Control Point 3 is Reached!

A Quick Evening Update

Video Update

Day four : SMILES & SUSPENSE IN BOSNIA !

Demystifying Pair 303, what is going on? An Explainer

Day 3 : OVER THE ALPS

Full Day 2 and into night 3, What has been going on?

24 Hours In

The Splitting Begins! Day 1 of the TCR 

A rider's preview - Cap#257 Davis Pazars

Robin Gemperle

Abdullah Zeinab

Andre Bachmann

Christoph Strasser

Florian Moreau

David Tschan

Tobias Fuchs

Tim De Witte

Daniel Gottschalk

Omar Di Felice

Pawel Pulawski

Ben Chadourne

Lucas Strittmatter

Mikko Kainu

Jana Kesenheimer

Adrien Liechti

Julian Klose

Riccardo Kuhar

Jens Volkersdorfer

Rory Anderson

Rémi Mejean

Kristian Buljan

Tom Mundy

Benjamin Puiseux

Christophe Aucan

Alexandre Bourgeonnier

Danny Green

Matthew Garthwaite

Tim McInnes

Jaimi Wilson

Hugo Pottier

Timo Rusteberg

Mark Kowalski

Geert Bonnema

Tomáš Křováček

Mike Fawcett

Ahmet Karaoğlan

Radoslaw Rogoz

Davis Pazars

Michael Schmalz

Arne Vandekerckhove

Hans-Udo Vieten

Christian Morf

Taneli Myllykoski

Samuel Weidtmann

Christopher Murkin

Nicholas Hulse

Jakob Schultz

Stuart Gillett

Laurent Garbolino

Adam Wolley

Julian Manrique Trujillo

Tim Wijnants

Miles Clemson

Robin Reinsch

Pierre-Yves Robert

Bas Vlaskamp

Florian Thiessen

Wim Verheyen

Kilian Urwyler

Frederic De Pizzol

Matthew Spooner

Thomas Downes

Matt Seward

Jacob Tippelt

Michael Ganz

Daniel Brayson

Bernhard Kämmerer

Auri Teinilä

Jonathan Good

Alexander Vahl

Sami Martiskainen

Jonas Weisbach

Leigh Timmis

Kristof Standaert

Lars Orth

Anna Carlqvist

Bram van Engelen

Tom Banks

Pat Coyle

Mathew Lay

Mohit Kohli

Barry van Hilten

Sinan Kargi

Adrian Lai

Aaron Beard

Jesko von Werthern

Heike Otten

Erik Schiller

Frederic Gielissen

Joschka Völkel

Dragomir Titei

Ian Marris

Benoit le Roux

Tobias Gustafsson

Nazar Maksymchuk Netterström

Tim Zimmer

Fredi Maeder

Nod Nelson

Tomas Kovacs

Sherry Cardona

Gereon Tewes

Louison Muller

Augustin Muller

Rodolph Rainteau

Allan Bercq

Thomas Kemetmüller

Gerald Stampfel

Machiel Telling

Jim Visschers

Nico Coetzee

Christiaan van Zyl

Bartek Waś

Wojtek Was

Telbert James

Dulce Pedroso

Ruby Beardsall

Santiago Roig Dinares

Stien Van der Eycken

Stef Jacobs

Katja Werner

Claus Knorz

Lukas Gerhard

Oliver Neumann

Herve Faivre

Sandrine Faivre

Magnus Forsblom

Staffan Öberg

Simone Riveruzzi

Frederic Laforge

Johannes Thoß

Ulrich Strauch

Witold Winiarczyk

Kinga Perzyńska

Sarah Ruggins

Mark Anderson

Osman Kıtay

Can Kaniöz

Michele Stellatelli

Luca Mari

Hans van Delft

Annelies van der Zwart

Control Car 1

Control Car 2

[Our Update](https://youtu.be/G-YInZuu8Ho)

Robin Gemperle has just breezed through CP3 after tackling the transition betwen CP2 and CP3 via a rather gnarly gravel track. 2nd place Abdullah Zeinab opted for a more ciruitous road route whilst Christoph Strasser jumps up into third place by turning around after CP2 to ride down the Parcours and take a more direct route between the two controls.

![Screenshot 2024-07-26 at 22.26.46](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/37jYNBQQwk5336RiltakSs/918a3080d4f3fd8e8a8a3c3219e7026d/Screenshot_2024-07-26_at_22.26.46.png)
## Border Crossings
Racer and DotWatcher [Davis Pazars](https://www.instagram.com/pazars/) sent a great explainer through about border crossings, but essentially heading into Montenegro can lead to some difficult situations. With some borders being governed by certain rules either of that country or by the TCR. There's also certain road tunnels that are banned in this area making certain routes impossible. Keep an eye out for some deviations from the straight line as riders head towards CP3.

![Screenshot 2024-07-26 at 22.29.09](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1EKP8ftzZ5Y3WuRpWuDZts/cf1030a19f92548004d0a5ad60379306/Screenshot_2024-07-26_at_22.29.09.png)
## The Women's Field
Jana Kesenheimer continues to lead, just moving through CP2. Jaimi Wilson is in strong second whilst Ana Carlqvist and Auri Teinilä battle it out for the 3rd place position into CP2. Auri seems to have taken the shortcut past the banned road in Zagreb that a few other riders have taken, an overgrown bridleway type path that is proving a little more tricky than expected!

![Screenshot 2024-07-26 at 22.31.28](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4FiuvKRVS49xvWNc1CcPar/1ba01772ca0977cd7d359205c226364f/Screenshot_2024-07-26_at_22.31.28.png)
## Victor Returns
Victor has got his passport and wallet and is now fighting his way back to CP2. Quite the comeback for the young rider and we'll keep a close eye as he moves back towards the front of the race!

![Screenshot 2024-07-26 at 22.32.14](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6xw8T6ux8hWeIZxbdusoAg/bd4cecfbf90e8ba2bde26aa1ed2d9be1/Screenshot_2024-07-26_at_22.32.14.png)
## Race Flow
Dotwatching expert [Torsten Frank](https://www.instagram.com/torsten_frank/) has posted some really interesting insights on race flow. Using the Follow My Challenge feature you can see how quickly Strasser is gaining ground on a similar route to Zeinab. Christoph's experience in supported TT style events means he is an expert and putting his head down and riding moving at a great speed on the more straighforward sections. It's important to keep an eye on what's going on here over the next few days!

![Screenshot 2024-07-26 at 22.32.19](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6NvqUiWW8eo4UUcsjUjCAv/6d8760bd8e400e4e07f3a7f54adf7386/Screenshot_2024-07-26_at_22.32.19.png)

More tomorrow - check out our videos and rumour has it, Beccy Waters will be back!

Thanks - Kitty

Photos from [Nikica Atlagic](https://www.instagram.com/cybernck/), organiser of B-Hard who has been out DotWatching today!

Our top 4 have reached CP2 with Robin Gemperle continuing to lead, followed by Abdullah Zeinab, Andre Bauchman and then Christoph Strasser. Robin was not the fastest to CP2, with Strasser taking the lead so far in 33 hours and 8 minutes. Robin lost time resting though, which seems to be a sensible move with such a strong lead. He again is currently getting some rest, we look forward to seeing his moves in the morning!

Christoph Strasser made a bold move, riding back down the Parcours back on himself to avoid some of the off-road sections favouring his faster road riding. Meanwhile, Robin has continued on after riding some serious gravel!

Jana Kesenheimer has passed through Banja Luka and is riding through Bosnia and Herzegovina with a big buffer between herself and Jaimi Wilson. It looks like she'll be the first woman through CP2.

![Screenshot 2024-07-25 at 22.44.45](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/46456jQiQRHHY06LdAcac3/9d6f28acb6ce01838ad183d5e9009df7/Screenshot_2024-07-25_at_22.44.45.png)

Victor Bosoni is back in business after retrieving his wallet and passport and is back through some way to where he was this time yesterday, a pretty impressive feat with so much ground to cover!

We'll have more tomorrow.

-Kitty

[TCR Update 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSKFy5OT0x0)

(Post by Thomas Chateau / picture of Jana Kesenheimer (010) in Mangart Sedlo by Tomás Montes, official TCR photographer)

After an exciting first episode between France and Slovenia, one could doubt that the crossing of the former Yugoslavia would offer a __*cartographic spectacle*__ between CP1 and CP2. The road network is indeed less dense than in Western Europe, Bosnia has been crossed during several editions and the archives of tracking maps are full of the routes taken by __Kristof Allegaert__, __James Hayden__, __Neil Phillips__, etc.. A long parade of riders via Banja Luka seemed promised. But no, not at all, the first 2024 riders demonstrated that there were possible variations and perhaps options to save or lose time.

__Robin Gemperle (002)__ got the ball rolling at a brisk pace, reminding dotwatchers, as in 2023, that the city center of Zagreb is very easy to cross and that the road from Kutina to the Bosnian border is smooth. In Banja Luka in the evening, where __Nikica Atlagic__, organizer of __B-Hard__, was waiting for him for a video "[Dotcatching](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C90h_xaAday/)", he revealed however that he had a small crash. Leaving the bosnian city, he opted for the Vrbanja valley towards Čelinac, which could give rise to fears that he would reproduce the same error as __Bjorn Lenhard__ in 2018 towards a "road" which is no longer really one. He only went as far as Kotor Varoš to sleep there before going back down the road to Travnik via Knezevo. At Hadzici, he took a small road to climb to the start of course 2 in first position with a lead of several hours.

__Christoph Strasser (001)__ seems to have taken advantage of his arrival in the Balkans to move up a gear (and find a smile again). And switching from German to English in his videos where he questions the right expression to name the mix between bikepacking and time-trial: *__TT-packing__*? After a passage a bit further south via Ljubljana, and an alternative arrival in Bosnia via Kozarska Dubica, he is on the most direct route after Banja Luka.

__Abdullah Zeinab (021)__ was the most spectacular in his routing after entering in Bosnia, with a significant deviation to the East to join the E57/M17 road in the Bosna valley in Doboj, cataloged as a "not recommended route" on the [Transcontinental map resources](https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/viewer?mid=1kGsSeXJEoxSe1-JXMqRrHSqgPkXlWc0I&ll=44.48917047471685%2C18.12769515696436&z=11) and including some prohibited but avoidable tunnels. The choice of a very rolling road. After Zenica, he continued his logic by following the highway towards Sarajevo where he has just arrived and from where he will reach the bottom of the Bjelanisca slopes from the east. This could allow him to arrive at CP2 perhaps less than 4 hours behind Robin. His 300km cavalcade on a road very different from the others (and undoubtedly quite ugly and very busy) is a bit reminiscent of the __*Allegaert style*__ (remember 2015)!

Finally, since this tenth anniversary invites us to remember past editions, __Andre Bachmann (005)__, followed by __Omar Di Felice (016)__ decided to revisit the road that led Bjorn Lenhard to make a spectacular [U-turn in 2018](https://trackleaders.com/transconrace18i.php?name=Bj__rn_Lenhard) ( nervous breakdown?), taking the R440 a little after Kotor Varoš, a pretty forest road whose asphalt surface disappears after crossing a small pass and an administrative border. They could lose a little time there, even if this descent remains rideable and __Anatole Naimi__ was there in 2023. But it remains an astonishing choice for riders in the top 10.

While mapping doesn't offer that many options, __Pawel Pulawski's (008)__ strategy for going faster is to sleep during the day rather than at night. A strategy known to avoid the heat, but which seems to come from his desire to sleep only after leaving CP1. We cannot but recommend [daily video summaries](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C90m__Auhwe/) where he gives good addresses for eating goulash at midnight (he promised his body to avoid junk food) and where he thanks __Pogacar__ for having done the job so that motorists respect cyclists by keeping 2 meters apart each time they overtake.

__Jana Kesenheimer (010)__, the fastest woman, was delayed yesterday by a faulty USB converter, she could no longer use her dynamo and had to buy and charge batteries. Currently in Sisak, she will soon be arriving in Bosnia too!

For riders far from the race head, the countdown begins to reach CP1 which will close tomorrow at 11:59 p.m.

I want to start this post by saying I'm talking as an individual, my opinions are not that of DotWatcher or Lost Dot! Equally, I am completely in awe of Sarah Ruggin's progress and can't wait to see her Finish the TCR in an incredibly strong time despite losing her riding partner!

Congratulations Sarah for such a strong achievement. 

![Screenshot 2024-07-25 at 13.14.03](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1zLCqjpddrkL5v8acetFQQ/bec67a58f33073e688665e74b2b2871f/Screenshot_2024-07-25_at_13.14.03.png)

## What has happened?

Sarah Ruggins and Mark Anderson set off in a pair, 303, from Roubaix in the grand depart this year. They took a rather circuitous but flat route that ultimately paid off for Sarah. However, Mark sadly had to pull out of the race for a serious knee injury and Sarah continued solo. 

In the rules of the TCR as set out prior to the race, if you start in one category (i.e pairs) and cannot finish the race in that category (i.e solo) then you are ineligible for a General Classification finish. 

As Mark pulled out prior to the first CP and Sarah has reached them in a different category she is not eligible to be marked as a GC rider at the CPs either via her brevet or via Follow My Challenge.

However, Sarah is still on the FMC map and will still be given a Finish that will appear on DotWatcher's results as outside of GC and on Lost Dots "all results" file with a "Finish" rather than GC results.

## Why?

Whilst this may seem a grey area, it is actually a bit more cut and dry than you'd expect.

For some context, I've raced both solo and in a pair. When I raced the Wild West Country in 2022 I was the rider just behind someone that had dropped out a pair so have some experience with this. Also, I do a lot of DotWatching!

There are pros and cons of both categories and specifically ones that contribute to the idea of being third woman in the race, personally (not speaking on behalf of anyone other than myself) I'd set it out like this:

# Pros of pairs riding
- Pairs are able to plan together (two heads are better than one!)
- Pairs can share costs for hotels etc
- Don't need to carry two of everything that isn't essential kit
- Provide moral support
- Can draft off one another

# Cons of riding in a pair
- You'll never find a pair that you sync with perfectly, the need for sometimes double the stops or different highs and lows may slow you down
- It's more difficult to get your head down and just ride
- You have to consider someone else throughout the race, which can be hard in those low and unforgiving moments
- Most riders have different strengths.

## What does this add up to?

In this case, the most heavily influenced possible scenario would be gaining all the pros and losing all the cons. The pros of having someone else join in with planning is a big one, it could also be an advantage to have someone riding with you on a flatter faster bit of terrain. However, now we're in hillier more alpine territory, it could be an advantage not to have someone else to think about and stop for.

This is just a suggestion of the best possible advantage being given, not necessarily what has happened.

For all we know, Sarah could've been EVEN faster alone, sailing through the countryside!

However, given these are possibilities it means that the external factors contributing to Sarah's success are ones that haven't be available to current third woman, Auri Teinilä thus making it impossible to reflect where she'd actually be in the solo leaderboard.

## The Achievement itself

Despite not being in GC or provided with validated checkpoints, nobody will be able to take away from Sarah's unbelievably strong riding and achievement. Given the prevalence of social media many can see her progress and will make their own decision about her position.

Finishing the TCR and the route is an incredible feat and one that anyone should be proud of, especially given such a great scenario change. Chapeau Sarah!

## A final word

Lost Dot is an organisation with a team that shares decision making processes and works together. Please can everyone be mindful that personal social media is not an organisation and any complaints should be directed to the Race Page!

Thanks - Kitty

(Post by Thomas Chateau / picture of Victor Bosoni (232) in Nötsch/Austria by Tomás Montes, official TCR photographer)

__*Dotwatching*__ is a delicious treasure hunt: from the position of a rider on the tracking map, we try to glean information from Google maps, we search any interesting comment on www.cols-cyclisme.com, we ask questions to the community on social networks, all this to try to imagine the invisible. After more than a decade of bikepacking races, new resources have appeared, and if a neophyte dotwatcher wanted to inquire about what is going on at the summit of Mangart on the CP1 parcours, we could above all advise him to watch *"[Onboard the transcontinental](https://onboardtcrfilm.cc/)"* by __Antonin Michaud-Soret__, the documentary filmed over 3 seasons of TCR which includes magnificent views of the famous Slovenian cul-de-sac (already in the spotlight in 2016) and which immortalized __Matthieu Lifschitz__'s sentence at its summit (TCRNo6cap109) proclaiming with emotion that, for all the riders who fought to get there, "we can't take that away from them"!

What we cannot take away from __Robin Gemperlé (002)__ is having made a dazzling start, arriving at CP1 around 2:00 a.m. after 1,350km in 48 hours. The organization comments on social networks that it is “*an unprecedented pace, even by the high standards of today’s ultra distance racing*”. His time would be an excellent Paris-Brest-Paris result, but *without* assistance, *without* drafting, *with* the Alps in it and *with* 3000 kilometers to follow behind. He had already been explosive in the 2023 TCR and we know that he will last in the long term given what he demonstrated in the 2023 __Atlas Mountain Race__.

The defending champion __Christoph Strasser (001)__ seems less masterful, but the lion is not definitively beaten: he seems to have been annoyed by technical problems and numerous deviations due to road works, but he will undoubtedly be better in Bosnia where he won the __B-Hard__ last year.

__Pawel Pulawski (008)__ also expressed his happiness at arriving in the Balkans on the occasion of an anecdote : an Austrian restaurant refused him to eat on the table a plate of spaghettis ordered by telephone on the pretext that it was a take-out order. He smiled knowingly about the hospitality he will find later. In any case, the Pole, who loves the Alps, is off to an excellent start with his fairly late sleep strategy.

The Australian of Palestinian origin __Abdullah Zeinab (021)__ - best time in the __Indian Pacific Wheel race__ 2018 and record holder in the __Trans Am Bike race__ in 2019 - keeps all the promises that could be expected from his participation and he He is entered in second position in a slightly more direct route to reach and cross Bosnia, followed by the Italian __Omar di Felice (016)__.

Concerning the alpine equation, the solution was therefore to bet on the combo __RADSTÄDLTER TAUERNPASS__  (1738m)& __KATSCHBERGPASS__ (1641m) in Austria like most of the participants, including the leading pair composed of the Colombian __Sherry Cardona (95B)__ and her faithful cameraman __Gereon Tewes (295A)__. 

The daring option __GROSSGLOCKENER__ (2571m) opened by __Victor Bosoni (237)__ seemed incongruous but it was ultimately followed by a good part of the middle-pack. It played tricks on __Adrien Liechti (007)__ who encountered an unexpected nighttime closure of this high mountain road. As for Victor, it was a bolt from the blue when the organization announced this morning that he had forgotten his passport in a gas station 270 kilometers earlier, forcing him to turn around to cross the Alps again. Tristesse ! From its track, we can imagine that this is my Shell station in Bad Feilnbach, south of Kufstein and therefore really on the other side of the mountain. Already adored by dotwatchers ([his story in cycling](https://www.directvelo.com/actualite/97870/victor-bosoni-courir-sous-traitement-c-est-non-alors-j-arrete?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3qPayAfhfleCeUEPMmz_6o-GO_R0hyWUQr3JqFkNP8WcMS0uQCnSgAu6o_aem_ZcvTlkjv3wGDbrrzhh57-A) can be discovered in this article), he has become the darling of all the riders he will meet on the road in the opposite direction! 

For his reverse, Victor opted for the route taken by the leaders via the Katschberg, but he will not have the opportunity to meet the Frenchman __Benjamin Puiseux (268)__ (whose last name will speak to the oldest dotwatchers because his father __Alain Puiseux__ had completed the TCR 2016) who made a small variation via the __Schönfeldsattel__ (1741m). It's true that the road seemed pretty there, for the trifle of a handful of kilometers with 200 meters of additional elevation.

In terms of variants, the third major route is that of the __Brennerpass__ (1370m) followed by an Italian interlude via Dobbiaco. __Tobias Fuchs (132)__, a serious candidate for the top 10 given his experience, was there, as well as __Jana Kesenheimer (010)__, in the lead among the women and whose knowledge of the Austrian terrain cannot be doubted.

Further behind, __Adrien Charlot (215)__ admitted to having stayed too long in France instead of crossing Germany and he had to tackle the __FLUELAPASS__ (2384m) followed by the __OFENPASS__ (2149m), but he is happy and confident on his ability to catch up in the remaining 3000 kilometers.

At the provisional ranking of 2:30 p.m.:
1 Robin GEMPERLE (002)
2 Abdullah ZEINAB (021) about 3.5 hours late (?):
3 Omar DI FELICE (016)
4 Andre BACHMAN (005)
5 Christoph STRASSER (001)
6 Florian MOREAU (067)
7 Pawel "Piko" PULAWSKI (008)
8 Tobias FUCHS (132)
9 Tim DE WITTE (003)
10 David TSCHAN (50)

DNF : Alexander KOPP (knee pain), Josh IBBET (knee pain).

Hello again! Kitty here. Each post I'm going to be highlighting an Instagram account well worth a follow if you're into the TCR reels. First up, [Piko Pulawski](https://www.instagram.com/pikopulawski/), the race director for Race Through Poland is posting a series of his Sweet and Sour TCR moments! A great watch.

![WhatsApp Image 2024-07-23 at 07.42.08](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4q7ktNjemc8ab9ZijrXFRp/b9834c9772d9c6132aa00454b91f3d54/WhatsApp_Image_2024-07-23_at_07.42.08.jpeg)

Checking in on the leaders we have Christoph and Robin doing two completely different routes with Christoph finding it more difficult to refuel in France, maybe Robin’s moves weren’t purely routing based? Robin got in an extra hour of rest last night and is well ahead of anyone in the group. 

![WhatsApp Image 2024-07-23 at 19.50.58](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2nv1pM705MDP4l3bYbEnzG/163e2a8f7cb161a948818902db97e5ab/WhatsApp_Image_2024-07-23_at_19.50.58.jpeg)
Christoph has dropped back and is now behind Omar Di Felice, 16, Andre Bachmann, 5,  Abdullah Zeinab, 21, and then coming from the South, Victor Bosini. This is an interesting turn of events, with these well known and strong riders pushing hard early on into CP1. 

![WhatsApp Image 2024-07-23 at 10.33.33](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6FDHmXBLvD6yRQCLZrPlT3/963b759c67934369363f8ee7dc5a063f/WhatsApp_Image_2024-07-23_at_10.33.33.jpeg)
Omar Di Felice and Christoph are both having issues with reroutes due to roadworks with Omar dubbing Germany the land of road maintenance!

Robin is currently close to the Parcours and will easily reach CP1 by tonight, with such a gap forming, will this be a race won in the Alps or will it be a chase to the finish? Interestingly, CP1 is only due to open at midnight tonight - Robin will almost certainly be there before. Will Lost Dot open the doors?!

![Screenshot 2024-07-23 at 19.45.19](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/NPPbeCIyIeqbMFtRRvSVI/c4b18764e4605c77918f55f8d63fa02f/Screenshot_2024-07-23_at_19.45.19.png)
Jana Kesenheimer is still in the lead for the women and is riding incredibly well, she passed her home after a long first day and has been pressing on well through the mountains. One rider headed out to meet her and noted she was strong and fresh!

MUNICH! Check out the replay, see if riders are choosing to head to the centre of the city or not. Time saved missing it may be time lost later without a resupply. However, with plenty of spots in Western Europe for resupply it could be a game changer missing it. 

![Screenshot 2024-07-23 at 19.39.27](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4HrH55CBgjbHo01g5Ajyxa/2f3547e9ecae48e065f2ba9beb1c7fec/Screenshot_2024-07-23_at_19.39.27.png)
Adrien Charlot, 215, is the only rider to head through Switzerland, an interesting choice and as he makes his way back to the bunch we could see whether or not it has pushed him up through the rankings.

![WhatsApp Image 2024-07-22 at 19.58.09](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7MdUdaWWJlvbQ1CeHByQQ0/1205712a41dbc752d00b13e31bcf8495/WhatsApp_Image_2024-07-22_at_19.58.09.jpeg)
Let’s check in on pair 303, last night they posted this about the riding they’re doing. Seems like flat riding is the key to their long distance route - a bold choice and it’ll be interesting to see how they tackle the Alps. Will the extra distance be worthwhile? As one of our expert DotWatchers has said they’ll need a strategy of “moving mountains” proportions! It seems however, 303a Mark Anderson has DNFed with Sarah Ruggins carrying on alone. Hats off (or should we say casquette?) to Sarah, the route has paid off somewhat and it has certainly been the talk of Day 1 and 2!

![Screenshot 2024-07-23 at 19.26.11](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/61yxw799R6V97IY6W1NaHh/9816e53f697352bf37517120dfd36ee8/Screenshot_2024-07-23_at_19.26.11.png)
Sherry Cardona and Gereon Tewes are moving well but a GPX mix up has seemingly had them spend a little more time in France than expected. But, at least Sherry found her Haribo stand of dreams in Luxembourg (we think, an eagle eyed DotWatcher has confirmed it’s the only place it could be!). A great comparison is that Sherry tackled 4850m of climbing whilst Sarah did 3100m, depending on your riding style you can decide what is the more favourable route!

Davis Pazars, 257, has ended up with 600km with 2000m of elevation on day 1. Then hit the Alps with 400km of riding covering the same 2k of elevation! It’s going to be interesting how the Alps affects everyone’s riding.

![Screenshot 2024-07-23 at 19.55.25](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2p7sLAL4ZN31srgmQcDIuU/1f77baa6e00f0a36c01df20392b33a21/Screenshot_2024-07-23_at_19.55.25.png)
Our resident experts have also picked out some interesting details, here’s some insights from DotWatcher extraordinaire Thomas Chateau:

“Victor Bozoni seems to ride towards GROSSGLOCKENER, Tobias Fuchs, josh, Jana towards BRENNERPASS, Tanelli Myllykoski towards SILVRETTAor STAUSEE,  Adrien Charlot towards FLUELAPASS or ALBULLAPASS ? There are players for mountains.
I noticed the good job of one of the famous veterans that came for the 10th anniversary : Alex Bourgeonnier (cap237) who finished second 9years ago (with an iconic photo crying with his wife) could be considèred in the top 10, not so far from the leaders. Even if I wonder if he wouldn’t be also pedalling toward GROSSGLOCKENER …”

Make sure you read his [FULL UPDATE HERE](https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1924398624670705&id=100013017580847&mibextid=WC7FNe&rdid=1cyuILA8o727ZnEx).

![Screenshot 2024-07-23 at 19.57.17](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/16mMlNxLsNySGLzfkREBWY/e7dcd722df789ffacb1685b915c4a404/Screenshot_2024-07-23_at_19.57.17.png)
Alex Kopp, a fantastic rider who many had their eyes on has sadly DNFed with a bad knee. It’s pretty relentless riding out there and riders will start to feel it in their knees and backs. Alex has had a big year!


We’re 24 hours into the 10th edition of the Transcontinental Race. With the conditions in the riders favour, no precipitation and a tailwind if any wind at all, there has been a lot of ground made. Robin Gemperle has ridden 772km in 24 hours, a completely unfathomable feat with a moving speed of 32km/h. Christoph Strasser is at just over 700km moving at 29km/h. It’s difficult to understand quite how fast and far these riders have gone within the first 24 hours of a 4000km race. Obviously moving over the more technical terrain will slow the pace, but this is a blistering start! Robin is the spearhead of the pack of riders moving towards parcours 1.

![D3B83C04-499B-49E0-8C6A-6DDEB9851DD7](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/17vW7oA2Pu9NJzBswzu5pb/018b89f7ed9dfe71dc376f7e9f481808/D3B83C04-499B-49E0-8C6A-6DDEB9851DD7.jpg)

We’ve had a report from a DotWatcher, [SebiCicleta](https://www.instagram.com/sebicicleta/) (also providing the photo), on the ground regarding the Start parcours:

“TCRno10 - And because it was possible, I rode the Start Parcours, trying not to interfere too much with the riders. A great opportunity to soak up the TCR mood, to hear them suffer on the cobbles of Paterberg, be a witness of the first punctures and cheer them on in a participative way.

The Start Parcours is -again- a masterpiece of route design, making Flanders look like a gigantic land of lush hills. We did lots of gravel and backroads, avoiding the main roads as much as possible. But the D+ is demanding, as you can read from the Strava analysis. After the Muur (and the previous 115km from Brussels), I was ripe for some rest! Huge thoughts to all those who carried on directly after that!”

Alex Restrup (179) is the Southernmost rider, looking like he could potentially even get into Switzerland! An interesting tactic for the rider. It could skip some more technical areas but may add a lot of distance.

## The Women's Field

Jana Kesenheimer (10) continues to lead the women's field with Jaimi Wilson (4) following. However, keep an eye out as closely following the two is another dot JW 113 which is Jessica Wilson! We'll make sure to use the Dot numbers as we continue through the commentary.  

![Screenshot 2024-07-22 at 19.44.43](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1q3rsyr8j8oEgKpXrVqDkX/e6628d1d4283f883a0d7bb5940d68b70/Screenshot_2024-07-22_at_19.44.43.png)
## The Bet For Pair 303

Pair 303, Sarah Ruggins and Mark Anderson may have caught your eye for being very far North compared to the other riders! It seems they may be hedging their bets and potentially trying to avoid a large chunk of climbing. It may work for them and definitely one to watch as we progress!


Last night hundreds, maybe thousands gathered to see off the TCRNo10 with spectators cheering for the entire cobbled climb. Kristof Allegeart, three-time winner, joined Strasser for his send-off and rode with the peloton for quite some time.

Overnight, most riders kept on going, with a few scratches in the first few hours. The first night is always a time of riding an adrenaline high and sleep is probably not even on anyone’s mind! With such a send off it must give a boost to all the competitors.

Once again, we’re seeing the iconic split at the start of the TCR. With some riders favouring the North cutting through the bottom of the Netherlands and the other half heading through Luxembourg. This split is mainly due to limited crossing points over the Rhine and riders having to decide where they will enter the Alps. However, Tomas Kovacs (124) and Daniel Brayson (173) split the difference and headed through the middle, through Belgium and over the Belgian-German border. 

![Screenshot 2024-07-22 at 11.56.25](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7K3sHvkoeiL1NoSyFNcyPC/544708e98bcbb239ccc25125469a0789/Screenshot_2024-07-22_at_11.56.25.png)

Interestingly, Robin Gemperle went for the North route, and Christoph Strasser the Southern, both riders leading their field. What I find personally interesting about these splits is that a huge contributing factor to many riders’ choices will be their personal experience and previous European riding. The careful route planning by organisers means that at this point in the race, the splits are six of one and half a dozen of the other so some comfort riding may be at play.

Jana Kessenheimer is well into the lead of the women's field having covered over 450km in such a short window. She has been pretty strong over the past few races and put a lot of effort into training. She’s currently 10th overall, but this is subject to routing decisions. With such a strong position already, we could see her contending for the overall top spots.

![Screenshot 2024-07-22 at 12.02.42](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7t3TtGN0JOwNJ5x53wPzg3/01bb553b69338ff37099226daae8e6a3/Screenshot_2024-07-22_at_12.02.42.png)

Omar De Felice, a strong contender, has had a crash early into the race. After only 35km he’s had a tumble on the first off-road section but has cleaned up and carried on. 

It is probably a bit too early for ice cream watch but with some high temperatures as the riders get further South, I’ll keep you updated. 

Thanks to our DotWatcher groupchat!

- Kitty

[TCRNo10 Race Preview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld0fXUiXGJ0)

Clarification - Kristof Allegeart was just seeing the riders off! Not a full race from the Belgian legend.

TCR Preview Video

Beccy Waters

Kitty Dennis

Apidura

Thomas Chateau

Transcontinental Race No10 Tracking + Commentary: Considered by many as the halo event of the European season, the TCR is back for its tenth edition; a decade in the making. The tenth edition starts in the iconic city of Roubaix and will finish in Istanbul, Türkiye, marking the first time the race crosses Europe's border.

Transcontinental Race No10 Tracking

Considered by many as the halo event of the European season, the TCR is back for its tenth edition; a decade in the making. The tenth edition starts in the iconic city of Roubaix and will finish in Istanbul, Türkiye, marking the first time the race crosses Europe's border.


Transcontinental Race No10

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