That's a wrap 🥳🍾🍕

Angela Perin finishes in 6D 15H 29M

Fanny Bensussan finishes in 5D 19H 42M

Hot, hot, hot 🔥

Podium complete 🥇🥈🥉

The battle continues...

🏁 We have a winner!

The home straight (for some)

At the feet of the Giant

⏱ Summiting the Sanetsch

That's a wrap for this week's coverage of the Three Peaks Bike Race. There are of course a number of riders who will finish in the coming days and we urge you to will them on and support them via their social media channels.

If you've enjoyed the coverage, please let us know. Similarly, if you have any constructive feedback then we're always looking to improve. You can email us any time [here](mailto:info@dotwatcher.cc).

My thanks go to Michael Wacker for putting on such an incredible event. It was really great to watch dots again after such a strange year so far. I also want to thank the riders who contributed to the coverage throughout the race either via their social media channels or directly to us. It's so helpful and I'm grateful you took the time out of your race to keep everyone informed.

We have [GBDURO](https://dotwatcher.cc/race/gbduro20) commentary happening right now and we'll be back later in August for Transpyrenees. Hope to see you then!

![Angela Perin finish TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/66r1o6cmZiu49TurvtTZ7v/7936ac3045512d11ac2bd6cf4a7b18e9/Angela_Perin_finish.jpg)

The second woman finishes TPBR and what a race it was. She was close to catching up with Fanny Bensussan at a couple of points in the race, which added to the excitement. We just discovered [her Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/angelaperinultracycling) on which she posted updates throughout the race - better late than never!

## Jana and Alex Lenz chase each other to Nice

We've highlighted Alex Lenz's (cap 3) ride a few times but it's about to get even more fun: he's on a mission to catch Jana!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDTKeKajs7c/

_Met Jana and her media crew when i rested a bit at col graille. She looked a bit tired but just normal after 6 days biking. I felt super good at the first half and then my usual for this week pain in knees and achilles came back. I never felt that great on a climb this week really. On the downhilll Jana punctured._

_I had then a typical situation for me 😂. Just was happy to find a still open supermarket but after collecting all the stuff (30€ Just for the food and drinks for this night + morning 😮) I had a really funny conversation with the 2 security guys waiting in front of the shop. In the end i restarted biking after nearly 3 hours, but had also already eaten some stuff 😂_

I think Alex's chase might be hindered by the fact he loves a chat. That, and perhaps his equipment might begin to fail...

![Alex broken shoe TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/404k3rLDNgbRFDOg0L7MKK/7c942464bc24a437633d8b3ac95baab2/116275730_365287017789885_6935676816778182671_n.jpg)

The two are currently around 15km away from each other, so it really is anyone's guess who will finish first in Nice. Jana has 120km left until she reaches the finish line.

## Ivan Brown & Tomas Zaplatilek scratch

![Ivan Brown scratch TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7IizSoRfegzws94J1fXXkg/443c468fd945e960673500d2ffc290cf/Screenshot_2020-08-01_at_11.08.35.png)

We're sad to report that Ivan Brown (cap 29) has had to withdraw from the race but it looks like it's for the best after receiving stitches.

![Tomas Scratch TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1AegNj5g9NpjtS5byScDgG/a2011669b0152dff55b82fe2b1a5da8a/Screenshot_2020-08-01_at_11.11.17.png)

![Tomas Shermer's Neck TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7jLkZdnlrjqNjLbjhxJIIY/7a42cb1ef437f721d82d795fdff0de43/Tomas_Shermer_s_Neck.jpg)

Tomas Zaplatilek reported Shermer's Neck a couple of days ago and was resting in Geneva to see if he could continue. He managed to reach Mont Ventoux (amazingly!) but has conceded defeat and will meet the riders for the party in Nice tonight without riding the last stretch. Kudos to him for battling it out for so long!

We'll be back tonight with more from the TPBR when hopefully we'll have a women's podium with Jana rounding it out. Enjoy your day!

![Fanny Bensussan TPBR2020 win](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7KYo2JxzFg7r2eeboEGWma/d07d4823adc644b13c25bfe01c9fcbef/Fanny_Bensussan.JPG)

She's the first woman to the finish line in Nice and the 14th rider overall. An amazing ride from her in spite of less-than-ideal temperatures over the course of the last 48 hours.


## Top 10 are home

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDS-WwhIpzE/

The times are all around a day quicker than last year's TPBR but of course it's hard to compare each edition given it's mostly free route.

Yet another scorching day on the tarmac of France today as riders forge ahead from Mont Ventoux to Nice. The heatwave that was reported a couple of days ago is really beginning to take its toll and it's not about to get any better as Dotwatcher David informs us it's due to be 40ºC tomorrow and 29º overnight.

![Lisa Grützmacher hot day TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1nyVD7WHIF07FtdHYWA7Fq/76adb151a0eab56bcbd35d48473752e4/Lisa_Gru__tzmacher_hot_day_TPBR2020.png)

Lisa Grützmacher (cap 100) succumbed to the rising temperatures today booking a hotel to cool off. It must be nigh on impossible to sleep even during the night in those kinds of temperatures (those who did TCRNo5 during the Lucifer Heatwave know I'm talking about!), so mod cons are required.

Robbie Britton (currently in contention for 10th place) has left us a voice message saying his GPS computer read 47º at one point today. Water refill points and hard climbs will definitely be taking their toll on our riders, so we wish them all the best.

## Tyre troubles

![Andrew's tyre TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/56xNj2qhvbQ9XIyb4dn26n/9e57093a161b07c18fa99484d911218e/IMG_5900.PNG)

If you follow us on [Instagram](https://instagram.com/dotwatcher.cc) (which you should!), you'll have seen that we posted a picture of someone's quite bald tyre earlier asking you whether the rider should keep going or go to the nearest bike shop.

Well, our survey says Andrew Phillips (cap 90) should keep going and that's exactly what he's done. We're almost convinced sparks will be flying as he heads down the the final kilometre of the parcours to the finish!

## Elsewhere on TPBR

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDRnkQgFD64/

Markus Zimmermann is slightly ahead of our first woman, Fanny. He's ridden a great race and the two have do-si-do'd throughout the race.

![Slamka Stofilova Furkapass TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1HyXppWo0eGlamQs8CGikt/b02b8ce555f5f990bcd94d55dba5eed8/116700553_3091567764212592_3967073480916789016_n.jpg)

Slovakian duo Juraj Slamka and Livia Stofilova have been front and centre of the Swiss heat today and are now at the foot of CP2. Hopefully they're able to climb to the top in slightly lower temperatures.

## Updates from Morten

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDP0VllJMp6/

When he's not clicking away on his camera, he's clicking over kilometres on his bike. Morten Schrøder is gracing our instagram feed with some top shelf photos. You'd be silly not to give him a follow to support him throughout the race and beyond.

## Rider 97 in hospital

![David Aguirregomezcorta TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2JfyN6IZrYo5olSuwFTXWS/6d9d91f52a5bc396fef90e24c63a7c5c/Screenshot_2020-07-30_at_20.39.30.png)

Get well soon, David! Here he is during better times at the top of CP2.

![David Aguirregomezcorta TPBR2020 Sanetsch](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3ECJ4YCgOtbSr81sLkmttZ/c02ca113cabd3fd59bda68751d47fa35/David_Aguirregomezcorta_TPBR2020_Sanetsch.jpg)

![Alexander Lenz TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3hTZg3Yliwh0lf4FN6PWwu/fa31b3579c4ecf328fdd97846c29383b/Alexander_Lenz.png)

The award for rider with the greatest sense of humour must go to [Alexander Lenz](https://www.instagram.com/alexander.lenz.91/) (cap 3) who has had quite a hilarious few days. He's been tagging us in his Instagram Stories and it's brought a few laughs to us through the race.

Today, he's mountain hunting and would love nothing more than to climb a bunch of Cols in the heat of a French summer's day. He's had flat tyres in the dead of night, a few minutes cooling off in Alpine lakes to combat the heat and even bought some cheap trainers for hiking up the path to Col du Sanetsch and he's now on his way to Ventoux! Give him a cheer from the comfort of your armchair today.

![Alexander Lenz and Gerald Minichshofer TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6AK57Zth8w1t4AHJSjY8cM/15f08120a5cdc6c1806f80007ff322f1/Alexander_Lenz_and_Gerald_Minichshofer_TPBR2020.jpg)

(He even finds time for a beer at checkpoints with fellow riders)

## Dotwatcher duty

![111 TPBR2020 Sanetsch](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5shGa33o7HJMVKe4Z1AD4D/75e4f36e28207fe075a5511c65e5d72b/Screenshot_2020-07-30_at_09.48.41.png)

We've been tipped off by a dotwatcher keeping tabs on the midpack and have discovered an *interesting* trace from cap 111, Jurgita Lemesiute. The time stamp at Sanetsch says 07:45 (local) but the dot you can see that follows the cable car line says 09:54, so we're wondering what's happening here. Other riders' trackers are recording along the hiking path, so we can't see a good reason why Jurgita's wouldn't do the same. 🧐

## Stefan Blum reaches CP2

![Stefan Blum cap 70 TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/Smqlti3FYGkRv4ropmiqB/bf712c7efc32e0a23b4fa7a368fa4e9b/Stefan_Blum_cap_70_TPBR2020.jpg)

Before the race began, we had a chat with Stefan (cap 70) after he sent through his [bike setup](https://dotwatcher.cc/feature/bikes-of-three-peaks-bike-race), so we thought we'd share a bit more about him. TPBR is his first race and he's planning to finish in under 9D 2H 0M. His longest trip before this event was in 2008 when he rode 1800km in 12 days during the Tour de France. While on this journey he had a laid back approach to his days on the bike. "I preferred being at small hotels, taking a long breakfast and starting around 10:30 am or even 11:00," he says. He's completed the Ötztaler Radmarathon nine times, so he's certainly no stranger to the terrain. He lives near the Austrian border in the south of Germany and he's hoping his mind doesn't wander back home as his route almost passes his front door.

You can give you suppport to Stefan on his dedicated [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/The-Stefan-Blum-Experience-104474248004987).

## Familiar faces

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDPOD-9lxVU/

[Torsten Frank](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/Torsten%20Frank) is a rider with a long palmares. You will have seen him during the Atlas Mountain Race and previous editions of the TCR. He's also one of the few riders who have completed (pending this race) every edition of the Three Peaks Bike Race. [Tomas Zaplatilek](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/Tom%C3%A1%C5%A1%20Zaplat%C3%ADlek) and [Marcis Martinsons](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/Marcis%20Martinsons) are the other two.

Musings from the midpack

## 🥈 Sofiane finishes TPBR2020 in 4D 6H 24M

His phone died and his powerbanks were empty on the last day hence the lack of updates in his final hours of racing. Someone get this man a dynamo! Anyway, an incredible ride from Sofiane and he says he's happy to finish second in this race. I mean I can think of worse things than coming second to Ulrich!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDPk5wRIdaw/

## 🥉 Björn finishes TPBR2020 in 4D 9H 27M

Björn arrived just after midnight last night. Unfortunately no word on his thoughts just yet - we'll let the man sleep - but we'll update you if and when he announces he wants another showdown with his podium pals.

## Crunching Ulrich's numbers

![Ulrich Strava TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/43jOit1qVHhrYQGZp3s2bk/d1b3d01c223210c0a1c5c7ea034dbae5/Screenshot_2020-07-30_at_08.49.41.png)

A few things to note here:
- His total stopped time was 13.5 hours
- Average speed 24.3kph
- 43,658 calories (that's equivalent to 190 mars bars)
- 27,000m elevation over just less than 2,000km

## Fourth for Théo

It looks like Théo Daniel broke away from Adam Bialek at some point, though the trace is missing some points so I can't tell exactly when he managed to create the gap. At one point they were riding around 10 minutes apart but Adam much have succombed to a case of the dozies.

<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ftheo.bike.world%2Fvideos%2F2613103325596611%2F&show_text=0&width=353" width="353" height="476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe>

Dotwatcher David uncovered this video from him saying he's lost 4kg in weight so far. Easy to see how when realise how many calories rides like this require. Unfortunately there are no subtitles for our non-French dotwatchers.

## Fanny summits Ventoux

Just as Björn arrived in Nice, Fanny began her descent of Ventoux. She has around 340km to go and she says she's unlikely to finish tonight, though she is determined to fight until the very end. We can't wait to see her at the finish line in Nice and we'll bring her celebrations to you right here on DotWatcher when she gets there.

## More info on the climb to CP2 from Gstaad

![Urs Gstaad Path 1 TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/8KnYKgqKwCop2xjtVN9mD/175652805333e50bf699a87739187f65/Urs_Gstaad_Path_1.jpg)

[Urs Kutschera](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/Urs%20Arnold%20Kutschera) emailed us some photos yesterday which puts the hike-a-bike path in perspective. He took his bike with him by the look of it, though he points out that the race manual did not say you have to.

![Urs Gstaad Path 2 TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3q9LxL0nSVjwPJB1R9PBod/6709d77d2823131942a74558adf3b6c0/Urs_Gstaad_Path_2.jpg)

Ulrich may be snoozing in his hotel room at the moment (and rightfully so!) but the race is not over for everyone else.

## ETA for Sofiane: 22:00?

Sofiane is just over 60km away from the finish, however there are still many lumps and bumps along the parcours. We've given a conservative 3 hours but knowing Sofiane, he'll dig deep for the finish so don't go to bed too early tonight, will you?

Strangely, we've had no updates from him today so our gut instinct is telling us he's suffering. Allez, Sofiane!

## 4th place up for grabs

![Fourth Place TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1yK5oqdeVANpf1jySYTtYV/5309b5cd8c4dfd3eada51b6327887501/Screenshot_2020-07-29_at_18.15.32.png)

While Adam Bialek has missed a section of the parcours and will likely face a time penalty, in terms of who will be the fourth rider over the line in Nice, Théo Daniel might just have to watch his back. There's very little in between these riders and as they ride into the night tonight, tiredness may get the better of one of them.

## Fanny rides the parcours before the parcours

![Fanny's route TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2osAqNdTY9sdniAZiyLtpE/709bdd12aae25f8b0bb1c30b4e753c52/Screenshot_2020-07-29_at_18.18.35.png)

<iframe src="https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=event&eventId=133892&description=Cap%2021%20vs%20everyone%20else&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true&overlay=osm" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%; height: 700px; border: none;" scrolling="no"></iframe>

As you can see, Fanny has taken an alternative road to a lot of the other riders (others have done the same, though!). If riders choose to use the same road as the parcours, they experience 100m more climbing for 4km less distance. Worth it, you might say, but with fatigue setting in, it looks like more riders prefer the longer, flatter kilometres before the inevitable climb up Mont Ventoux.

## Leading pairs storming through to Ventoux

![Winning pairs riders TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5F7fi5pKQtJ0Xps4YbxTDz/40b7c785b53bb0350cd674a726b7a0a5/Winning_pairs_riders.jpg)

Barring any kind of catastrophe over the next day or so, we reckon it's safe to say Xavier Gregoire and Daniel Rigoud are tipped to be the first team of pairs across the line in Nice. Importantly the nearest "pair" to them is actually just an individual rider whose partner scratched from the race a couple of days ago.

## Literally no one: *"Let's go up from Bédoin!"*
## Daniel Nash: OK!

![Daniel Nash Bedoin TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2lA9tijymLsQlaY81mS0c4/fdba6dab21b2d57fe7d69809ca195297/Screenshot_2020-07-29_at_18.46.21.png)

The only rider to choose the hardest way up Ventoux so far is Daniel Nash. I'd like to think it was a routing error but a little birdy tells me he's a glutton for punishment and loves climbing so much he didn't include aero bars because they'd get in the way when he's out the saddle!

It took Stephane Ouaja 1H 30M from Sault, while Daniel was 10 minutes faster from a little outside Bedoin despite the increased difficulty. Chapeau to you, sir!


## Tomas Zaplatilek's neck is on the line

The first rider to take the hike-without-a-bike from Gstaad is suffering with Shermer's Neck. Tomas a.k.a. cap 50 is spending the day in Geneva to see if it gets any better for the days ahead.

*"My neck is not cooperating any more to keep my head up 😞 I gave it 7(!) hours of sleep on a beautiful bus stop but it helped (just) for some 4 km... The last chance is a bike-free day in Geneve... If this is not gonna help, I wont be 2020 finisher... #cap50"*

Ulrich Bartholmös wins the Three Peaks Bike Race 2020 in 3D 23H 23M!

![Ulrich TPBR2020 Winner 4](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6YO4jtBgPatOUM79b38wYi/2de9161054c9d8e3ffd8379e87727585/Ulrich_TPBR2020_Winner_4.jpg)

Ulrich's tracker was delayed in its update at the finish. Michael Wacker, organiser of Three Peaks Bike Race, has verified his finishing time.

A few more pictures from the finish line...

![Ulrich TPBR2020 Winner 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5vz33FHhESiphMV2c0PNNK/642227da45dca04656ace14b22641168/Ulrich_TPBR2020_Winner_1.jpg)

![Ulrich TPBR2020 Winner 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5LZwIafSdDZI63iMVySyXn/bcee24702dd1804891c1bbe5528dda93/Ulrich_TPBR2020_Winner_2.jpg)

![Ulrich TPBR2020 Winner 3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2v6YylZrICCItedgSN7R5m/2aef5f6f7028c49ae4219a841d6471dd/Ulrich_TPBR2020_Winner_3.jpg)

![Ulrich Parcours to Nice TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/APiJM1spuLPx0NvCyNhT9/bd0ebeae478aa2a6f48f1291dbe95c75/WhatsApp_Image_2020-07-29_at_06.29.54.jpeg)

🚨 Ulrich slept last night 🚨 - you read right. The leading rider Ulrich *"I'm not going to let Sofiane sleep a wink"* Bartholmös got 1.5 hours of sleep last night in a hotel outside Sisteron. He left the parcours around 21:20 local time and used the time to charge his powerbank and nap.

*"Good morning! Currently riding the Valley of Verdon. No sunrise this morning because of the high mountains but it's a beautiful valley, it's stunning - I really enjoy it. Last night was pretty hard despite my hotel room. It was good to get some sleep and afterwards I had to ride a big 25km climb, which was not steep but pretty hard in the dark. I'm continuing along the parcour which I guess will kill some people in the next few days: it's pretty hard even when it's not hot. It's constantly up and down and up and down, you can't find any rhythm. I imagine it will be hotter during the days so it'll kill people. Talking of killing people, I guess Sofiane is suffering hard. When he started the big climb this morning when I left the hotel I had a 3 hour advantage on him. Now it looks like 5+ so he lost an additional 2 hours, I don't know what happened to him. He is constantly riding his bike through the night so I guess he didn't get any sleep (or maybe 15 minutes or something)! What a tough guy!! I will enjoy the parcour for the rest of the day. I'm trying to hurry up to Nice because I want to get off my bike, lie down and relax so I'm going to put in some additional effort."*

We don't have any update on Sofiane yet so we'll have to wait until he's ready to sing his next Roy Orbison song later this morning.

## Fanny reveals her time in Switzerland

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDN0DL3oL97/

As promised, [Fanny](https://instagram.com/fannybens) uploaded a few Instagram Stories early this morning about her couple of days in Switzerland without access to her phone data. She definitely had some sense of humour failures at times which is understandable. It sounds like it's been a very hot and windy couple of days which has taken its toll on her overall moving time. She says she's now behind schedule to the tune of around 130km. Like many of us, she struggles to ride efficiently before coffee and food in the morning. She began today (Wednesday) at 6am after coffee and a croissant and she's on her way to Mont Ventoux as we speak just making her way through Grenoble.

![Angela Perin TPBR Adrien Liechti](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2v69bIrEfGKoVRJn65XP4N/628da6557d50b6923c2ccb4a3f031073/WhatsApp_Image_2020-07-29_at_09.33.57.jpeg)
📷 Adrien Liechti

Angela Perin has chosen the route through Geneva, the same as Stephane and a few others. It'll be interesting to see if she can gain time on Fanny given the route is a little flatter going that way.

## Them's the rules

![Gerhard tunnel Sanetsch TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5uTtnp359dthyZ1zdJ5vBR/2dac10466f31f71ce5d1596c10e8f3d5/Screenshot_2020-07-29_at_09.11.37.png)

Self-supported races have a unique set of rules and it's reassuring to see them enforced. Each rider is responsible for themselves and must only access help that is available to other riders. As nobody else is given a weather forecast through the race, it's against the rules and overall ethos of bikepacking races to give an advantage to other riders.

## Lanterne Rouge reaches Edelweissspitze

This morning at 9:21 local time, Ronny Martin summitted the Großglockner Pass. Lisa Grützmacher (cap 100) let us know a bit more about him, "Yes he was sadly unlucky. First a flat tyre right after the start and then also problems with the rim. 😞 But despite everything: He's still riding! 💪✨🤘"

Power to your pedals, Ronny!

## Hike sans bike

![Gerald Minichshofer hike sanetsch TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/lH6rBafTIeECtR9eXe3ub/ad09a2a7b158c274bbf51ed4442dd93e/Gerald_Minichshofer_hike_sanetsch.jpg)

Cap 88, Gerald Minichshofer, was snapped going up the trail also without his bike. We're curious to know how you feel about this curious rule exemption. [Get in touch](mailto:info@dotwatcher.cc) and let us know your thoughts.

## The mystery of Adam Bialek continues

<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FUltracyclingdolomitica%2Fposts%2F2382779721953763&show_text=false&width=552&height=309&appId" width="552" height="309" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe>

We have uncovered this interview with Adam Bialek from July 2019 ahead of Ultracycling Dolomitica race in which he finished second in the under-50's self-supported category.

https://twitter.com/biking_badger/status/1288346555444011009?s=20

Any pics of him on the road today are gratefully received. Fellow dotwatchers are intrigued with his incredible performance to climb the leaderboard! Dotwatcher David seems to think he skipped a section of the parcours between Chalet Reynard and the summit - see the screenshot below of his path.

![TPBR Adam Bialek missing parcours](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2awz9sHn8HSc6yYzuffRnG/af656a6d180ac8e2829fbc73f15c99e6/Screenshot_2020-07-29_at_10.09.55.png)

## Daniel Nash goes against the grain

Speaking of Bedoin, it looks like Daniel Nash is the first rider to ascend Mont Ventoux from the town. This way up is considered the hardest among other cyclists with an average gradient of 7.4% (compared to Sault's 4.9%). Let's see how he gets on!

---

So, we'll take your predictions for Ulrich's finishing time now. He has a little under 200km to go but it's hilly, so it'll be no walk in the park for him.

Fanny and Angela have now completed CP2 3.5 hours apart. It seems Fanny's training during the Route du Diable has paid off and she's put a good amount of time between her and Angela for the foreseeable. She'll be in France once she's climbed the Forclaz so we'll look forward to an update from the last couple of days.

## Ulrich's on the home straight

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDL_6T8lDEy/

He summitted Mont Ventoux at 14:40 local time which means he's now storming along the final parcours for the race: a cool 526km that every rider has to do between Ventoux and the finish line in Nice. Look out for the sneaky loop around an unnecessary mountain in La Palud sur Verdon.

<iframe src="https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=33553103&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true&overlay=osm" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%; height: 700px; border: none;" scrolling="no"></iframe>

That's 8,500m of climbing for those playing at home 🥴 When do you think Ulrich will finish? As I write this he's climbing up the Col de Perty.

## Hike-a-what?

![Tomas Zap 1 TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/72xMvLJGcGKjyIhBn4cdSC/57a936325c2bb6316dfae8493bea5673/Tomas_Zap_1.jpeg)

Tomas Zaplatilek was the first rider to take on the hike-a-bike from Gstaad earlier. Well, I say bike. He actually just hiked/ran to the top of the Col du Sanetsch before running back down to continue on his bike. Word is he had permission from Michael to do that but it got us wondering whether it should actually be allowed, after all it's a bike race, right? By using the trail, Tomas (and now Gerald Minichshofer, cap 88) avoided about 800m of climbing by bike from the valley in Sion due to Gstaad's higher elevation. As an ultrarunner, he'd have relished the opportunity to sprint a few hundred metres I'm sure.

## 🔥 🌧

It's been another scorcher with Sofiane reporting that it's slowing him down. Further back also, riders continue to suffer the wrath of the weather.

![Torsten weather TPBR2020](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5m4m6MsVx4ClN3FDYM1FO0/342486ad6bb6eece88a2b2e74dcec6e1/Untitled_design__1_.png)

Torsten Frank has had a day of two halves and bumped into a couple of other riders taking advantage of the local ~~swimming pool~~ water fountain.

## Stephane slots back in

Stephane Ouaja doesn't look to have lost any time by going the longer but flatter way. Goes to show there is no wrong way to approach these races and you should design a route that suits your talents.

Hikes, bikes and 1900m pikes

Ulrich Bartholmös

From Vienna to Nice via three of the hardest climbs in Europe: Großglockner Hochalpenstraße, Col du Sanetsch and Mount Ventoux.

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