pressed on last night in the awful weather to take on the Lakes gravel section, and unfortunately has withdrawn this morning. The weather proved too much for his GPS device, the backup approach of a phone isn’t viable in the conditions, and there’s no time to find civilization to purchase something and make the cut off. It’s difficult to see any rider withdraw, but especially Charles in this case. 

Our dynamic duo of __Jon and James (#85/#86)__ are still on track to finish though! They found some shelter during the night in the Elan Valley, getting some sleep in a bus stop. We’ll hopefully see them press on to CP7 today, if the weather plays ball. 

![TPA Simon M](//downloads.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/56dTpQHT4rVHq4f1npLvcl/27a0f303d2a7fb768665ac815a843db6/IMG_4813-Enhanced-NR.jpg)

The riders behind are being swept up by time cuts. __Simon Mowles (#80)__ made it to Wrexham for the night and is just about to set off on the Welsh adventure. 
Our three at the rear are all safe and sound in the Lake District. __Trevor Peter (#83)__ is out due to missing the checkpoint of Great Dun Fell, but he has switched his bike to a mountain bike while in Keswick so hopefully he can enjoy some sections of the route if he decides to press on. Fuzz (#65) and __Franziska Schleypen (#64)__ have started to ride their own individual pace, but both seem to have opted for a good rest in Cumbria overnight. 


Last night I posed the question of whether __Alexander Spoelstra (#57)__ would be finishing tonight or whether __Simon Epperlein (#78)__ would start to reel him in. It looked like __Alexander__ was on for the win, but in a very recent development (as of just after 9pm) is that __Alexander__ has a major mechanical issue with his brakes that right now means he's not able to ride. He has a mere 47km to the finish but I've literally just been given the update (21:45) that he can't fix it roadside and is walking back to Cheltenham in search of a fix tomorrow. This is unbelievably bad luck, snatching __Alexander__ from the jaws of victory!

![WhatsApp Image 2024-08-21 at 21.43.12](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4vkF3w24zyzoRuPja9aFe6/a1437bd7932846e34a6b2ef0714db679/WhatsApp_Image_2024-08-21_at_21.43.12.jpeg)

Not far behind, we have three more riders potentially vying for a spot on the podium: __Will Ward (#84)__, __Molly Weaver (#73)__ and __James Gill (#69)__. These three are all within about 60km of each other in the South Wales valleys. Right now it looks like __Will__ and __Molly__ have stopped, either for food or possibly for the night. __James__ is still rolling at this point and if he chooses to press on into the night he could make a steal on both of the others! Having said that, there are now likely to be two podium spots up for grabs again!

![WhatsApp Image 2024-08-21 at 21.41.52](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/58ERLYAiOivE8frtxvrWGh/415e228101e404c1d1e68b191192a8da/WhatsApp_Image_2024-08-21_at_21.41.52.jpeg)

Our pair, __James and Jon (#85/#86)__ have made a brave move into the wilderness tonight. They have struck out into the remote Welsh desert late in the evening. It will be interesting to see if they have any accomodation planned or whether they'll be wild camping somewhere; there certainly won't now be any resupply until the morning, either in Tregaron if they stop for the night or Llandovery if they don't.

__Charles Hyatt (#60)__ is bravely riding the gravel section round the back of Cadair Idris in the dark but continuing his steady progress through Wales. A way behind, but now finally in Wales is __Simon Mowles (#80)__ who has bedded down for the night in Wrexham.

![P1041753](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2N0k7xnlTd9FDuwO88TZt1/d738b444e6bd2a162576d37605ce9c3f/P1041753.jpg)

Will __Simon__ make it to the finish without the race-leader mechanical curse getting him like it did __Graham__ and __Alexander__? Will __James__, __Molly__ or __Will__ make a big overnight grab for the podium? I strongly suspect we may have a winner before dawn so check back in the morning and see! 

They Think It's All Over...

# Updates
After this morning’s Magnum content the rider’s WhatsApp group has exploded with treats. Our leader, __Alexander Spoelstra (#57)__ has tucked into a small pot of salted caramel ice cream already this afternoon and is now onto a Subway sandwich. The exact filing is still confidential. 

![TPA Ice Cream](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/75l9YSUrUJx7zh1206iTl/ea6a22dad751f9e050b50addbe96d557/WhatsApp_Image_2024-08-21_at_13.40.06.jpeg)

It’s fueling him well though, as he now has only 125km to go until the finish. He’ll skirt around Cheltenham, tackled the last little gravel section and then roll into the finish. He’s made it over CP8 since the last update, climbing *[Gospel Pass (4.7km at 5.8%)](https://veloviewer.com/segment/16406746)* and descending into Hereford. 

![TPA Aero](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1euQ8fvkwwMShuSyhql4mn/f090372a199652a57c20e1f22ddac216/P1041732.jpg)

The gaps seem to be closing amongst the chasing pack though, with only 125km between __Simon Epperlein (#78)__ in second and __James Gill (#69)__ in fifth. Although Simon has been stuck in the rush hour traffic so might have lost a few minutes… 

![TPA Sheep](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4RrJWNOHXNK2SHfijengwH/318e0ff3b32f91d55ba1c53c4c5dcf87/WhatsApp_Image_2024-08-21_at_15.12.23__1_.jpeg)

Going into the Wednesday evening it’ll be interesting to see if there’s any movement in the standings, and if anyone will be tempted to press on and ride through the night with the finish line so close. Close in relative terms, James is just under 300km from the end. Although he's also consumed the malt loaf that he's transported since the start- which might be the powerup he needs. 

It’s been steady progress for the rest of the field, our pair trucking along nicely and __Charles Hyatt (#60)__ approaching Dolgellau and the start of the lakes section. He has abandoned his tent and will be looking for drier accommodation from here on out, which could mean a night near the coast.

![TPA Charles](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2C6A1PZSqyopLbly0U3rMH/4346e398bfbc8e61c87e0eec4e3cccc9/WhatsApp_Image_2024-08-21_at_15.27.52.jpeg)


Day 5

# Hot Off The Press

The finish line is in sight! *Almost*. Let’s run through the field with a quick update. 

At the front, our leader __Alexander Spoelstra (#57)__ has 225km to go to the end of the route, 90km ahead of second place and soon to be out of the wilds and back into more built up areas. He descended the gravel section last night at a slower pace to avoid punctures: a sensible decision from him after revealing that he slipped remounting his bike during the lake’s gravel section and hurt his chest- slow and steady is the mantra now as he pushes on, not wanting to risk any more discomfort. Could he finish today?

Second place is __Simon Epperlein (#78)__, who’s made it through CP7 at Devil’s Elbow and beyond the gravel section. Our German rider met up with the team on the ground and suggested the Welsh roads need a few more hairpins to lessen the gradients. He slept with one eye open last night, aware of the pair behind him. 

__Will Ward (#84)__ and __Molly Weaver (#73)__ continue to keep pace with each other. They’re about 70km behind Simon as we speak, coming up the CP7. 

![P1041512](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/281DmZuiMlTVez3Kpy3yfI/eea2a7bff7b883d48fd6845e91071e95/P1041512.jpg)

Everyone in the top four looks to have prioritised recovery last night; the top two stopping for four hours and the next two for eight. We have one tired rider moving along the route though, who’s had one extended break in the entire event so far and seems to be subsisting on nothing but naps… James!

__James Gill (#69)__ is in fifth place. He’s safely through the Snowdonia section but will still face the resupply issues that come from the remoteness. 

![TPA Pair Checkpoint](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5kjonMljw5bhLijpmqVy9L/6ffb45683d7d0d6a0c044a836c5774fc/WhatsApp_Image_2024-08-21_at_10.31.31.jpeg)

Behind we have our pair of James and Jon __(#85/#86)__, who are through Dolgellau, and will have the gravel section up next. 

__Charles Hyatt (#60)__ is just about at CP5, the formerly manned checkpoint, continuing his strong daily average of just over 200km a day. 

__Simon Mowles (#80)__ is pressing on in the north west of England but has had a Magnum ice cream for breakfast, so hopefully that equates to some sun!

Weather wise we seem to have the wind blowing in from the west, which should put a spring in the step of the riders at the front. There seems to be a constant drizzle at this point too for all our Welsh contingent, which looks to be deteriorating into heavy rain come Thursday. 


Morning News

Louis Moorehead

Steve Haskew

The Perfidious Albion 2024 Tracking + Commentary: A very Great British adventure from the North to the South of the island through Scotland, Wales and England, tackling iconic British climbs.

The Perfidious Albion 2024 Tracking

A very Great British adventure from the North to the South of the island through Scotland, Wales and England, tackling iconic British climbs. Riders will need to take photo selfies at a series of checkpoints.

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