The Front of The Race Reaches The Mediterranean

The Women’s Race Is Hotting Up

THE hike-a-bike

Strategies and Route Choices Start to Show

The Front of the Race Reaches CP1

And they’re off! Which women and non-binary dots do we know?

Route Preview

The front have reached CP5, after completing Parcours 5 along the Mediterranean coast - including the Col du Banyuls, having covered about 1,000km. I remember the moment I saw the sea in TPRNo3; it was while the sun was rising, and it was beautiful. It was quite a mentally pivotal moment, the one you had been aiming for the days prior and it can feels like you are halfway, and maybe you are in distance, but not in elevation or effort. 

[https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=50270143&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true](https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=50270143&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true)

To get there, Tim de Witte went north into France, while Thomas Boury took a southern route through Spain. I think he might have regretted that decision, as it looked like he faced a strong headwind. Although it didn’t seem to slow him down much as he’s held onto his 2nd place position.

![IMG 6248](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/53vXZBITgXiS0leUBFKY1e/6cab250739beca04db80d86fd4fcaaba/IMG_6248.jpg)

The rankings at CP5 are:

Tim De Witte - 03:30

Thomas Boury - 05:08

Maxime Agut - 06:44

Thomas Rongen - 06:53

Jamie Lowden - 07:21

Lucas Strittmatter - 07:31

Tim is stretching his lead, he stopped for his consistent 3-hour rest at 9:30 and was back on the road by 1:30. He looks to have slept in a hotel.
The next five riders are within 2.5 hours of each other. This is super exciting dotwatching.  

Lucas is taking the off-road section from CP5 to the start of the Raid Parcours, clearly not too put off by his earlier crazy hike-a-bike! All the riders ahead have opted for the road route, so let’s see if Lucas has found himself an off-road “shortcut.”

From here, it’s into the Raid Parcours - 680 km and 18,000 m of climbing. All riders on the same route, this mean clever route choices are no longer what makes you gains, but pacing and efficiency. As those 30 consecutive cols get ticked off one by one. Who saved enough beans for this section, and whos over cooked it. I will be back later as we start to find out. 

Millie :) 

The women’s race has seen multiple changes at the front between Joanna Rumińska-Pietrzyk, Hélène Fromenty, and Ellena Brandner.

They arrived at Parcours 3 within half an hour of each other - Ellena and Joanna within just five minutes! I wonder if they’ve seen each other out on the road. They’ve all taken the same route from Parcours 3 to Parcours 4.

Joanna completed Parcours 4 first, Hélène is in the middle, and Ellena is about to begin the 45km Parcours.

![Screenshot 2025-10-06 at 09.37.56](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6I87fRx4bMpZdWqjBGT9sZ/f833f211ac637387f9bb993b527b7feb/Screenshot_2025-10-06_at_09.37.56.png)

Looking at their moving speeds and stop times:

Ellena and Joanna have almost identical moving speeds at 12.5 km/h, but Joanna has been stopping less - 24%.

Hélène has the fastest moving speed at 14.6 km/h but has stopped the same amount of time as Ellena - 27%.

So there really isn’t much to choose between these three, and it’s no wonder the rankings keep changing.

Next for them is CP4 in Prullans. Lost Dot have extended the CP4 cut-off time by 6 hours to 16:00 today. With a lot of riders still on Parcours 2, I’m guessing those hike-a-bike sections have taken longer than Lost Dot expected.
As mentioned before, they took quite different route choices before Parcours 3, with Hélène opting for the road option. [Ellena](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/15089), having taken part in the Hope1000 earlier this year, so it's no surprise she chose the off-road route . Let’s see if their routes diverge again on their quest to the coast.

Millie :) 

Another night, and more big changes at the front!
At the time of writing, Tim de Witte is our leader, having just passed CP4 at 9:54.
He’s followed by Thomas Boury, exactly 30 mins after. He posted an update from his hike-a-bike route choice. 

[https://www.instagram.com/p/DPZoef-CNWC/?hl=en](https://www.instagram.com/p/DPZoef-CNWC/?hl=en)

Thomas, who has come second at Further Pyrenees, a race known for its savage hiking, I'm sure took it all in his stride.

Jamie Lowden also took the same route, and so did [Lucas Strittmatter](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/13102), who seemed a little shocked by it, posting his reaction on his instragram story. 

![IMG 6172](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5et80gOTzCQWex7p39RmaA/ac92be7af9dea9a50272e2f10c2c35df/IMG_6172.jpg)

Lucas was paired with Robin at Atlas and finished top 10 at TCR last year, but scratched this year. His sole aim for this race is to reach the finish. We expected to see him closer to the top from the beginning, but I think he got caught out by CP0 not being the most obvious in the race manual. It seemed like quite a few riders were charging straight to CP1 before realising - one of them being [Conor McKenzie](https://dotwatcher.cc/contributor/conor-mckenzie), our TCR commentator and winner of The Capitals, who has now ended up scratching.

Currently in third place is [Julien Roissard](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/4356). This is Julien’s third time at TPR, having come 4th at TPRNo2, so he’ll know exactly what’s waiting on the return Raid Parcours. Julien is closely followed by Jamie and Lucas.

Our leaders from yesterday, Max and Charlie, aren’t far behind. It looks like the first day may have caught up with them, as they’ve now taken a big chunk of rest, which I’m glad to see. In fact, Tim de Witte, with his consistent three and half hours a night sleep strategy, has had the lowest overall stop time than both of them. With his TCR experience, he knows how important consistent sleep is.

Looking at the heatmap, most riders are heading the Benasque way, but even within that, there are four route variations. The route that Thomas, Lucas, and Jamie took is maybe the least popular of the bunch, and I can see why. I certainly wouldn’t want to be rope-climbing up something like that with my bike! Let’s hope no one’s trying it in road shoes. Tim de Witte taking the most popular route slightly to the North. (Parcours 3 is the thick red line to the North of Vielha)

![Screenshot 2025-10-05 at 11.27.37](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5jfkxIjCcdrq1hDMGQtwyh/772acda4fe9e197ec17bfcbcb918d83b/Screenshot_2025-10-05_at_11.27.37.png)

The Vielha tunnel hike is also a popular option, although one rider, whose dot I noticed way up north - actually started to attempt the hike-a-bike before turning back to take a road option.

The hike is definitely the more popular choice overall, although some have opted for a big road detour to the north, including [Tomas Rongen](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/17181), who is in 5th place and has held that position from CP1, despite riding 150 km more than Tim de Witte from the end of Parcours 2 to the start of Parcours 3. And yes, I double-checked that, that's crazy! It really shows how savage the hiking section is. 

Also opting for this northern road route are Nicole Van Battenberg and Hélène Fromenty in the women’s race, who are now closing in on the first female, Joanna, as they approach Parcours 3. We will be able to see exactly how close when their routes meet.

Parcours 4 brings another gravel climb of 12km before CP4 in Prullans, after which the next Parcours takes riders all the way to the sea!

[https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=52898433&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true&privacyCode=uWbZpAw5qRjaWWSg5EWMfEfXQ2JkMitJ](https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=52898433&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true&privacyCode=uWbZpAw5qRjaWWSg5EWMfEfXQ2JkMitJ)

Millie :) 

A lot has changed at the front, [Jamie Lowden](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/12940) has a stopped time of 7 hours, and is now down to maybe 5th position. I’m assuming his strategy is to rest well and ride hard. I'm sure he will catch up, his average moving speed is more than 2km/h more than those riders around him.

Whereas Max Agut and Charlie Bratt have stopped for less than 2 hours, and have pulled ahead. Charlie, owns a bike shop, and got the FKT on the Rebellion Way in July. We have just posted a new feature about FKTs, [here ](https://dotwatcher.cc/feature/fastest-known-times-racing-the-clock-respecting-the-code)

[Thomas Boury](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/4533) was third to finish the Parcours and has stopped for 4 hours.

In the women’s field, [Joanna Ruminska-Pietrzyk](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/10515) has taken the lead. She’s just started the Parcours and is another rider opting for minimal stop time. Joanna was the fastest woman at the VIA Race last year, so she’s definitely one to watch.
At the time of writing, [Nicole van Batenburg](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/14520) is taking a rest right before the Parcours. I wonder how she’ll feel waking up to see someone ahead of her.

Riders need to be careful not to overcook it - as I’ve said before, the return Raid Parcours is a real beast. Not resting enough in the first half of the race could come back to bite you.

From the end of Parcours 2 to the start of Parcours 3 is where we’ll see potentially pivotal route decisions being made. 

There appear to be two hike-a-bike routes and one road route. But as we’ve seen in previous editions, all sorts of lines can be taken to cross this section. The tunnels are banned - one due to road law, the other by Lost Dot rule.
In TPRNo3 I chose not the most common hiking section, as I thought it looked more rideable since it showed as a gravel track… but it was so steep it turned into a lot more hiking than I’d expected. I was on a full road setup though - so I wonder, for those who’ve opted for wider tyres this year, will more go off-road as more will be rideable for them?

The thing about hike-a-bike is that it sort of evens everyone out. The difference in walking speed between riders is much smaller than the difference in riding speed.
What we usually see is the faster riders taking the road and making gains there, whereas slower-moving riders benefit more from the hiking sections. Of course, personal preference plays a role too.

So far, our 1st and 2nd riders are taking very different routes, so it’ll be exciting to see this play out - Max Agut on a more southerly route, and Charlie Bratt heading towards the Bielsa hike-a-bike. This is exactly the excitement us DotWatchers hope to see in a free route race format! I'll be back with the analysis of their route choices later. 

[Millie](https://www.instagram.com/milliegibbons/?hl=en) :) 

It’s been nearly 12 hours since the start, and the front hasn’t let the gravel slow them down. Riding about 250km to get to the first Control Point. 

__[Jamie Lowden](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/12940)__ is first to reach CP1. It’s his third time at TPR. He was winning TPRNo2 before scratching, and I actually met him during TPRNo3 when he had been pushing at the front. From what I remember, he took a bad route choice (why else would he have been behind me?), but we chatted for a moment before he zoomed off into the distance. He’s the aero specialist at Visma–Lease a Bike, so no wonder he’s fast. I wonder what aero gains he’s bringing into ultra. 

__[Thomas Boury](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/4533)__ is second. A regular in the off road ultras, he’s raced Atlas Mountain three times and podiumed in 2024. He had a really bad crash only six weeks ago during Les Géants - so it’s seriously impressive to see him back racing this fast. 

__[Tim de Witte](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/7948)__ is in 3rd. A 3× TCR finisher with 2 podiums and 2 Green Leaderboard wins, he’s consistent and clearly knows how to plan a fast route. 

__Maxime Agut__ in 4th, He came 2nd at Badlands just a few weeks ago, which was his first ever ultra. He said he learnt a lot, so does that mean he'll go even faster here?

__Chris McNaughton__ is in 5th. He was 2nd at PanCeltic last year, and I actually met him at Kromvojoj earlier this year. He told me that PanCeltic was the first time he’d ever been bikepacking, but he comes from a strong racing background -  hence his mega speed.

These are the rankings for now, but with so many route options and these gravel sections, I’m sure we’ll see new names, anything can really happen!

These front guys are swiftly approaching Parcours 2 - like with all the Parcours (except the return Raid) it's all gravel! a 14 km climb with ~1200 m elevation gain, followed by a descent.

[https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=50270146&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true](https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=50270146&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true)

Written by Millie :) 

At 6 am this morning, 105 riders set off from San Sebastián. Among them are 21 Women and Non-Binary riders, so who do we know?

__[Hélène Fromenty](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/16326)__ - just finished the Silk Road Mountain Race. From France, so knows the Pyrenees well. 

__[Nicole van Batenburg](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/14520)__ - women’s winner at Race Around Rwanda and 9th overall; also this year finished 27th overall at the Unknown Race.

__[Anna Linden](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/7495)__ - twice been on the start line of TCR. So has experience with this free route race format.

__[Leyla Serbouti](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/i/16455)__ - won our Race Documentation Award for her drawings on last years TPR, although she had to scratch so I’m sure she’s looking to come into this race to finish but I wonder if she'll be drawing this time too.

[https://www.instagram.com/p/DBygRkesjZT/?hl=en&img_index=1](https://www.instagram.com/p/DBygRkesjZT/?hl=en&img_index=1)

__[Samantha Saskia Dugon](https://www.instagram.com/saskiadugon/?hl=en)__ - new to ultra racing but inspired by being the photographer at the Accursed Race, and the women’s pro peloton. 

As the race gets underway, I’m sure we will have more dots in the mix - as this year’s women’s race is shaping up to be a really good one.

The riders are heading towards CP0 in Espinal at a blistering pace, I’ll be back with the Men’s dots we know later.

Written by Millie :) 

TPR, the final race in the Lost Dot 2025 calendar starts in San Sebastián at the Bay of Biscay, crossing the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean and back again. The format is fixed route Parcours and five control points, with riders choosing their routes in between.

In previous years you’d be encouraged to take gravel “short cuts.” Like the year I did it (TPRNo3), where I ended up on three off-road sections on my very much road bike - including one crazy hike-a-bike. But you could, if you wished, ride the route entirely on the road.

But this year, all the fixed sections contain gravel! In a quest so that “everyone experiences these beautiful portions of off-road riding” as Race Director David put it, instead of leaving it to just the few easily tempted riders to take those unpaved paths.
These mandatory gravel sections make up around 13% of the race. That’s big enough to really make you think about setup. What tyres will people go for? Will we see another bike showdown like the women’s podium at TCR, or will most riders choose on being underbiked and just hope for the best?

Check out the riders Bikes Of [here](https://dotwatcher.cc/feature/bikes-of-trans-pyrenees-race-2025) . I'll be doing a more detailed look into those later (especially on those tyre choices). 

CP1 is the most southerly point in TPR history in Longás, Spain. And this year the most easterly point is Cerbère, right on the Spanish French border near the Col du Banyuls, which is included on Parcours 5.

Depending on which route riders choose, it’s likely to come out around roughly 2,000 km with 40,000 m of climbing.

Riders will spend the first part of the race on the south of the Pyrenees before needing to cross north to reach Parcours 3 at Varradós which is on gravel, and then back again to get to CP4.
If it’s anything like when I rode it, this is where the big, race defining decisions get made. With tunnels banned for cyclists, you’re faced with a choice: a hike-a-bike, or the long way around on the road.
The return Raid Parcours is 680 km with 18,400 m of climbing. It’s a beast, but a beautiful one. It puts together 30 successive cols, including the famous climbs of the French Pyrenees: the Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde and plenty more. Look at the elevation profile, there’s not a flat bit of road in sight. But like the rest of this edition there are some gravel twists in there too. 

[https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=50270142&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true](https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=50270142&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true)

After the Raid Parcours, there’s about 150 km to reach the start of the final Parcours – 
77 km back into San Sebastián for the finish. If we’ve learned anything from Lost Dot’s previous Finish Parcours, it’s that they like to test riders right up until the very end.

The weather last year threw everything at riders - snow, rain, and all sorts. If I remember correctly, Robin was even spotted in a bin bag as an extra jacket. The forecast this year looks a little nicer for now, but the Pyrenees is a huge, unpredictable place. In the high mountains, anything can happen, so riders should be prepared for all conditions.

The countdown to the start is on, riders set off at 6am.

Written by Millie :) 


Millie Gibbons

Fiona Kolbinger

Robin Gemperle

This year, starting and finishing in San Sebastian, riders will traverse the Pyrenees from coast to coast, and back, tackling mandatory gravel Parcours along the way.

Trans Pyrenees Race 2025 Tracking and Commentary

This year starting and finishing in San Sebastian, riders will traverse the Pyrenees from coast to coast, and back, tackling mandatory gravel Parcours along the way.

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Trans Pyrenees Race 2025

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