Thursday am. - Björn is into Portugal and through CP#08

Mathis Sabatier has scratched

Saturday am. - Björn has taken a long break

Patel Pulawski has taken the lead

Björn Lenhard has scratched

Barry Scott has scratched

Pawel Pulawski is closer to Bilbao than the 2nd placed rider is to Pawel.

Barry Scott, previously marked DNF, is moving again

Kris Sics is approaching Nerja following some repairs at Granada

Pawel Pulawski has finished TransIbérica 2020 in 7d 21h 47m


The Transibérica is an unsupported, non-stop, road cycling challenge across the Iberian Peninsula.  It starts in Valencia on the Mediterranean coast and passes through 12 checkpoints/parcours along the way to the finish in Bilbao on the Bay of Biscay.
![TIB-IberianPeninsula](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5pZtnyo37um5kZijoYNmew/0a243d2bd8cef228fd34eb651e375b87/TIB-IberianPeninsula.jpg)

The Race

This is a "Free Route" event.  Riders must plan and follow their own route to reach the mandatory checkpoints.   A very simplistic RWGPS route might look like this:
![TIB-RWGPScrude](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4tFHmowj6h66s3nSBcOqQz/fd2da024db2ba1d42b132637f06a1d35/TIB-RWGPScrude.jpg)
Obviously the riders will consider road type, distance vs gradient, availability of food & places to rest, etc.   Tactics will play a key role in this event.

The Route


|  Location         | Parcours Distance (km) | Elevation (m) |
| ----------------- | :-----------: | :-----------: |
|  Valencia  |               |               |
|  __Bocairent__  | __1__          | __50__            |
|  __Sierra de Cazorla__ | __112__    | __2180__          |
|  Gorafe     |               |               |
|  __Pico Veleta__ | __34__           | __2340__         |
|  Nerja      |               |               |
|  Torcal de Antequera |      |               |
|  __Setenil de las Bodegas__ | __75__ | __1830__          |
|  Monsanto (Portugal) |      |               |
|  Oporto (Portugal) |        |               |
|  __Asturias__   | __180__          | __4060__          |
|  San Vicente de la Barquera |        |      |
|  __Estacas de Trueba__ | __30__     | __1320__          |
| Finish - Bilbao   |               |               |
![TIB-CPcollage](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/mzQqSBdMKvng5fg6lP2fQ/13e1774ec1dec872aef3c0ec7862377e/TIB-CPcollage.jpg)
(Photocredit: transiberica.cc)

The Checkpoints


The roster has 20 Solo Riders from 9 countries (Brazil, France, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, UK) along with 1 Pair from Zimbabwe and Spain.

__SOLO__  
~~02 Alberto García (ES)~~  
03 [Barry Scott](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/Barry%20Scott) (UK)  
04 [Björn Lenhard](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/Bj%C3%B6rn%20Lenhard) (DE)  
05 [Bruno De Rambuteau](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/Bruno%20De%20Rambuteau) (FR)  
06 Eddie Kouiss (NL)  
~~07 Erik Van Der Post (NL)~~  
08 [Johan Kooistra](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/Johan%20Kooistra) (NL)  
09 Kris Sics (LV)  
10 Leo Andrione (DE)  
11 [Martin Haubold](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/Martin%20Haubold) (DE)  
12 Mathis Sabatier (FR)  
~~13 [Matt Brady](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/Matt%20Brady) (UK)~~  
~~14 Micha Mayer (DE)~~  
~~15 Mike Ford (ES)~~  
~~16 Paulo Jorge (PT)~~  
17 [Pawel Pulawski](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/Pawel%20Pulawski) (PO)  
18 Ramón Álvarez (ES)  
19 Richard Gate (UK)  
20 Sjoerd Rep (NL)  
21 Wilson Oliveira (BR)  

__PAIR__  
39 Robyn Davies (ZW)  
40 Pau Codina (ES)  


The Riders

The third edition of Transibérica covering approx. 2,800km starts in Valencia this evening at 20:00 (local).

It looks like 16 riders from 9 nationalities made it to accreditation and will navigate their own route through the 12 checkpoints between Valencia and Bilbao. 

The forecast suggests it will be a warm 21°C at that time.

The first checkpoint at Bocairent is just over 100km from Valencia.


Ready... steady...!

Pawel Pulawski posted this just before the start.

![TIB-PPstart](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7IzoenGMLkrP6XaymGAxh3/215f9bdb1ec002bb966f89de934772dd/TIB-PPstart.JPG)

He was quick off the blocks, and has established himself at the front half way to Checkpoint #01.

And they are off!

Pawel Pulawski was the first rider through CP#01, 8 minutes ahaead of Björn Lenhard.  Only 31 minutes separated the first 6 riders.  Its 230km to the start of the CP02 parcours, which is a 112km stretch from Santiago de la Espada to Cazorla.  Midnight in Spain and its still 22°C with 7hrs30mins until sunrise.

Sunday night to CP#01

Björn Lenhard has moved to the front with a 20km lead ahead of Pawel Pulawski.  There are two distinct routes being followed to get to CP#02.  The first four took a more southerly track while Barry Scott and most of the next group stayed on a more northerly path.   Barry was 8min behind Richard Gate at CP#01.  The gap when they get to CP#02 will be interesting.
![TIB-ToCP2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/0IjSrA5xVPrnPg8RldeAn/28a23606ee286ae19d3b634e73453aaf/TIB-ToCP2.JPG)

Monday early - route to CP#02

The parcours to CP#02 starts with 40km of downhill.
[Video from Pawel Pulawski](https://www.instagram.com/stories/pikopulawski/2402952550649656654/)

Then the route follows the Guadaquivir river for about 50km before a climb over Puerto de las Palomas to Cazorla.  

21-09-2020 13:18 CEST  
Björn Lenhard has just arrived at the checkpoint. (He, and the other riders at the front of the pack, have yet to take a significant rest).

Monday midday - First rider at CP#02

21-09-2020 18:12 CEST  
Björn Lenhard took a route that passed to the east of Gorafe, then looped to the south of the town before coming back up to CP#03.  Martin Haubold and Pawel Pulawski are taking different routes, both further to the west. They are 50 to 55km behind Björn.  Pawel's take on today: 
![TIB-PPlovinit](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1GJSBW6l8w4VJYnnsHKFOD/ca44625f4b18bee3bffbece4e690b36a/TIB-PPlovinit.png)

Back in Cazorla, Barry Scott has paused and Richard Gates has stopped at the Hotel Andalucia.   
The rest of the field are spread out, back to Kris Sics who is about 170km from CP#02.  Sunset is in an hour.


Monday evening - Björn Lenhard at CP#03

2,800 km of Iberian riding awaits riders at the start line of this year's event. With 12 checkpoints across Spain and Portugal, the race promises to highlight the best regions of the peninsula.

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