From one CP to another

Guillaume Bour

Anatole Naimi

Miguel Álvarez Martinez

Luis Carvalho

Julien Duflot

Fanny Bensussan

Julián Manrique

Markus Carlos Hein

Jaimi Wilsom

Roberto Fernández Pérez

Nicolas Michel

Jean-sebastien Henniquiau

Raphael Grau

Alexandre Lopez

Mindaugas  Kasieta

Héctor Pozuelo Calatayud

Beat Hausmann

Michael Weibrecht

Wilson Cesar Da Oliveira

Ana Orenz

Tomás Zurano Barreiro

Edwin Diaz

Alberto Valiente

Nicholas Philpott

Marcel Mor Miró

Wim Ceulemans

Fraser Hughes

Luca Quattrocchi

Lisa Pfeiffer

Michael Lonergan

Gereon Tewes & Sharry Cardona

Antonie Zarra (Cedric Sion scratched))

Simon Romaine & Jonathan Kelley

Media Car 1

Media Car 3

![299316223 772755103761887 2321898966004871411 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5Y2SWbXBFg8jq9M0nh879w/136e33d660dda7491dee3d32939b584b/299316223_772755103761887_2321898966004871411_n.jpg)

The women’s race is set to be extremely hotly contested, with many of them placing highly in the overall as well. __Fanny Bensussan__ returns following her ninth place finish last year and __Jaimi Wilson__ lines up for her first TransIberica with a third place at GBDURO last year and we know from a gravel stage race in Wales that she’s going very well at the moment. However, the headline female is __Ana Orenz__. Only one year ago, Ana crashed on a descent in TransIberica when she hit a wild boar and has spent the past 52 weeks recovering from severe spinal trauma. She’s been honest on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/moremiles_moresmiles_/) about exactly what it takes to come back to her level and her recent posts about her recovery journey are all worth a read for some solid inspiration.

Fanny and Ana are currently neck and neck, with Jaimi 45 minutes behind them. They occupy position 11-13.

![299327425 1237141320463013 1264179711962040014 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2ie4CJ4gY7gwHAB6w8LwsV/f2691c2504852efe203609c8250b90e1/299327425_1237141320463013_1264179711962040014_n.jpg)

*Ana (left) and Fanny (right) at the start yesterday.*

![298930350 379676894328955 8199570537788205988 n](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/37Wl3vILyqf4tz7W3PJmKx/ef3569f0e78d003f6d30ee06a6a558fc/298930350_379676894328955_8199570537788205988_n.jpg)

*Jaimi also at the start yesterday.*

# West Side Massive vs East Side Massive

In the first 12 hours to the CP1 in San Bartolomé there was a distinct routing split between riders. Some riders opted to head west into the province of Burgos and the others east into La Rioja. Vino anyone? A few more opted to go west, but it looks like neither was faster and has given neither option an advantage.

![CP1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5UpJS7KwGnmywEEb4P4Fw1/e85ccea6f475d43797534077870f9d48/CP1.png)

All riders are currently making their way to CP2 at the Tourmalet. Unfortunately, there are construction works at the summit so riders will not see Le Géant, the iconic metal statue of a cyclist atop the summit. This Tour de France iconic climb reaches 2,115m and creates a routing conundrum for riders as there is no easy way to reach it from Spain. We’ll awake tomorrow to see the verdicts of riders’ routing decisions. It’s currently very hot here in the Pyrenees with an occasional shower of rain, so we’re hoping for a little rain to help cool the riders down and keep the soaring temperatures at bay.

All photos Carlos Mazon and Małgorzata Michalik.

Hi there fellow Dotwatchers! We’re back with another (from now on daily) commentary on this Transiberica edition; the present one written by me, Malte ("Cyclingtourist"); hi! A LOT has happened since we last checked! By the time I write, all but 3 riders have passed CP2, and exactly the top 10 riders have also passed CP3. Let’s have a brief look at how we and they got here…

# Tackling the logical puzzle of Pyrenean routing; towards CP2

While on the way to CP1 the field split into just two seemingly equally efficient strands (one going west, and one going east around the Sierra de la Demanda massif), the maze of the Pyrenees where CP2 and CP3 are located made route choices a lot more diverse. The vast majority of the field entered the region around the Tourmalet (CP2) from the North West, some going as far north as the city of Pau to make as much use of the flats of the river Osse and stream „Gave du Pau“ – for example front rider Luis Carvalho (cap24) who did a nightshift, maybe to accommodate the additional mileage. Most riders – like the other two of the leading trio, Guillaume (cap14) and Julien (cap21) chose a route somewhat more south with more elevation, through e.g. Oloron-Sainte-Marie.

But there’s even more contrast in routing choices, best exemplified by the pairs: While Simon & Jonathan (cap50) chose the most Northern route of the field via Pau – matched only by few solo riders like aforementioned Luis (cap24), Wilson (cap39) and later Tomás (cap38) – pair Gereon & Sherry (cap52) surprised us with a remarkable move: They picked a much more Southern and direct route including an over 20 km stretch of extremely challenging, very steep and non-ridable gravel & rubble, entering France via the Puerto de Bujaruelo at 2273m. In their [Insta-Story from the top (link to her profile)](https://www.instagram.com/sherry.cycling/), Sherry informed us she regret the choice and included an impressive picture and video footage showing just HOW steep it was. This route choice was matched only by two other riders: Roberto Perez (cap36) who based on the below picture seemed to be in very good spirits despite the challenge. And secondly: Raffael Grau (cap35) who must have had quite an adventure tackling this part in the early eve, and coming out on the other side with solid ground under his feet only at 2:00am on Tuesday morning to then take a certainly well-deserved rest. The third pair Cedric & Antonie (cap54) picked a middle route with full tarmac and „met“ pair 50 again close to Lourdes, so it is hard to tell if the flat Northern route paid of; it is however clear that our „gravel pair“ Gereon & Sharry reached CP2 fastest with an 11-hour lead.

![Transiberica – Roberto Perez (Cap36) on a heavy off-road shortcut. (pic: @biteofme)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5RiyBPRuzWwxVFqLFUotuD/1da8051d0099d61243a5bb0846234421/cap36_on_gravel.jpeg)

The Tourmalet (CP2) itself was approached by riders from either East or West, depending on their preceding route choice: Luis Carvalho (cap24) first, Guillaume Bour (cap14) just 1h later, and Julien Duflot (cap21) just 20 Minutes behind Guillaume. All women approached the Tourmalet from the West, lead by Fanny Bensussan on 5th position overall (shortly behind Wilson Da Oliveira, cap39, on 4th), with Ana Orenz (cap4) as second woman (7th overall) and Jamie Wilson (cap16) as third woman and 13th overall.

The below picture shows Jaimi Wilson (cap16) getting ready for a cold descend through the fog. 

![Jamie Cap16 getting ready to descend the Tourmalet (CP2) (pic: @biteofme)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2UeMcUB5taj0UnJ8AQjeeX/5e0ceb9bb38772d7f68db9d5b9958c29/Jamie_Cap16_.jpeg)

# From Tourmalet (CP2) to the Sallente Reservoir (CP3)…

By the time of writing, 10 riders have reached CP3. All of them headed North first to save some climbing in the Neste River Valley re-entering Spain via the Pont de Rei. All except one: Julián Manrique (cap20) was willing to climb another over 1000m over two Cols (Col de Peyresourde & Col de Portillon); an effort that may have paid off given his own riding preferences and the fact that despite some rest after the climbs he kept his 7th position. Currently Mindaugas Kaseita (cap30) seems to follow the same approach. And there's another outlier... you guessed it: our gravel-pair Sherry & Gereon (cap52) decided to avoid the paved Col d'Aspin and instead booked a room behind a very steep gravel section north of it; they followed through and subsequently continued their trip on that back-road. That way at least saving 12km and making more memories.

All routes meet again shortly before a climb to the 5km-long and and 3%-inclined Vielha Tunnel as a sort of wormhole to the southern face of the Pyrenees. All riders need to tackle the narrow dead-end road to CP3, the Cvall Fosca Valley at 1800m altitude. The climb is mostly moderate, but disrupted by two very difficult sections with inclines up to 20%! The reward: a stunning scenery at the reservoir de Sallente, surrounded by the steep facades of multiple peaks towering up to 800m over the heads of riders. And: the base of a cable car; will any of our riders give in to the touristic temptation? (hint: probably not)

The leaderboard at CP3 looks similar to CP2: the trio of Guillaume (cap14), Luis (cap24) and Julien (cap21) still having a tight race at the very front. This time Guillaume on leading position after reaching the CP at 23h last night. After his descent he took some rest in Senterada, and their movement looks as if he met Luis & Julien; maybe to wish them a fun ascent, but probably rather to take a good rest after this incredible run through the mountains. Knowing the others on his heels, he sped off after only 3,5 hours of rest. In contrast to his contestants Guillaume took a route avoiding Lleida and heading through the flatlands straight for Zaragossa, which he just passed now (Tuesday afternoon). 

In the women’s field, Fanny (cap12) remains in 1st position and 5th overall, while Ana kept her 2nd position and 7th overall. Both seem to follow a similar route as Guillaume, maybe heading straight for Zaragossa; at least already now they skipped over into a more Western valley indicating they are going straight for the open plains.

Also pair 52 – our gravel adventurers – reached CP3 already, with a comfortable lead. We’re curious what routing surprises towards CP4 they have up their sleeves.

__Speaking of CP4…__ here riders will traverse the „Spanish Lapland“. A very sparsly populated area, with the Checkpoint located at the source of the Río Cuervo – a mystically looking forest region. We are looking forward to hearing some fairytales from riders and wish them rejuvenating and revitalizing powers from the spring water after these intense first three race days.

Pawel "Piko" Pulawski will get back to you with his race commentary tomorrow.

(author: Malte "Cyclingtourist")

Transiberica Days 2 & 3

It is fourth day of the race already! Oh gosh, the time is just flying when you sit on your smartphone and watch the dots for ¾ of a day right? I bet all riders are already deep into the race and adventure mode, and some probably don't know what day of the week is.

But hey first things first!
The good thing from a dotwatchers perspective is that finally, we do have a proper pointy end of the race formed, and when looking at a current race leader __Guillaume Bourne__ (cap 14) the front is going to be even more pointy as he is covering ground in astonishing speed. As we speak, he just visited CP5, epic Consuegra Windmills, and for the media car no1 crew, it wasn't easy to catch this front runner there. Luckily, and thanks to the best driver in the whole Spain, probably the only Marmot that can ride the car on the motorway, they made it on time.

![marmot](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3N2OULgCH95soQ0kA1L05w/de9aa684ba157fe11cb5a05f6a9c4706/carlos_marmot.jpeg)

But, back to the Guillaume. As the race director, Carlos, reported to us, our leader is enjoying the race a lot. Well, would be difficult to not believe that. With beeing about 90 km ahead of the others and having sleeping every nigh for at least three hours, he is in really great position. Just look at the guy! Smiling, rested, pushing forward, and enjoying being in the Spanish wild land.

![leader 11](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4NZMJkgPxgzRbkN6lkZHAS/f5ace3bce975df3e43a69cb959ad11d6/leader_1.JPG)

It looks like he will be doing his daily routine for some time now. Lets see how this will work out for him in a longer run.

![leader 3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7Bn5vCqaAroZd0YDKrUEjp/92a6bba232e7f357ffa21014ae40f9e1/leader_3.JPG)

The small chaising pack completes the current top three. __Luis Carvalho__ (cap 24) and __Naimi Anatole__ (cap 03) are now neck to neck, fighting for the second position. Both visited CP4, Source of the Río Cuervo at late morning today and they are now closing into the windmills south of Madrid.

![luis 2nd man](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2Ey0xeXeOUq2Tsk37bKEXI/0d579ac1540991b23fb85374ae68c582/2nd_man_luis.JPG)

Naimi is the rider who rode from CP3 to CP4 in the shortest time so far, and as we can see he is slowly getting advetage over Luis, who slept the least from all the top three.

![Naimi](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5EIyRN1uq3PkZ3Q0cnSrvh/1c3929f52a4ae77c0d9b1c9aec697e58/3_man_naimi.JPG)

Will this be a chance for a proper second place rider to form up? We will see. What we can say for sure is that Naimi is looking very well after his hydration and fueling, together with his super clean and neat eye wear. Good luck for him!

![naimi food](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3BSGzO6i390hAIEcHTTM9M/56ac94f3394c41c806e9ed978ebff10f/food_3rd_rider.jpeg)

Ok. So now into the women's race. But wait! Is there a women's race? Probably yes, but when you look what well known Transibericas veteran __Fanny Bensussan__ (cap 12) - ok, currently leading woman - was up to for the past 24 hours, I wouldn't be so sure if we shouldn't just call it an overall race. With a pretty hard start, and sleeping only 2 hours a day, being 14th at CP1, than impresive 5th in the Pyrenees, she definitally went into the race mode and gained at least 5 hours to the leaders in the last 20 hours. She managed to arive to the CP4 as fourth rider and gained another position up! Amazing ride. It looks like a promised shower and solid, probably 3 to 4 hour sleep in Zaragoza, did the job well.

![fanny edit1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3SIdSXCg3R3BDmp9cNHI6r/d52ce7dfa8b045261e8aac3d8062fee8/fanny_edit_1.jpg)
![fanny edit2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3A0XObNPt4Im3eE4NZ1xEC/ceab16b95f5ecb16d66a71e67d1a6024/fanny_edit_2.jpg)

The last of the front runners is __Julien Duflot__ (cap 21). He arrived to CP4 few minutes after Fanny. It was amazing to watch both of them racing to the Source of the Río Cuervo. I'm telling you, I was at work in that time, and I just did nothing productive there. Couldn't take my eves out of my phone. Luckily or not, I'm self employed, :P but you just look for yourself!

![fanny jul race](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/11q0WAF1Pz1lc3GIUFACMg/1cad3270879bfdeea06ddf406abb6462/fanny_jul.jpeg)

Julien and Fanny as we speak are now closing by to this small chasing pack mentioned above and are becoming even bigger chasing pack. So exciting!

It is still early in the race, and anything can happen there. We love that right? It looks like CP4 will be pretty busy tonight, as the top ten riders and quite big middle pack is closing by pretty fast. It is great to see __Ana Orenz__ (cap 04) to be back for the race, after the last year pretty serious crash. She is showing us amazing dedication and pasion to the sport and as the media crew reports to us, she seems to be really focused on her race. She is now second leading woman and 7th overal. We may see a lot from her yet!

![anna](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5n758Giawj9qosnzwyoCy5/6de3abf00fb280539bb04a38572e177b/Anna.JPG)

There is also a first pair within the top 10. __Gereon Tewes & Sharry Cardona__ (cap 52). Wait, isn't it a "gravel pair" mentioned yesterday by Malte? Yes, and they are doing great, and some extra hiking didn't look to slow them down. Actually totally oposite. They gained a pretty impressive lead to the second pair __Simon Romaine & Jonathan Kelley__ (cap 50). Was it because the gravel and hike a bike roads are faster in Spain, or maybe because Simon and Jonathan are spending to much time for their cigaretes breakes? You decide. :)

![smoke](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1iXXJsDR3lh7778XIN7yFc/4d7a6e7545e2ddc66a1681fe58877407/2nd_pair_2.JPG)

There is also __Jaimi Wilsom__ (cap 16) third woman, and 13th overall worth mentioning. She is holding steady pace, and looking like the last rider from the midpack who can keep in pretty realistic touch with the top ten riders. What's even more hearthwarming is that she is lookind to really enjoy this challenge, and she has a lot of fans on the road as well.

![jaimi](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3NpclSml75T0bBZ9FgFPXO/680c68368f683e366e0144f5b0d6131e/3dwoman.jpeg)

But hey, what else would you expect from a woman who cycled the world few years back, covered 58,204km and visited 43 countries. She has to know people and they have to know her. Super interesting to see her progress in the coming days.

As for the rest of the pack, most of the riders are now out of the Pyrenees and they are coming down to the Ebro Valley. It is good that the night is coming, couse this valley can be really hot during the daylight. But, as the race director, Carlos told me just a minute ago there are also some dramatic weather changes in the valley, including hailstorm, temperature drops etc.

![weather ](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/lrUQqEEV8HqkDtvQ3PKUI/032db3bbdfc9f1444e6d8ad79fbddfee/weather.jpeg)

It is interesting to see who will use that night and who will decide to sleep and start the ride again tommorow. I'm 100% sure about one thing, I do envy all of you, and that's true, and I wish you all an amazing rest of this fantastic race!

At the end the scratch report:
Luca Quattrocchi (cap 23) - knee injury;
Fraser Huges (cap 13) - extreme and long lasting muscle pain;
Marcel Mor Miró (cap 25) - ankles injury.

Text: @pikopulawski

All photos: @biziosona / @biteofme / @javigamallo

Transiberica 2022 / Day 4 report / The race shape.

Some remarkable movement has taken place since Pawel last reported yesterday evening. The race at that point was characterized by a – as he noted – clearly defined pointy end. Guillaume Bour (cap14) had doubled(!) his lead to the second from 4 hours at CP4 (the source of Rio Cuervo) to almost 8 hours at CP5 (the Consuegra Windmills), and – to anticipate this already – kept his very clear lead until this point. He just passed CP6, the Guadeloupe Monastery.

![Guillaume Bour (cap14) arriving 1st at the Consuegra Windmills (CP5) (picture: @biteofme)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3QmfMcExRWsuJb54Q00Xwe/3445fb0883be434045004855281cb636/Guillaume_at_CP5.jpeg)

But there's more. Let's have a quick look at how the front positions developed: the 2nd position changed in a rather spectacular run by Naimi Anatole (cap3) who emerged from the second half of the top10 – he seems to be on fire! As soon as he left the Pyrennees on Tuesday, he – excuse my martial language – "hunted down" the 2nd and 3rd position riders Luis Carvalho (cap24) and Julien Duflot (cap21); just South of Zaragossa he overtook Julien, and halfway between CP4 and CP5 he had also caught up with Luis, who seemed to take a probably well-needed rest shortly after, thereby cementing Naimi's second position at least for the stretch to CP6.

At CP6 the positions at the top end of the field remained rather unchanged, but – except for Guillaume, who at the time of writing almost completed the CP6 Parcours with an 8-hour lead – riders on the 2nd to 6th positions got closer to each other again, forming a bubble around the start of the parcours. This may partially because at that point the flat or rolling terrain of the midlands ends and transitions into climbing terrain. That bubble from 2nd to 6th is right now: 2nd Naimi A. (cap3), 3rd Luis C. (cap24), 4th Julien D. (cap21), 5th Fanny B. (cap12) and on 6th position Miguel Alvarez Martinez (cap29). A very distinct group to keep an eye on as they all are almost (or Naimi "already") at CP6 while the next following riders Julian Manrique (cap20), Wilson Oliveira (cap39) on 7th and 8th position as well as the leading pair of Sherry & Gereon (our "gravel pair", cap52) just left CP5, so there's a very clear gap.

Ana Orenz (cap4) as 2nd woman (after Fanny) and Markus Hein (cap26) complete the top 10 and are approaching CP5 with giant steps (hope they will not be mistaken for windmills (sorry I had to)).

![Fanny (cap12) at CP5 checking her phone, one of the few moments she is NOT pedaling! (picture: @biteofme)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2V1TF1QH3Y6hg8Mz0jjUDX/155309fea06f996e1a4100d1851bdf80/Fanny_at_CP5.jpeg)

We are very curious to see how and if Guillaume will keep his so far very stable lead. He seems in very good spirits, had an amazing continuity so far, including not long but regular night rests of about 3-4 hours; so there is no need to believe at this point that he might loose momentum. But as we all know this sport is always good for unexpected turns. It will be equally interesting how the "battle" in the 2nd-to-6th-bubble will unfold; riders obviously have a very close eye on each other, and some – like Fanny – got there through remarkable runs, but also lack of sleep (at least until last night).

To complete this analysis section of the report: Pair 54 split up! Cedric called it the end of his race – as far as we know due to fatigue. His riding partner Antonie Zarra decided to ride on; he will not receive an official time and placement at the end, but he will certainly have had accomplished an amazing ride when he returns to Bilbao. He is currently shortly before CP4 in the 2nd half of the field, but who knows maybe he will be determined to catch up a bit.

# On-the-road experience

Riders' experiences on the road at this stage of the race are especially characterized by an enormous range and diversity of conditions: Firstly there's the contrast between on the one hand mountains & climbing in the Pyrenees and now again after Guadeloupe, and then the endless rolling hills and plains in the Spanish Lapland and generally South of Madrid, towards and after CP5. The second half of the field is now making exactly that transition out of the Pyrenees, allowing them to get into a flow, but also demanding patience and stamina given the sometimes repetitive landscapes. And going hand-in-hand with these topographical features: weather. Riders had to endure temperature contrasts between 4 and 40 degrees (as reporteed by [Sherry of pair-52](https://www.instagram.com/sherry.cycling/)), and along with it dry heat versus heavy thunderstorms. This demands particular resilience from riders, but it is also where good preparation and a well curated kit-list pay off. And as a pleasant side-effect it leads to sceneries like this one at CP5; if you look closely you recognize the tiny windmills that Don Quichote thought were giants, towered by the actual giant: a massive thunderstorm cloud incl. rainbow.

![Thunderstorm at CP5 (Consuegra Windmills) (picture: @biteofme)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5u8D5FtG38cG3lLRpgAO7u/3384ac1e6f8b781d168927173424170f/Thunderstorm_Windmills_CP5.jpeg)

Another important element on the road is nutrition, and we are happy to see that riders know how to treat themselves well, and sometimes with it carrying a footprint of their nationality (paraphrasing Carlos of Transiberica). Her you see:

1) Julian Manrique (cap20), Spanish:
![Julian Manrique (cap20): Spanish lunch. (picture: Julian Manrique)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/51ccaSeQXvV7nXuPrJZNXb/f7ee716f9929358a44b1179b4ca6e473/fcfc089e-988d-441a-865d-a8975fde5917.JPG)

2) pair Simon & Jonathan (cap50), English:
![Simon & Jonathan (pair50), English lunch. (picture: Simon & Jonathan)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/61ULbqYCm0FmRtXAKFYI8B/3ad811f57410dccef1159abffa7c87f9/d468cb29-9642-4a7d-9cb2-528d70be38d9.JPG)

Generally anyone who is not a racer themself or familiar with the operational "on-the-road" part of ultra-racing may be surprised at the nutritional choices of riders, that are mostly shaped more by availability and acute craving rather than scientific recommendation. We highly recommend scrolling through racers' Instagrams these days for some more surprising examples of how they keep themselves alive.

I will be back tomorrow with another update!

(author: Malte "Cyclingtourist")

Transiberica 2022 / Day 5 commentary

Hi there fellow Dotwatchers. It's Malte again, checking the current status of the race with you.

While there's good reason to go into more detail in a minute, the simplest thing to observe is: the top10 remained unchanged compared to last night. By now the top 11 riders have passed CP6 and are either on the parcours or already way beyond it. The next rider to reach CP6 at the time of writing is 3rd woman Jaimi Wilson (cap16). The remaining field is spread out quite a bit, with smaller "trio-clusters":
__Shout out to (from front to back):__
- *Roberto Perez (cap36)* chasing the top10 and now entering the beautiful relief around the Cijara reservoir
- *Jean-Sebastien (cap18), Nicolas (cap32)* & second pair *Simon & Jonathan (cap50)* half way between CP5 & CP6. Hang in there! The monotony will soon change into the beauty of Guadeloupe (CP6) and the following climbs of the parcours!
- *Raffael (cap35), Hector (cap15) and Mindaugas (cap30)* at Consuegra's Windmills (CP5): enjoy the stunning views! Antonie (cap54), who used to be part of pair-54, is about to join!
- *Alexandre (cap2) & Edwin (cap10)* who just emerged from the rejuvenating springs of CP4
- *Michael (cap28), Tomás (cap38)* & *lastly Wim (cap40)*: You're doing great! Keep moving, and we hope you're enjoying the ride!

Sadly a few additional riders had to end ('scratch') their race:
- Nicholas Philpott (cap31) suffered knee issues
- Alberto Valiente (cap1) suffered from the notorious Shermer's neck (a failure of the neck muscles due to fatigue, so a rider cannot keep their head up)
...and these three we had mentioned earlier:
- Marcel Mor Mio (cap25) had ankle issues from the beginning on and called it a day close to his hometown of Lleida
- Luca Quattrocchi (cap 23) had knee problems
- Fraser Hughes (cap13) had serious and lasting muscle pain.
__We wish all of them a speedy recovery and hope they enjoyed their rides despite and/or before their physical problems.__ We will surely see some of them back in future events.

# Exhaustion at the front?

There are a few things to notice at the front of the race:
Firstly, as you know, Naimi Anatole (cap3) caught up in an incredible run throughout the past 2-3 days and is now on 2nd position. He managed to reduce Guillaume Bour's (cap14) lead to ca. 4,5 hours and has himself a 4,5-hour lead to 3rd rider Luis Carvalho (cap24). This achievement however came at a cost: he seemed to get increasingly tired; arrived too late in Consuegra (CP6) to find a room for some rest, and afterwards fell asleep at a snackbar – until he had to leave because it closed. (see picture for proof)

![Naimi Anatole (cap3) sleeping in a snackbar at CP6. (picture: @biteofme)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3tXGJANsY3eH6CAvfZSmyI/800dba072f5c8f5545c1c1916c0bfcaf/Naimi_Snackbar_2.jpeg)

He continued sleeping outside, but that also means: he did not have a chance to charge his devices. According to our information, therefore you saw him stopping every couple of hours to access electricity. Even more remarkable that he managed to still move ahead with such a momentum.

The other side of Jaimi catching up is the situation of leader Guillaume Bour. If you looked at his track closely, he took a few wrong turns that cost him time and energy, and even went uphill – on the parcours, i.e. on a section where the route is clearly prescribed by the Transiberica organizers. He bivied outside after the CP6-parcours in Lagunilla, but when the race team around Carlos approached him later, he still seemed quite tired. We also heard that his phone screen broke when it fell. Guillaume has been delivering a stellar performance throughout the past days, is still in a solid lead. But it also seems that this effort and physiological stress is now paying back in the shape of tiredness, navigational problems, and possibly additional frustration over these issues. We are curious how he will develop, and mostly hope him to be safe and well!

Luis Carvalho (cap24) in 3rd position was visited by the race-team, too. He seemed physically in a good condition, but not overly talkative. No wonder given the challenge of the past parcours and now having already half the race in his bones. He is an experienced rider, with one Transiberica and one Transpyrenees race in the bank and knows the terrain; so we can be curious to see how his condition and position will develop.

5th-position rider Miguel (cap29) was caught by the race team at CP6 in Consuegra and seemed in good spirits. He arrived in the evening in the middle of the city's preparations for the traditional bull hunt through the narrow streets to take place the next morning. @bitofme took this amazing shot of the scene:

![Miguel Martinez (cap29) on the sandy market square in Consuegra, CP6. (picture by @biteofme)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3rvfzP8HI0va1kq6VbRFk5/ef0133e78277e61c67c7db9fcd14998d/1a274798-b185-47f7-899f-db7ccb172c82.JPG)

# Route to CP7 – choices, choices...

So, as it turns out – unsurprisingly – the efforts of the front riders are taking their toll. But there is more that could make the following stretch to CP7 decisive and interesting to watch: Routing choices. Essentially there are two, with the classic tradeoff between distance and elevation: Either taking a more direct route through Portugal, or staying in the flatter lands on a route going North and then slowly turning West towards CP7. Fellow commentator Pawel made the comparison: Either about 515km with 8500m of climbing, or 530km with about 7200m of climbing. The route through Portugal has so much more elevation not because of mountains, but because it crosses several river valleys where riders lose altitude they have to regain on rather steep ascents. Remarkably both Guillaume (1st) and Naimi Anatole (2nd) are on their way through Portugal which means: climbing an extra 1300m to save 15km of distance. A surprising choice – maybe we will find out about their reasoning some time soon. First rider to go for the flatter route is 4th position rider Julien Duflot (cap21). At the time of writing, Fanny (5th, cap12) seems to go the same flatter way but this is to be confirmed when she has fuether progressed; it would not be surprising given her Pyrenees routing.

![Two general ways to navigate to CP7. (screenshots by Pawel "Piko" Pulawski)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3bzE6LP1NPfvDDBClieLOs/69fd004b0622ba72b5bc5450ba119ff2/IMG_8243.JPG)

__To conclude:__
a) We can be curiuous to see how the very front runners are developing.
b) routing choices towards CP7 might mix up the front of the field quite a bit
c) lets not forget about the above mentioned riders beyond 10th position who are battling their way towards CPs 5 and 6. We're curious to see who will escape their "trio-bubbles" and widh everyone a fantastic ride; we're with you!

Transiberica 2022 / Day 6 commentary / Fatigue at the front?

So many things happened within the last 24 hours, that I don't really know where to start. Maybe the best if I’ll start from the very beginning right?

So into the leader it is.

Still untouched and endangered first position is hold by __Guillaume Bour__ (cap 14). Even if he wasn't looking so sure about what was he doing (as Malte reported yesterday) around the CP6, he is now after the CP8, looking happy, and having a huge advantage against the rest of the race. We were discussing his route choice a lot last night. He used a direct but definitely more hilly route through Portugal, but it didn't look to make any impression on him. Hi is keeping a solid pace, and he is so far away, that no media car could get him visiting CP7 or even CP8. Luckily we had some good dotwatchers at the place and we can confirm his pretty impressive look, by this photo.

![giul1 ](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/322OtL812qyQ2FjoUpTMFP/88a2a05a03dc57adab15a0cbd0b2c8e8/guil_1.jpeg)

About 550 kilometers to the finish. Should we expect him in Bilbao Sunday late evening or Monday early morning? Or maybe it is still too early to even think about that? 

I’m happy to see __Naimi Anatole__ (cap 03) holding a fair and rather solid second place, and my predictions about this young rider were right. Even if he had a double and pretty long brake last night, (2 hours and later 5 hours) he is still safe in keeping in second. We were intrigued about the place where he stayed for at least 5 hours last night.

![naimi1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3O93tRS6R3OEMmdVyxxzLf/467a62b31e84d8f9f47db86d49686ce9/naimi1.jpeg)
![naimi2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/QbKFfkfNuwERQ1rYsNuIa/4fc6f9e583d4d357a0e547323efb542a/maini2.jpeg)

I bet there is some good story hiding there, but sadly, I’m not able to solve it. Some ideas? Maybe he got invited for a "shower and bed" by a trail angel there?

An amazing move was done by __Miguel Álvarez Martinez__ (cap 29) by taking the flat route, avoiding Portugal, and jumping from 6th position into 3rd! Just WOW! You can clearly say that this is the man who knows the local roads and is completely sure that his route choice was the fastest. As we speak he is now passing by his family town Ourense. Will he push forward to stamp his third position in Santiago de Compostela, or he will stop to catch up with some sleep (he didn't have much last night) and let Luis Carvalho (cap 24) who took “the Portugal” route and is just behind him stay officially third? We will see tonight. But just look at his smile when he met a race media car today.

![run for third](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6bFbFwRl89YSl2DCrVRz3q/1a89c79228a5db0214ca8b513c0a8fbd/run_for_third.jpeg)

__Fanny__ (cap 12) who’s also chosen “the Portugal” route is still putting huge pressure on the first four, five male riders. The continually leading woman came back to her regular sleeping strategy and it seems to be working for her a lot. As we could see, she was having some minor mechanicals earlier, but it looks like it is all sorted now, and she is on the heels of the top four riders again.

![fanny 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2Ljciruev9MgmuntM2mdDS/d109ecb106bcc714614c894ca4558e71/fanny_1.jpeg)

She seems to be missing a proper French breakfast at this stage. She tried some substitutes but as we all know, there is no better croissant than in France. Well, at least she tried!

![fanny 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2rN5MAqXRojUOhHXJhGR0d/cab77be4c4ca992bccaf0663a2bf2c8d/fanny_2.jpeg)

__Julien Duflot__ (cap 21), the one who paved the “no to Portugal” route, went even more north than the others, and we will probably see him racing Fanny egain for being the fifth rider in Santiago de Compostela. He only has to cross the pretty hilly border into Galicia and he will have it, but Fanny crossed that mountain range already so it will be interesting to watch.

![jd1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/15wJlplaJcTG6A2hximjXg/c7c0e9cea31d888948596b0a985a8977/jd.jpeg)

As day 7th passes by, most of the riders are over halfway through the race, and as there are still 7 more days until the time limit (27.08.2022, 9 PM), the prediction for finishing the race is pretty optimistic for nearly all of them. Even the last two riders, __Michael Weibrecht__ (cap 22) and __Tomás Zurano Barreiro__ (cap 22) are still on the edge of getting to Bilbao in time. Fingers crossed for them, especially for Tomás, who as I could find on his Facebook page is doing this race as a charity to make awareness about the kids' ADHD.

![lantern](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5T49Krrd5kO0KAw1BoN2bR/a8bb425113522fbdb322dc8a34cc9a41/lantern.jpeg)

The CP6 and its amazing parcour was the busiest place in the last 24 hours. And as we could expect from seeing the top riders there last evening on the streets full of sand, we did have bulls in the town of Guadalupe (CP6) today morning! I don't know exactly how many riders were stopped there because of that spectacular event, but I hope all of them have enough cash for the next part of the route, as all the cash machines are not accessible at the moment. At least I wouldn't try to go close to them. Look at yourself.

![bulls1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2KSEYtG88qsj1VoIva0t1Q/d72074dab9bb8b9a903e23a04eacfcf9/bulls1.jpeg)

I’m sure that __Jaimi Wilsom__ (cap 16) was there when the bulls were out. She even got her aero bars ready, just in case of encountering an enemy.

![jaimi bulls](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3liLhyU2T91GHqruRJZaTw/0403b1c0f0b702785bad2d68bda74b86/jaimi_bulls.jpeg)

I can't imagine how crazy that would be, to meet a seriously upset bull on your way. No Romanian dogs would be scary anymore right? :D

![bulls2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4KcSMTg90de8SzKJZxhyXr/ecd967b820a88866e02b7e4f20846610/buls_1.JPG)

But Jaimi didn’t seem to be disturbed too much about all the thing. She charged her devices, had some rest, and routed forward toward the “no to Portugal” route. She definitely improved her position and is now on the heels of Ana, the second leading woman.

![jaimi main](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/716PjoJ1v3w51r7dv8HYRY/c0edd8cac7aade72c1a8f69404a34803/jaimi_main.JPG)

Yes, and about Ana (cap 04). She got out of the radar for a while. As we know, her tracker went off the battery and she wasn't able to charge it. Media car met her while she was having a rest in the hotel in Guadalupe, and it was definitely one of her low points of the race. She wasn't happy about her progress and she was pretty emotional about missing some good and strong time on her bike. 

![ana 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1CSr9Fm153odDeD2BQuC8F/b92c4b480c6eef1048898b0e70893767/ana_1.JPG)

She is now back on the map and moving towards Santiago de Compostela. I can clearly understand her feelings, and with her story it is even more emotional. There are many like that in this sport, and I only hope she will overcome them and become stronger the other day. She is already showing us some amazing power and determination!

![ana main](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3DsiRJxA0lvcEnism7inBi/dab84c122219cdd19ce9594a772e8e74/ana_main.JPG)

More from the mid-pack would probably be the shout-out is going here to __Julián Manrique__ (cap 20). He is probably the most active IG rider on the field. He is posting updates, photos, and stories and he even did a real live Q&A session last night while eating his dinner. I watched that and I thought: How cool is that?

![julian1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/72du5zXINUxoRXfctfmMP7/9c5abfd806b10a5570d1d96a4a05a2ce/julian_1.jpeg)

You definitely have to follow this rookie ([https://www.instagram.com/julianmanrique](https://www.instagram.com/julianmanrique)). It is his first ultra race ever and he still holds a solid 7th! Great job!

__Raphael Grau__ (cap 35) reported having serious Shermer's neck issues. We don't have any photos of him at this point but as we know he is really determined to finish the race and he is now using tape to hold his head straight and tackling like that the CP6 parcour. Oh boy, is this an outcome of carrying his bike on his neck for a pretty long time in the Pyrenees?

![raff1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1N75sNPiQnzMNjDLdCywYl/9e40f19dd0d3209f5a4af68576c017d4/raff1.jpeg)

Well, it is definitely a hard call and I wish him all the best, and hopefully, this pretty nasty injury will not progress much more. We will keep an eye on him.

The first pair is still on the run. __Gereon Tewes & Sharry Cardona__ (cap 52) looking pretty neat and their progress is super solid. They are also heading to Santiago the Compostela at the moment through the “no to Portugal” route. They are actually pretty up front, about 6th and 7th overall, which is really impressive. Maybe it is because of their amazingly matching kit?

![pair1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/64qto5oXijTvBhdTBUOFCh/9f6404f906aad3c070980dd38a925544/Pair1.jpeg)

The second pair is still smoking at every CP they will get to, and even with that, they are still placed somehow in the middle of the field. Is this the old-school style that gives them the power to push? Who knows!

![smoking](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/60b8z2wk3GNbnp8oMt8yJE/b3635c34f28883edbf4298a78ade553f/smoking.jpeg)

Another night is upon the riders, and they are always a game changer in this stunning sport. The shuffle in the top 10 / top 20 positions will happen for sure in the nearest 24 hours, as more riders will have to choose the “Portugal” or “no to Portugal” route. And as the race director, Carlos stated to me today: “The people who are riding through Portugal will lose time, even if they are one hour ahead over there” :D But from my point of view, and by looking at the leaders progress, it is not so certain. I can't wait to see the outcome and only good dotwatching will tell us the truth!

![end](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/66ngJ9hmEFhNnjML1v3KXs/f46e15733f6da0a145d704f352c5d5c3/dotwach.jpeg)

Scratch report:
Wim Ceulemans (cap 40): overall fatigue, but I wanted here to shout out to Wim, as thanks to his Instagram post from the Pyrenees, I found out about the Vielha tunnel. You have to call the number at the entrance and they will close one line inside of this 5 kilometers hole in the mountain, especially for you.

![wim](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2nkSibldB6kHXsEpmpqGBE/e6340a6809c26bd6eb88e44e522f8bb6/wim.jpeg)
How cool is that! All the best to you Wim!

Text: @pikopulawski
Photos: @biziosona / @bite.of.me / @javigamallo

Transiberica 2022, Day 7 / To Portugal or not!

The day number 8th is coming to an end, and the news that I do have for you are mindblowing! It is only showing that nothing is 100% sure in this amazing sport.
Let's get to it then.

The leader, __Guillaume Bour__ (cap 14) traveled all the way from Galicia to the Picos de Europa where CP9, Caín de Valdeón is located. I was expecting him to cover a bit more during the last 24 hours, but when I got a photo of him that was sent from the media crew, the answer to my mistaken expectation was already there.

![guilneck1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1DT0yj2iohqVOqlQquEDov/ca2508c315cc022e793d3b5882aaeff2/guil2.jpeg)

Unfortunately, he suffers a Shermer's neck injury and rides forward only thanks to his original design of the head holder that pulls it back from the saddlebag side. As he reported to the crew, he is already riding like that for at least two days, and he does not think at all about giving up. He is in good mood anyway and thinking only about getting back to Bilbao.

![guilneck2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4Av0hVlG7epAtiodDnL2Xk/9c527967207d65f1d19f78ff4db1d7c5/giul11.jpeg)

Such a dedication. I hope he is still able to enjoy the outstanding landscape that he is currently traveling through.

![guil 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5n2bxWLZCuxTIO666Qel8E/e442c8d9cff5da1b994968110293f2cb/guilview2.jpeg)
![guil3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/LQK4E3NGQCTG73RVBWF54/2fd981291c214e47fa112db74d718c6b/guilview1.jpeg)

I have to admit, that Asturias and Picos were my favorite places in the whole of Spain when I was racing through it. The beauty of it is just indescribable and I'm sorry to see this thing to happen to our leader. But lets not be pessimistic as he isn't at all! If nothing will change we are expecting Guillaume to be back in Bilbao tomorrow, 22.08.2022 around 2 PM. Shout out to him!!!

Is this an opportunity for __Naimi Anatole__ (cap 03) who's holding a comfortable second place and is now entering Asturias about 150 kilometers behind Guillaume? Well, his average speed is about 1km/hr higher so he would need 150 riding hours to catch up. Not possible, but, Guillaume may be forced to stop more often. I don't wish him that, but I'm only saying, that maybe nothing is definitely set at this stage yet. It would be a real drama at the end!

![naimi](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/70gWKk0EwpsY68eiomC9uY/6f4147a53cd82496bb82db771a2f1f55/naimi1.jpeg)

Naimi was seen by our media crew last time around CP7 in Santiago de Compostela. He was looking very fresh and was getting his stomack ready to crash the final stretch east, towards Bilbao. Whatever happens, good luck to both of them. They are riding strong from the very beginning!

The fight for the third position, between __Luis Carvalho__ (cap 24) __and Miguel Álvarez Martinez__ (cap 29) seems to be continuing since yesterday. Miguel who gained a lot thanks to his route choices, went for a good night sleep in his hometown, and let Luis “stamp” his third rider position at CP7 and CP8, but, as Miguel took a lot of advantage from being pretty recovered, he is now again on the heels of Luis and he is looking really hungry for that third position spot. It will be interesting to see them closer to the finish line.

![luis](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6bPt5eENc3xxhrlDROnnq5/ef637060bc8ce73713e395ebb40d84be/luis.jpg)

Talking about being on heels. Actually, the third place is even more open, because not far behind Luis and Miguel, we do have __Julien__ (cap 21) and  __Fanny__ (cap 12), the leading woman in the race. It was amazing to see them chasing the number five position at CP7 today morning. These two seem to be racing each other from the start.

![fanny fight](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5hQR9vN1a7FHOJWe8p16kn/c9542c32daf8ce3035fc6d76dde8e5b2/fanny.jpeg)
![fanny jul](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2wSBQN9jWg7NMJiaM9oimi/ed19e1b1de2c23772880bb24d2d73320/fanny_jul.jpeg)

Fanny got there first, and again with only some minutes before Julien. I don't generally have much information from Julien. I know that he is experienced and will not give up the fight so easily. He took the flat route to CP7 so he will definitely be ready for the final portion of climbing, but on the other hand, Fanny slept much longer than him, and this could be a huge advantage. What I know about Fanny, she was definitely happy to be back in Spain (I totally understand her), and she is still searching for a good enough French breakfast substitute. Maybe somebody could get her a proper French croissant for her finish line in Bilbao?

![fanny breky](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4vbDw5C2NVbiRpZBpzG4Le/7743a4d77c80aa183dfab837d0f570e1/fanny_french.jpeg)

Whos next? Well, there is a proper gap after these 6 fantastic riders, and the first ones to open it are our neat and matching pair: __Gereon Tewes & Sharry Cardona__ (cap 52). They continue the lead in their category and when you look at them they are having a lot of fun, together with fans and dotwatchers. This one is from CP7, Santiago de Copostela.

![pair 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6wXFdaEljAkSSioQirNJJE/f21bcfbc0108b58e76563fa8d00c954f/pair1.jpeg)

As we are talking about pairs, there was a little breakdown today within the second pair __Simon Romaine & Jonathan Kelley__ (cap 50). They spit up at one point because they didn't want to put too much pressure on themself. Carlos, the race director, gave Simon a second tracker, so they could continue solo, but after a couple of hours, they were riding together again.

![pair2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/59M2JJ83CPzKIYJ8u11Fxn/4e686d461a20f80efc09929a90602ee2/peir_split1.JPG)

It is hard to decide really if they just can't live without eachother after such a bonding ride so far, or maybe there is only one pack of cigarettes to share. ;) Whatever the reason, I’m super happy to see them riding together and I hope they will manage to finish just like that, as a pair.

Another big thing is that __Ana__ (cap 04), the second leading woman decided to scratch after the last night. As the media crew reported to us, she was in a lot of pain in the past few days. Her goal for this event wasn’t to finish only, she came here to fight, but sadly her body wasn't ready for it yet. She finally decided to let it go. I’m a huge fan, and I’m sure that she will come back stronger. It was such an honor to watch her.

![ana](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1iXntfIImQqdwwHYTFVTSl/04b4621905489cd1be831cf7578801b6/ana_f.png)

__Jaimi__ (cap 16) has now become the second leading woman, and if I count correctly she also jumped into the top ten overall. She is having a really fantastic run during these last few days. Last night she again stopped for at least 4 hours, so it looks like she will be keeping her nice and steady pace until the end. Fingers crossed for her.

![jaimi](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6fCYSuB4NbOUNCgr2fyKXt/53bed93268a792117838c3cd5f8cb129/jaimi.JPG)

Going back to __Raphael Grau__ (cap 35) who was reported yesterday also having a Shermer's Neck injury. Media crew managed to see him today. As we can expect it was a really emotional meeting, as this Transiberica is the third attempt for Raphael. He is feeling really strong in his legs to finish the race, but this injury is making it super hard, both physically and mentally. He managed to get a proper neck stabilizer and is still trying to continue. He finished the CP6 parcour last night and is now progressing to Santiago de Compostela. I’m really wishing him all the luck. He will definitely need it.

![raphael](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2tDBB5eyaAiCco8BnLROGG/301452d54ae6a771a24f3018539fa576/neck2.JPG)

As for the rest of the pack, everyone is now behind the CP6, and the last riders are now conquering its beautiful parcour. Nearly all of them were reporting super hot weather in the east of Spain. Well, nothing impressive. I’ve been there, and I can tell you, that when they say that it is hot in Spain, it is really hot like hell. Luckily we all can learn from the best how to deal with the hot Spanish weather, and the exhaustion. __Hector__ (cap 15) is a perfect example of a great ultra student. He is currently using an Ulrich Bartholmoes “Callippo super weapon” for every 60kms. Just look for yourself!

![urlichstyle](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3aLqrREX7GC8kzVnyXLCOS/fc3e80651b88fe8d5bbbe4b517ceb3f7/urlich_style.jpeg)

And another night is coming. Will it be the last night for the pointy end of the race? Most likely yes, but we will only see it tomorrow. Good luck everyone!

![night 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3JCVFAmhDYHYDYPsPMoyzJ/7aa4afa1d74de98ee0522ec9155eef8f/night_2.JPG)

Scratch report:
Ana Orenz - mentioned above;
Wilson Cesar Da Oliveira  - general fatigue, but I wanted only to send a big hug to Wilson. He is probably the most positive Brazilian ultra cyclist that we do have on this planet, and he is also an experienced veteran of Transiberica. Wishing you all the best buddy! It was great to see your huge smile in Spain again!

![wilson](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/65C11AzJnFEw2lnmpb8XQ1/0414f50804524c9d2c851cf99c9a43d2/vilson1.jpeg)

text: @pikopulawski

All photos: @biziosona / @bite.of.me / @javigamallo

Transiberica / Day 8 / Nothing is certain!

Fellow dotwatchers... first things first: WE HAVE A WINNER!
__Guillaume Bour made the race today at 17:50h local time, after 8d20h50min__ (uncorrected time; possible penalties pending) with a roughly 12-hour-lead to the second rider. __What a stellar performance! Congratulations!!!__ According to tracking site Followmychallenge he covered 3534km which would be 398km/day; given the tracking overestimates distances by quite an amount, we can estimate that it will be in reality around 350-380km per day and will provide an update as soon as we have the data.

Guillaume's victory is even more remarkable given the combination of his physical trauma of the past days while still managing to remain quite upbeat mentally. As you saw from the picture Pawel posted yesterday, he suffered from Shermer's Neck (i.e.: failure of neck muscles) which he "treated" by essentially tying his neck/head to his seatpack – this had been going on for 2 days already. In this video by dotwatcher and multiple race veteran Fernando Sanchiyarto you can see how severely and visually this injury affected Guillaume's riding. In this case while climbing up to CP10:

![Guillaume Bour (cap14) climbing up to CP10 with severe neck issues. (video by: Fernando Sanchiyarto)](//videos.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/55Q1UQtkbmgPJVI6DqZzEX/8a316397c2520e99e839e0960a455af3/Guillaume_Shermers_climb.mp4)

You can see and feel his exhaustion at the CP in his interaction with the race and camera crew:

![Guillaume at CP10 (video: Transiberica crew and @biteofme)](//videos.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1CapQJvXW4h9p2WTJKSZM6/3b5f99b1505f7ad1dc82e9b3bfada89e/Guillaume_at_CP10.mp4)

Still, Guillaume was so determined, he rode on with the continuity we got to know him for. Around 1 hour before his finish he seemed – rightly – confident that nothing could go wrong anymore, and enjoyed a last pre-finish coffee to get his stomach ready for the last stint and finisher beer:

![Guillaume Bour (cap14) enjoying a last coffee before doing his last 30 or so km to the finish (pic: Guillaume's Instagram)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3n4IfYfVIsb4Uv6hRasHyM/fbd9bc41ee395427fa4b0a4d28fab1f2/Guillaume_Insta_Coffee.jpeg)

What a spirit, what a character. We are in awe and wish him a speedy recovery and a relaxed time with his family, friends and soon to come in fellow riders!

![Guillaume (cap14)  & his family at the finish line (picture: @biteofme)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3J3I62wRdNGIAsiYh6wBDW/0705e3a882dee91989b0b9b49e5102f3/Guillaume_and_Family.jpeg)

# The race goes on! – bubbles...

Speaking of... his fellow riders. As mentioned, Guillaume arrived with a spectacular lead of roughly 12 hours. But what follows is a bubble of five riders who are rather relentlessly chasing each other around the two remaining podium positions, currently all somewhere around CP9, in this current order: *Naimi Anatole (cap3), Miguel Martinez (cap29), Luis Carvalho (cap24), Julien Deflot (cap21) and 1st woman Fanny Bensussan (cap12).*

![Riders on 2nd to 6th position – bubble around CP9](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2czC0lJ0SvAuVYDCpF5rvt/35bb1f176932413262aae1bcc542f964/Screenshot_FMC_after_Guillaume-s_Finish.png)

Naimi (cap3) sticks out a bit as he kept quite a lead in front of the rest already since roughly day 4. He is now on the way to CP10 following the same route as Guillaume, heading South from CP9 to stay on the plateau (as opposed to approaching the Sea again) and not loose too many meters of elevation. His lead is however not to be taken for granted, and also not set in stone: he suffers from immense knee pain in his left leg, and – according to his own Instagram presence – is riding essentially with just one leg. What an unfortunate and terrible condition, and how much will-power it must require to still go on and even keep things humurous (posted from CP9):

![Naimi (cap3) Insta-Story1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/48sXn98CqWcOyLP0DrBxpY/81c37b62158bb33104513ae5bf82ba26/Naimi_Insta1.PNG)

And as if his physiological impediments weren't enough, his cleats gave up after "walking through the mountains for 2 days". Luckily he found new cleats; one worry less:

![Naimi (cap3) Insta-Story2 cleats](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4RFPTtqIvl2X0nJ8LTllNO/cf7938e6f99f686156535882967d495b/Naimi_insta2.PNG)

Checkpoint 9 – the village Caín de Valdeón – lies within a valley that is accessible only through a stunning canyon from the South. To get to the entrance however there are two main options: Either by staying for quite a while within ca. 30km of the Atlantic coast, branching off South only roughly 80km before the CP and then doing one main 1400m-climb through the Puerto del Pontón. Or alternatively: Branching off already after Oviedo to do a long and increasingly tough climb to the Puerto de Tarna at 1500m, after which riders would lose 400m again to get to the last pass before the CP, but saving 300m of climbing in comparison overall. It is ambiguous which option is faster, and probably strongly depends on riders physical preferences, and what elevation profile gives them more motivation.

![Comparison Routes to CP9 (Excerpt from Komoot)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6EvThzJSgpQ0EWu9PLCpdh/0f4aa71a3c3c6d0f584b5a20d3dc7226/Comparison_Routes_to_CP9.JPG)

Naimi picked the latter option 2 – just like Guillaume – with the longer climb getting to elevation earlier. Now 3rd rider Miguel Martinez (cap29), who had already amazed us with his smart routing followed by a remarkable catch-up leading up to CP7, picked the other option 1, going into the climb later. Luis (cap24) is following the same approach on 3rd position, and is trailed by Fanny, who stayed along the coast for even longer. Between them, on 4th position is Julien Duflot (cap21) who had been following his very own routing stratgy already in the Pyrennees and when approaching CP7; he is following option 2, just like Naimi. I'm curious to later compare which option worked more efficiently.

It's impressive to see the positive spirits the riders of this bubble and beyond keep. As witnessed by the media crew and compiled in [this wonderful post](https://www.instagram.com/p/ChkJn-toj0q/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link).

Fanny for example managed to find some (sort of) French breakfast, which should certainly be conducive to her good mood!

![Fanny having French breakfast again. (picture from her Insta-Story)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3VfCnp4wlozYQzz7yx4gCj/99c22f6af4cdd28cdd61981eedf3bd70/Fanny_French_Breakfast.jpeg)

Having a night rest in and around Salas is a trio-bubble that has been sticking together for a while already: Julian Manrique (cap20) & Markus Hein (cap26) on positions 7 & 8 respectively, as well as 1st pair Sherry & Gereon (cap52); the latter, Sherry, having a tough day with very humid air behind her, but now enjoying some good rest with soup and coke in Salas.

![Sherry & Gereon at an Auberge in Salas (From Sherry's Instastory)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/72HNIZaZBkT5ZmaE7jMKwr/518a92fe46859978670710169cca5c62/Sherry_Auberge.PNG)

Jaimi Wilson (cap16) is making very good progress, on her way towards CP9, and now at the Atlantic coast. She talked to the media crew and is in very good spirits. She also had the mental and emotional capacity to embrace the beauty of arriving at the famous Santiago de Compostela, where she witnessed the deeply emotional arrival situation of camino pilgrims that moved her, too. Beautiful moments that will certainly remain with her beyond the finish of Transiberica:

![Jaimi Wilson (cap16) moved by the arrival of both camino pilgrims and herself in Santiago de Compostela (picture:  @javigamello)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4d6kgzYRTXDipVtmy7glck/8e716fb5cfdea05c0e2ac0ebd358c4b7/Jaimi1.jpeg)
![Jaimi Wilson (cap16) moved by the arrival of both camino pilgrims and herself in Santiago de Compostela (picture:  @javigamello)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4EONbjDt1cvB85s8QX5C4R/76e607087219d7485490ef6f84622ae2/Jaimi2.jpeg)

Beat Hausmann (cap7) is currently in a nice hotel shortly before CP8, at the Atlantic coast; he suffers from food poisoning, and is taking the right measures to recover quickly: taking a good rest and observing the situation. We wish him well so he can continue his ride as soon as possible!

We're looking forward to see how the race unfolds tomorrow, both in the bubble around 2nd-6th position, Naimi's knee and possible finish, and maybe we'll also have some news on Raffael Grau's (cap35) neck situation. 

Pawel will be back tomorrow with more news!

(author: Malte "Cyclingtourist")

Transiberica / Day 9 / We have a winner!

So it is here! The pointy end of the race has arrived back in Bilbao, and we all can now start making our WOWS and OHHHS about the amazing performance that the front riders have shown to us! It wasn't an easy job for them, I can tell you that.

After Guillaume finished safely yesterday evening, we all have been looking at __Anatole__ (cap 03) who was holding a comfortable second place from the CP4. Still, during the last two days, he encountered probably most of the problems that you can get during a race like this.

At first, his knee injury got pretty bad. As he reported, it was so painful that he was cycling using mostly one leg for the majority of the last two days. That slowed him down a bit and could see that yesterday and tonight. Around CP9 he broke two of his shoe cleats which slowed him down even more, and finally, around 160 kilometers before Bilbao, his shifter cable snapped, so he ended up doing the final leg of the race on a single speed.

![nami1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2MruRZU2908IneCeETpqWE/2ef34db84e56310d357f0ffaf2b30300/naimi1.jpeg)

In the early morning, Carlos, the race director, wrote me a message: "Second place may still be open for Miguel", and I was like " oh boy, that is a proper drama.

![naimi2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1hkmd8rXsjvVlsTWmo8Sew/d2654b9d7127a3d04d9cfd23436c0d01/naimi2.jpeg)

They were super close to each other for a while there, but after that, it was like Anatole would hear us talking, because suddenly he pushed super hard. Even the media crew could hardly stop him for a chat and you could see that he didn’t want to let this second-place finish go.

![naimi3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/15gqIiWnoZQf56SbQJ2odn/322e5e11f3325aed9c05dec70301f696/namiarun.JPG)
![naimi 5](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/17BZ9a48z4esgyHtBYtsDJ/e5cf5da496e5f04382ef69db8487db50/naimi_run2.JPG)

And he did it. He arrived at Bilbao's Puppy after 9 days, 14 hours, and 34 minutes taking his well-deserved second-place finisher title and covering 3583 (FMC data) amazing kilometers around Spain. Huge congratulations to this Belgian rookie, for his super strong will and truly inspiring ride.

![naimi finish](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5ScfI30ykyzSsYtEw4wdLr/164d73ab9852a1eb01938af0ac59a18e/naimi_finish.jpg)

What happened to __Miguel__ (cap 29)? He did an awesome job as well. He arrived in Bilbao three hours after Anatole (9 days, 17 hours, and 37 minutes) with the longest distance covered by the whole first trio: 3729 kilometers. (FMC data). As I look at Miguel's ride, I believe that for him, this third place feels nearly like victory. He started his podium chase from CP6, where he finished the parkour by being only 6th. From there, every CP he was moving up, to finally get onto the second rider's heels. We could probably say: “if that race was only a little bit longer”.

![miguel chase](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1u5zIkNLkAwdxRasWBfote/d2785fccf45c3c980b7c2ab611741a80/miguel_chase.JPG)

But hey, great job Miguel. It was fantastic to watch his very wise route choices and I believe that these once played a pretty big role in his success.

![miguel finish](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1cYyJ7s2Qy4VBFBIwvTjAG/066d390d56c4d3df145811ab5c61cb14/miguel_finish.png)

When the top three were celebrating their finish for some time now, and slightly less than 10 days later from the start, __Luis Carvalho__ (cap 24) arrived in Bilbao and he is the fourth Transiberica 2022 finisher! His ride was pretty stable and really solid. He was up the front from the very beginning. Assuming by the tracker, he didn't make a proper stop last night and was probably using some power naps to get through it, but it looks like it worked out for him well, to get this fourth finishing place with a pretty comfortable time ahead of the riders behind him. From his appearance at CP10 it is looking like he was having a cracking last day of the race. Just look for yourself.

![luis](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7eiEUNYPcRQdOHb0iSC4E7/83565fe385916db64156839532bfa1ca/luis.JPG)

__Fanny__ (cap 12) and __Julien__ (cap 21)  were racing each other for most of the last 24 hours. They probably don't even realize that, because again, and I believe it is for the third time during this race, they took different routes, but this time to the final CP10, Portillo de Lunada.

![f_j](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4JYDyl0cWdBq2LgpjyAmRY/a616749acc033b7ddf4885405602883b/f_j.jpeg)

__Julien__ was the first rider to open the coastal route, which looks a bit longer but it is probably a bit faster, and this time he did make it before Fanny. Will he hold this lead until Bilbao? Probably yes, as the road from the CP10 is mostly downhill, but, let the time pass until we will shout out the final result of this amazing race against these two.

![fanny leader](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/TKzxNtgjs5Lgy41eURN1r/661ec258b920bc3c54116d3e770825d5/fanny_leader.JPG)

Fanny, the current women’s leader, and most likely the women's winner in a couple of hours, was reporting some mental and physical downtime and not the best weather yesterday. It is a fair distance done already, and all the riders are surely feeling the struggle. With the final super hilly part of the race being really challenging, I was happy to see that she had some real live dotwatchers on the route who were able to cheer her up a bit. And I also resolve the mistery why she was visiting so many bikerepair shops along the way. :)

![fanny story](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1Cc8q8fxiMNIbbA4wr0gDP/e0717bc4264e1953ae61945c464f8740/fannystory.jpeg)

It is a fantastic ride for Fanny so far, and I wish her the best of luck and all the pleasures on her last kilometers to Bilbao.

The first pair, __Gereon Tewes & Sharry Cardona__ (cap 50), are still unbeatable. They are moving forward with their constant speed and keeping their daily average of about 330 kilometers in place. They are also reporting daily from the road, especially Sherry, who's making her short videos, and publishing photos.

![sherry](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/16eAu5pc8Hx8Y3nkD8chK2/5cc571f35485f7df4da1909bab8af9f6/sherry.jpeg)

Give her a follow if you would like to see all of that first-hand!

__Julián__ (cap 20) and __Markus__ (cap 26), are holding seventh and eighth, but Marcus dot caught up a bit in the last couple of hours so we may have another battle possible closer to the finish line. Julián is also enjoying some of the dotwatchers on the go!!! It looks like he is pretty famous around Spain.

![julian](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5FseFgB6FX4gd82RBgCOLO/3edfaca366f88a28567adf7596f41a62/julian.jpeg)

__Jaimi__ (cap 16), a second leading woman, and __Roberto__ (cap 36)  who's closing the top then, “stamped” the CP8, San Andrés de Teixido today, and are now on their way into the beautiful but pretty challenging Picos de Europa. I'm happy to see Jaimi still enjoying the landscape of the route. She is sleeping her usual 5 hour stop tactics and I’m pretty sure that she will be enjoying the Asturias and Picos tomorrow morning!

![jaimi](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4brclGsV8Tvv745tjJtj5k/9323c050defc954e2c248e3c8e52c948/jeimi.jpeg)

The middle part of the race is around CP8, and today we could also see some good racing and position shifting there. __Raphael Grau__ (cap 35) made pretty good progress. Despite his reported earlier Shermer's Neck injury, he managed to jump over __Hector__ (cap 15), we believe that it happened mostly thanks to the “no to Portugal” route choice.

![hector](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5zCHN86Yk1Zg7czqkm31dl/06f062b99a1e34b5b4339db2a111e105/hector.jpeg)

I also noticed that Raphael was having today a good time with our second pair, __Simon Romaine & Jonathan Kelley__ (cap 50), who as I can happily see, are still riding as a pair and enjoying being together, despite having two separate trackers, just in case. :)

![35](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1v7SZJ13cfQmXHXHYMMBUc/99cf970e7689dbd6d4d42fb465028da3/35.jpeg)

There is still some racing to be seen, and the eleventh night if I count it right is starting. Can't wait for what the morning will bring! 

Text: @pikopulawski

All photos: @biziosona / @bite.of.me / @javigamallo

Transiberica / Day 10 / The end of "the pointy end!

Day 11 of the race is passing by, and it was mostly all about the finish line, the Bilbao, the Puppy, and also unexpectedly about the Vuelta Espana!

The most important thing of the day is, that we have a women’s winner!

![fanny1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2AcFB7aNxjAfqia3p1rqIQ/b52a96791d3a0ba0d79add88f8347c89/fanny_puppy.JPG)

Yes. As we could expect, it is __Fanny Bensussan__ (cap 12) who arrived back in Bilbao, after 10 days 09 hours, and 23 minutes. Such a remarkable effort for this French Transiberica veteran. She did it again. She won the women's race, finished 6th overall, and also improved her daily average score. Her total of 3572 kilometers gave an average of 342 kilometers. (FMC data) Fantastic performance.
I was there in 2021 when she finished, also in the night, and even make a photo of her then.

![fanny202122](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/fkLNvyZIArS9Ipl96wbkx/fd023d9812cd076341ae1cc91b57f1fa/fanny202122.jpeg)

I'm super happy to see, that she managed to finish the race with such a good score. I was following Fanny’s dot pretty closely over these 10 days and was trying to bring you the most information I could get. On this final report about her ride, I'm really happy to say, that I believe that she did really enjoy her last bit to the finish line. Amazing job done!

![fannyrep](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5pEa8uvmJaYrF4dBUr4Mzi/25fc1fa08d2a20fedf0a0faf7c00289b/fannyrep.jpeg)

As we are in Bilbao already, and we will be here a lot from now, we have to congratulate __Julien Duflot__ (cap 21) who was racing Fanny since the start really. He pushed hard for the final part of his race, and according to his tracker, he wasn't sleeping or resting a lot. We had a dotwatcher meeting him before the finish line and you can see for yourself that he still has very happy and positive and looking rather fresh.

![jul1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/iWDPjAhkkyobmaCsJ0TVw/6bc01f271aa6fce6063c9b6e3e8e2457/julien1.jpeg)

He finished with a fantastic score, 10 days, 3 hours, and 35 minutes, covered 3634 kilometers (FMC data) and he is the 5th rider home. For at least two times he paved the new and pretty important route choices of this years Transiberica and he was always close to the top three. Congratulations!

![julmain](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5CYWHt64MqkRSuiQFSbqyk/208ac76ec841a10f313164d46d8aceff/juliendf.jpg)

__Julián__ (cap 20) the already famous Transiberican rookie, and mentioned before the Instagram star, arrived 7th, and then __Markus Carlos Hein__ (cap 26) finished eight, with only two hours between them.

![julian](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2Y5K097A8PRnOcxHsE71KK/8d1bc5a3bf4440e91304cbdcd4c07a2b/julian.JPG)

I was thinking that it may be a little closer fight between these two, as according to the FMC analytics, Julián slept last night, and Markus who was not so far behind, he wasn’t. But it maybe that I'm overthinking it, because at the end of the day, what is 2 hours differace on a 3500 kilometers race. It is nearly nothing!

![marcus](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1K5dzvNV5I3Rai7P4h1YTd/5eef15def4570d3e962b1c0a5c1cb8ee/marcus.jpeg)

It looks like we had a little finishers party today, near the puppy. With dots reaching Bilbao one after another, it is something really special to have a fellow rider waiting for you there. The atmosphere of that place when you finish the race like this is really something hard to describe. After being on the road for such a long time you are suddenly thrown into the crowd of random people, walking, sightseeing, sometimes looking at you like you would jump from the moon. 

![party](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6VG8hFw7RRI7WQxPeMLtlt/cb4c6abd1ae185e5c833850166bb0ece/hugs1.JPG)

I will never forget these moments of every race I did, and this year around the Guggenheim Museum, it was even crazier. Today we had a Vuleta Espania stage, passing by the very place, where the finish line is located. Imagine that! At the same moment, the first pair __Gereon Tewes & Sharry Cardona__ (cap 52) arrived. They also slept last night and took this last bit very reasonably, but they really deserved that.

![pair main](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6vsqxtbuhA3tkE9fqevLUr/80a9e3a829d2a177f2c5a9e3cfdc1819/parafinish_main.JPG)

After 10 days, 18 hours 47 minutes they were already near the Puppy, and a short while after that they could enjoy this remarcable show of pro and “luxury” cycling. Great way to finish a long self-supported race and feel like a real cycling hero

![pair vuelta](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7tp9u9OnxC7NV5BCQC2QFS/fb726ee9a65c46529d378f1140e770c9/paravuelta.JPG)

There is a pretty big gap between our finishers and the next group of riders who are as we speak going through or getting into the Picos de Europa. We don't expect anyone to finish the race tonight, but the first one that we expect for tomorrow evening maybe is our second woman, __Jaimi Wilsom__ (cap 16). She wasn't reporting anything today through her socials, but when I try to read something out of her tracker it looks like she slept well and just doing her job, and hopefully enjoying her ride as much as she can.

But I have a weather report from Héctor (cap 15) and it's not looking really nice I would say. I only hope that it will change until he, and the riders near by his dot, will get to Asturias. I know the weather can be really challenging there when it comes to rain and temperature drops.

![rian](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4zTsup0VSN1GaOeq1D6xAT/89bb6505a5a5245d3262bd09336499da/rain.jpeg)

Fingers crossed for all the riders who are still on the road, and I’m curious to see the top ten finishing tomorrow and then looking at the tail of the race, and try to give them an emotional push, so they can make it to Bilbao before the official cut of time. Have a great noght on the road all!

![sunset](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/qf8hZKUs3VMjN67D8HUwu/939bf47414081fd2a5a72a486e259ab9/sunset.JPG)

Text: @pikopulawski

All photos: @biziosona / @bite.of.me / @javigamallo

Transiberica / Day 11 / Ups, she did it again!

Piko Pulawski

Malte Regah

TransIbérica 2022 Tracking + A free-route race starting and finishing in Bilbao which requires riders to tick off the 10 checkpoints and parcours across Spain, including one French Pyreneen CP and a gravel parcours in the Spanish Pyrenees. 

TransIbérica 2022 Tracking

A free-route race starting and finishing in Bilbao which requires riders to tick off the 10 checkpoints and parcours across Spain, including one French Pyreneen CP and a gravel parcours in the Spanish Pyrenees.

TransIbérica 2022

DotWatcher.cc

TransIbérica 2022

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