Race Preview

And the winner...

More finishers roll in

Top 10 back home

After its inaugural edition last year, TransIbérica once again rolls out of Bilbao with 31 riders on the list eagerly awaiting an adventure like no other they've taken on before.

From the same organisers that brought you the TransPyrenees earlier this year, TransIbérica is a true test of endurance through some of the most trying checkpoints located in Spain, France and Portugal.

__ONES TO WATCH__

Ulrich Bartolmös recently won the [TransPyrenees](https://dotwatcher.cc/race/transpyrenees-ultracycling-race-2019) race and has been [busy training](https://www.strava.com/activities/2647670458) on similar terrain to that which he will race through in just a few days' time.

With a truly international field (riders from everywhere between Brazil and Finland), it's hard to know whose race it might be and it'll be interesting to see how the German pair of Sandra Rosgalla and Stefan Slegl get on.

__THE CHECKPOINTS__

Information about each of the checkpoints can be found [here](https://www.transiberica.cc/transiberica/checkpoints/) but some particular highlights include:

- CP2: Javalambre Peak - the riders can take some shortcuts for the descent but with hard gravel.
- CP4: Pico del Veleta - it's always an amazing moment watching riders climb the 3394m peak, but some of the riders have announced that they will climb it from the south side. It's shorter coming from CP3, but there is more than 30km of gravel probably with some snowfields.
- From CP5, the Andalusian village of Ronda, to CP6 in Albufeira, PT, the logical way is crossing the Spanish/Portuguese border by ferry but this ferry doesn't run at night, so they have to plan their time accordingly.

__Coverage begins on Sunday 1st September so keep checking back for updates on how the race will be won.__

https://www.instagram.com/p/B15lX_xo9QC/

__IN THE BEGINNING__

It wouldn't be an ultra-endurance race without a challenge from the off and this time it was rain. In the Basque Country, they call it xirimiri (pronounced shirimiri) and it's the kind of fine rain or drizzle that soaks you to the bone.

Needless to say, rain didn't stop play and the riders had to get on with it as soon as the flag dropped at 22:00 local time in Bilbao.

__BONSOIR FRANCE__

![Screenshot 2019-09-02 at 09.37.41](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/57NdHjvLh2qGbEDZXDrobX/32a82e470a70b5cf25f40ff8c087a26f/Screenshot_2019-09-02_at_09.37.41.png)

CP1 is the Col de la Pierre St Martin, the highest paved mountain pass in the Basque Pyrenees that tops out at 1766m above sea level. The mandatory parcour takes riders from the French village of Arette up a 26km climb with an elevation gain of 1440m (that's an average of 6% for those playing at home).

Given there's a rather large mountain range sitting on the border of Spain and France, it's no surprise the dots immediately went their separate ways. It looks like the favoured road was the D936 into Arette, though some others have taken a more direct but possibly hillier route on the D918.

__ULRICH LEADING THE CHASE__

![Ulrich 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3udKYlF2TL4hNXGpVnEqlb/440ab6baf8fe53d5fa5efe1a960106d5/Ulrich_1.jpeg)

📷 Carlos Mazon

TransPyrenees winner, Ulrich Bartolmös, launched his lead early on and reached CP1 at 09:26 this morning. He looks to have a 40-50km lead from his nearest rival, Kim Heikkinen.

The two Finns have now begun their ascent of the parcours to CP1 and not far behind them are Portuguese rider André Alvis and US rider Brian Mitchell.

It's early days and anything can happen, especially in the mountains. Check back later to see how the day unfolds.

All in half a day's work

__CP1: Col de la Pierre St Martin__

With the majority of riders through CP1, you'd think it'd been a fairly easy day for them. You'd be wrong. The tough weather conditions have challenged everyone up the mandatory parcours with no views with which to be rewarded.

![Fog 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/49oEAc36SIgoxsXuNa7AfE/0464bf8b8062a85c498150b535915e27/Fog_1.jpeg)

![Fog 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2fyJ3mxBsJBkLcaiw1o8Zl/0efc3d04eb62e2dfc0dc4e4a93e46f97/Fog_2.jpeg)

![fullsizeoutput 146a](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6dF2rfamKwGzHjAFec5455/88fbe4a8be665cd76aecd79048ee115d/fullsizeoutput_146a.jpeg)

Second placed, Sami, had a cheer squad awaiting his arrival at CP1 (above).

Everyone's favourite ultra-endurance personality, Hippy, has maintained his sense of humour so far despite an early lapse up the climb.

![Hippy 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7amDDzcV8okqWW8pRdnP5u/0d697ea12d8bc7c5300b87483b0e476d/Hippy_1.jpeg) 

And it turns out, the descent was worth it.

https://twitter.com/firsthippy/status/1168572178872356869

The only pairs riders, Sandra and Stefan, are making great progress and working well together.

![Pairs 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5leA4YDZPHZAEJQbcv6Ws3/ea12451facaff87e91aeb246877b6903/Pairs_1.jpeg)

__Leader of the pack__

Ulrich Bartolmös has strengthened his lead today extending it to around 100km at the time of writing. We mentioned earlier the poor weather but this doesn't appear to have slowed down Ulrich who is wearing only shorts while other riders are reaching for insulating layers as the temperatures drop at altitude.

![Ulrich 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/219s2jqyVbuXkFjGltPjYJ/744bf706560794be5adae9fdc26f706e/Ulrich_2.jpeg)

__What's next?__

CP2 is ~100km as the crow flies for Ulrich. The Pico Javalambre is a bare summit with nothing more than pines and rocky outcrops to greet riders. The only buildings are communication towers and to get there, they will need to put some gravel under their tyres. How the conditions will be once riders are there is anyone's guess but the forecast is promising thunderstorms and heavy rain during Monday night.

Will Ulrich make it to the top and back down with nothing more than his summer kit? Will the other riders catch up to him and challenge his lead? All will be revealed in the morning as we stay glued to the tracker.

A busy day at the border

__TYRE TROUBLES__

The first few major mechanicals were unleashed on a couple of unlucky riders overnight. First up was Wilson Cesar who blew a sidewall in his brand new tyre. He was stopped for a long time trying to fix it before getting a new tyre at the foot of CP1 in Arette. Thankfully, he still managed to find a smile up the parcours.

![Wilson Cesar Tyre](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2lXJLNxcd0AKyQXy7GGyh0/7a6bec76e718a9a570946c2aeebe51fb/Wilson_Cesar_Tyre.jpeg)

![Wilson Cesar 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5mkXRHDuQloJSmcqm54QNN/0f6e7fc7188d472d80c2a59ecbe0eacb/Wilson_Cesar_1.jpeg)

Hippy's trials and tribulations continued as he was victim to a rock. He managed to ding his rim and had to boot the tyre to keep rolling overnight. Based on the tracker, he seems to be well on his way thanks to the help of the Spanish general public.

https://twitter.com/firsthippy/status/1168740973628858369

__UP THE ROAD__

Ulrich is still the lone dot at the front of the race. He's now well beyond CP2 and still donning his summer kit. It was a cool 11ºC whilst he channelled his best gravel riding skills.

![Ulrich 3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7cNsCkaPn96IfK9E2zvzEq/2e1a3520f18b7f2b936d1b1fad1963f5/Ulrich_3.jpeg)

It's a big stretch between CP2 and CP3 with hills at either end. Last year's edition of the race brought heat and wind into the mix so we're fully expecting similar conditions to test riders this year.

Cue day two

__PICO DE JAVALAMBRE__

Towering above the riders in the region of Aragon is CP2 and with it comes a world of adventure.

There is no mandatory parcours for this checkpoint but while there is a perfectly good paved road to the top, the terrain of choice for most riders has so far been gravel as we saw earlier with Ulrich.

![Pico Javalambre 3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6jUZhjAiv3TduJUmAOkRj5/cea51211db0c2bb96a018b90e4a3956c/Pico_Javalambre_3.jpeg)

![Pico Javalambre 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/50GHns3bBSrX5VvRbb7OeA/a3ab108010774ad701e4eb62cc379c0f/Pico_Javalambre_2.jpeg)

__THE RACE FOR SECOND__

Sami, Brian and Bruno are all within 10km of each other, so second place is anyone's for now.

![Bruno 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1ZYxLbfGaXXHJiGJh6ihQA/9099b22888cd9e65db60bcd301e87334/Bruno_1.jpeg)

Bruno looking cool, calm and collected on his way to CP3.

__CROSS WINDS FOR ULRICH__

At the front of the race, it's been quite a day for Ulrich as he battled wind and heat as predicted by the race organisers, David and Carlos.

![Ulrich 4](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/349h5yKYPrnoQwqPfu9ljc/59e3b46bc9b2a2dd88a2d14d3f3ffb24/Ulrich_4.jpeg)

It looks like Ulrich will pass CP3, Cabo de Gata, and possibly the highest of all the checkpoints, CP4, Pico Veleta. Will he sleep or press on?

Homing in on CP2

__LEADERBOARD SCRAMBLE__

You may have noticed the leaderboard has changed fairly dramatically every day so far (save for Ulrich's position, obviously!). It's interesting to see second place be so hotly contested with no clear advantage to any rider. At first the Finns looked to be strong enough to pull away from the main bunch but they've since slid down to midway and it's now the American, Brian Mitchell, forging on. Hot on his tail are the other riders with around 40km between second and eighth places.

![Screenshot 2019-09-04 at 09.06.46](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3hQ3wfTvDPbZnvoFkkQIqP/6bf83dc5addb58efe5f683c823635d77/Screenshot_2019-09-04_at_09.06.46.png)

__CABO DE GATA__

Leader Ulrich Bartholmös reached the top of CP3: Cabo de Gata at around 09:00. He reached CP2 12 hours ahead of the then second placed Bruno so we're not expecting the other riders to reach Europe's only hot desert before nightfall this evening. The 10km gravel mandatory parcours is sure to bring some action for dotwatchers and we look forward to seeing it all play out.

![Starry night 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3dCXxIcFxXiE2zp884oGUy/8d2a425213322b3693a76b3e5d2c0981/Starry_night_1.jpeg)

In the meantime, make sure you familiarise yourself with Pico Veleta, Europe's highest paved road and the fourth checkpoint on this incredible adventure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFJ_1-HPcYo

All change

__THE TALE OF ERNESTO__

![Ernesto](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1jhTB3RuLu8NXCCobJXqEO/2bce347f770c0a6ec77e6079537bfcee/Ernesto.jpeg)

Carlos relayed a story to us earlier about his friend Ernesto who has been somewhat of a trail angel over the last couple of days while riders have been turning the pedals across his home turf near Javalambre.

Earlier today, Sascha Leitzke ended up having to nurse a knee injury and scratched at around noon today in Teruel at the base of CP3. In doing so, he bumped into Ernesto who helped him on his way ensuring his bike was properly packed and he was on the right train home.

It's bittersweet hearing stories like this and while we wish Sascha a speedy recovery, it's nice knowing there a kind people on hand to help when the riders need it most. Bravo, Ernesto

A similar story comes direct from Wim who was experiencing a typical ebb on the racing rollercoaster. He was promptly cheered up by a couple friendly locals.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2ACCGQCL-x/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

__ELSEWHERE__

The heat is getting to many riders as they venture further south with more frequent stops for refreshments and food for the road.

https://twitter.com/firsthippy/status/1169285853287452672

CP2 was alive with the buzz of riders earlier with pairs riders, Sandra and Stefan bumping into Johan Kooistra at the top.

![Party CP2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5dyc5ntpOdprmS42k2wpc0/b6c34b58ba9ed171145006038a816da7/Party_CP2.jpeg)

__MORE LOCAL FRIENDS__

Jack Peterson has been enjoying the views along his ride emphasises that the Aragon region is Spain is definitely worth a visit.

https://twitter.com/numplumz/status/1168848752481906688

But shortly after this, he had some guests over for dinner...

https://twitter.com/numplumz/status/1169105539747536897

__WHAT HAPPENED TO SAMI?__

So Sami Martiskainen was earning his place at the pointy end of the race but you may have noticed he slid down the rankings slightly yesterday, and now we know why.

He thought he was taking a gravel shortcut that turned out to be 20km of this just before nightfall...

![Gravel 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3zq69VrS2U4JS3ZAIu0LGH/78a2120140d959fda2ddbcd1e78693dc/Gravel_1.jpeg)

Thankfully, he's worked his way back up to a familiar third place at the time of writing.

__HIPPY'S BANNED ROAD ADVENTURE__

It looks like Hippy's also been on an emotional rollercoaster on and off banned roads.

From this...

https://twitter.com/firsthippy/status/1169225575711629312

and this...

https://twitter.com/firsthippy/status/1169244883791613954

To finally this...

https://twitter.com/firsthippy/status/1169247973898895361

And it's hard to stay mad when the views are like this amirite?

https://twitter.com/firsthippy/status/1169285765618130946

__SNOW FORECAST__

As Ulrich reaches Pico Veleta, he might be lucky to dodge some storms that are forecast over the course of the next few days. And if that wasn't bad enough, riders might also experience snow at the top. Watch this space!

Scratches, trail angels, banned roads and SNOW!

__ULRICH CLIMBS THE HIGHEST PAVED ROAD IN EUROPE__

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2BaHIlo1kZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

...and he's still in shorts!

Our best guess is he has around a 150km lead on his second placed rival, Italian Bruno Ferraro and he's showing no signs of slowing. Next stop Portugal for Ulrich.

Ulrich peaks up the Pico Veleta 

Yet another day goes by for the TransIberica riders and yet another one that includes bad luck and good views in equal measure.

Over the course of the last day or so, Hippy has been battling flat tyres - not ideal when you're in the top 10 of a 3500km bike race.

https://twitter.com/firsthippy/status/1169560099330961408

He looks to be rolling now and we're sure he's having a lovely time on the parcour of CP3: Cabo de Gato.

__WHEN IN ROME...OR ANDALUCIA ANYWAY__

After climbing the Cabo de Gata, riders are treated to beautiful coastal views and Bruno Ferraro even managed to get some R&R while he was there.

![Bruno 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2hRBSMqCSXGMvpSH60mWE9/765dd197690dbdb30632a8d003d4315b/Bruno_2.jpeg)

Can't blame him, can you?

Meanwhile, other rest stops have included the usual port of call for endurance riders. What's an ultra-endurance bike race without a picture in a petrol station forecourt?

![Petrol Station 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5Ni8MxiPwVaacUi4vUGDGE/037856d1b1d26e7d03a1023f6ab4897e/Petrol_Station_1.jpeg)

These two are battling for second place but you'd never know based on their chilled out meeting here.

__⚡️ STORMS ARE BREWING ⚡️__

Hippy has a theory that bad weather follows him (see below) and we can't help but agree with him on this occasion.

 https://twitter.com/firsthippy/status/1169573295387287553
 
And he's got more where that's come front judging by the forecast at CP4: Pico Veleta.

![Screenshot 2019-09-05 at 18.50.41](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/45DyyFiOyX5OdbjhXMWO07/ec8ba9c99566bca04bdb1621c617fa21/Screenshot_2019-09-05_at_18.50.41.png)

😬

__ULRICH REACHES CP5__

Race leader, Ulrich, is homing in on the village of Ronda as we speak. The CP5 parcours winds through the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, which is full of natural caverns, native trees and wild vultures.

__LEADERBOARD__

As we update the leaderboard with every post, we can't help but notice the changes we have to make every time. It really is anyone's race after Ulrich! Sami has now triumphed up to second, while Luís has slide down a few places after maintaining a top 5 position for a couple of days. This makes it an exciting race to commentate and dotwatch and we hope you're enjoying it too.

Tyred riders and coastal views

This particular climb has a special place in many climbers' hearts. It's Europe's highest paved mountain pass topping out at a breathtaking 3384m. While it's now in the distant memory of leader Ulrich Bartolmös, we're enjoying the reports coming up now of riders further back in the field.

![Screenshot 2019-09-06 at 13.03.40](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1CtOD5R8bXqxT9xrW9A7fQ/7de7ca84a293544305fa3f5666886fe7/Screenshot_2019-09-06_at_13.03.40.png)

The climb begins in the city of Granada in Spain and with an average of 6.2% for almost 40km, we're offering our thoughts and prayers for the riders who already have ~1500km in their legs.

<iframe style="width:100%;height:450px;" src="https://veloviewer.com/segments/3262340/embed" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

https://twitter.com/firsthippy/status/1169931245897375744

But for those who've made it, the climb rewards them with priceless views.

![Bruno 3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3IXH9Uff5OsbqISIrPsCxQ/3fc5f8330269bdb4df17f69d83b68967/Bruno_3.jpeg)

![Sami 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3tfA1z0lSpNylkMdDWzL1e/b0a04f9bedcc22721d14753c65e80632/Sami_1.jpeg)

Weather conditions look to be holding for now: a temperate 17ºC but dropping to between 0-2ºC at night.

__ULRICH CELEBRATES THE HALFWAY POINT__

WITH A PINT!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2ChOgyopHn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

A day on the Pico Veleta

3,500km around the Iberian Peninsula with checkpoints in some of the highest peaks available.

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