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Top 10 traversers

A new race for 2019 is about to begin this Sunday 29th June from Llança in Spain. A startlist of 75 riders have trained in defiance of gravity in hopes overcoming the Pyrenees mountains. Let's take a closer look at what we can expect at this year's Transpyrenees Ultracycling Race 2019.

### __The Route__

Riders must follow a mandatory route of 950km featuring 30 cols amounting to over 24,000m of climbing. There are no official checkpoints but the tracking software will log when a riders has reached these key climbs on the route:

- Port de Pailhères: a 2000m col with plenty of hairpins
- Superbagnères: a one-way col meaning riders will descend the same way they climb up
- Col du Tourmalet: the tallest of the cols at 2115m
- Port de Larrau: the steepest pass at 9.1% average

In addition to these tracked cols, other well-known climbs include the Peyresourde and the Aubisque.

![DSC09486 copy](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6osCm57pNT3pyrwABYlA22/7cd110a96b9c8aa16d93f2e1a070ba93/DSC09486_copy.jpg)

### __The Riders__

The field is made up of predominantly of riders from Spain and the UK. There is also a good balance of solo riders as well as pairs but ultimately this is anyone's race which makes it an exciting one to follow.

For some it'll be a long weekend of riding but for others, the hilly terrain and loaded bikes may mean they roll in just ahead of the cut off on the 5th July.

### __Dotwatching__

Follow the Instagram hashtag #transpyrenees for updates as well as checking back on DotWatcher for daily updates.

The race began from Llança in Spain, the same region as Girona which recorded it's hottest temperature on record at 44ºC. It was for this reason riders seemed happy to start at night!

The weather looks set to stay warm and sunny for the next day or so but with the threat of storms rolling in during the latter stages of the race. This could well be a game changer as mountain weather has a habit of shaking up the ranks.

We'll be back with another update from today's action later tonight so stay tuned.

![TPR001 peterofthespoon](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4aazJvhZ36QtQNXstlnrHk/40a34a766f7d6a4ffd1429f20dd28806/TPR001_peterofthespoon.jpeg)
Photo: [@peterofthespoon](https://www.instagram.com/peterofthespoon)

![TPR003 biziosona](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3ht3GuBrEiXnFddhDy8pgW/b885c2b91b4edd9dfeecc928a9251ecd/TPR003_biziosona.jpg)
Photo: [@biziosona](https://www.instagram.com/biziosona)

![TPR004 biziosona](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3NZDGHVrZfWwT3P1YiHrQh/52da53788193885252644440d10d78fe/TPR004_biziosona.jpg)
Photo: [@biziosona](https://www.instagram.com/biziosona)

☀️🔥🥵

It's been a tad warm for the Transpyrenees riders during this first day of racing. While the mercury rose and sun beamed down on the tarmac, two German riders (#15 Ulrich Bartholomoes and #8 Christoph Fuhrbach) took it all in their stride and managed the first 500km and 13 cols in less than 24 hours! 

The fight for current third position jostles between a number of riders: #38 Clémont Clisson, #42 Mitchell Luke* and #43 Chris Hinds.

You can see details of the route and the climbs the riders have covered so far [here](https://www.transiberica.cc/transpyrenees-2019/transpyrenees-2019-route/). The biggest is yet to come!

*Mitchell Luke is actually listed as Luke Mitchell on the tracker.

https://twitter.com/firsthippy/status/1145191027382378496

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzVtKGSoE6X/

![TPR005](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6yjNPoKbw8cbuhQ8Fx4Kqs/e9abd84616a6a4ec009ea0c3a3c3bdad/TPR005.jpeg)

Follow [@transiberica](https://www.instagram.com/transiberica) for the latest from the race.



Ulrich (#15) decided to pause for 3h ahead of taking on the mighty Tourmalet in the early hours this morning. His chaser, Christoph (#8), spent six hours getting some much needed respite from the heat in Arreau before ascending the same Col just a few hours later. They're currently the only two to have passed over the Col du Tourmalet but Chris Hinds (#43) is at the foot of the climb now.

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

The antipodean wonder that is [Hippy](https://www.twitter.com/firsthippy) (#20) has been active on twitter claiming he's struggling in the weather. His short break near the Col de Mente seemed eventful...

https://twitter.com/firsthippy/status/1145571071879450624

British rider [Ana Orenz](https://www.instagram.com/anaorencas/) currently leads the women's field. She spent a couple of hours close to Porte d'Aspet before continuing this morning.

![TPR009](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/336P1hT7JD2k2wzJbVTqRm/a9aa93bebeb4d6640b2b91fdc41f978f/TPR009.jpeg)

We've had reports from HQ about riders suffering some degree of sunburn. Luckily today looks to have a little more cloud cover than yesterday with fog looming higher up some mountains.

Feast your eyes on these incredible images courtesy of [Carlos](https://www.instagram.com/biziosona/) and [Peter](https://www.instagram.com/peterofthespoon/):

![TPR007](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3dGGOkzAHigOql2IlT3s4k/74dca98d3483dd265557fac5e0c64297/TPR007.jpeg)
Rider pictured: [Javi Gamallo](https://www.instagram.com/javigamallo/)

![TPR008](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6wvItCG8tI4JMj0pxBHQ1u/d7b87c9b79515798efccec9e6e7fdd62/TPR008.jpeg)
Rider pictured: [Clement Clisson](https://www.instagram.com/clissonclement/)

Let's see what happens over the next few hours as the front runners hit the slopes of Port de Larrau on the border of France and Spain.

As usual, it's been another hot and climby day in the Pyrenees and for some, a day of two halves.

[Adam Aldum](https://www.instagram.com/alifecycles/) (#52a) entertained his instagram followers with a few stories today, screenshots of which are below for wider amusement. Both he and his fellow rider, Ben Clay, seem to have paused at around 335km.

![Screenshot 2019-07-01 at 21.35.09](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/78fLeTzxWkutDmOSiC6yT9/17747a80225f0d94fb59a662be1ba21b/Screenshot_2019-07-01_at_21.35.09.png)

![Screenshot 2019-07-01 at 21.36.15](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/20nrl58VuGnYRPgAbPMfvA/2363eca4ef50cfeb3251bd6099d6ea33/Screenshot_2019-07-01_at_21.36.15.png)

Bagnères de Luchon is a hive of activity with a bunch of riders either fuelling up pre-Superbagnères or refuelling post-Superbagnères.

![Bagneres de Luchon](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2o9e0uPhd6nSbqklHFjwD0/ec7163dd9d210a8d180bad55e9bbde3b/Bagneres_de_Luchon.jpeg)

Elsewhere, Ana Orenz continues her lead but with fewer than 40km between her and second placed woman Aoife Henry (#39), both will need to push on into the night if they're to battle it out.

Up front, Ulrich (#15) has completely dominated this race from the start and is now within 50km of the finish though there are still a couple of spikes to go according to the elevation profile. 900km in 48hrs is fast by anyone's calculations but add to that the 20,000m of climbing and you're looking at a superhuman effort!

Fighting for fourth place is Frenchman Clément Clisson (#38) who is just 21 years old. Transpyrenees is his first long-distance cycling event, so he's proving that a big future awaits him.

Sadly, there were a few scratches today:
- #34 David Herranz
- #56b Pedro Neves
- #61b Santiago Ciges

Both partners of the pairs have decided to continue their race so we look forward to seeing how they progress on the course.

We're in for a long night of dotwatching tonight to see if Ulrich manages to finish in the next few hours.

First 48 update

![Ulrich win](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5SuWXAfQcerKyeXeALfne4/29b8c9709d7ccef5a36b9c6b063c2473/Ulrich_win.jpeg)

Ulrich Bartholmös (#15) has won the Transpyrenees Ultracycling Race in an astonishing 50H46M. With over 24,000m of climbing, that's some moving.

![Christoph Fuhrbach](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/46WEvPyrawwP2CL3fta8zw/dbfc1ddda6bd6510410a4495671f28d9/Christoph_Fuhrbach.jpeg)
Photo credit: [@peterofthespoon](https://www.instagram.com/peterofthespoon)

Hot on his heels was fellow German Christoph Fuhrbach in 57H 23M. Yet another admirable time given the terrain.

Barring any mechanicals or incidents, it looks like Clémont Clisson will roll in for third in about 5 hours' time.

Ana Orenz has made good progress overnight and increased her lead by 40km on Aoife Henry but both still have a number of cols to pass, so anything could happen yet.

21-year-old Frenchman Clément Clisson (#38) rolled into San Sebastian earlier this afternoon in a total time of 67H 04M. This was his first ever long-distance race and if that performance is anything to go by, we'll be seeing a lot more of him in the future.

![Clement Clisson](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/36V6yip7PrhcZjm2UgQHR7/9485616f11c4d89870e07f31786ab33b/Clement_Clisson.jpeg)

British rider Chris Hinds (#42) followed a couple of hours behind Clément in 69H 18M and just 20 minutes later Australian Mitchell Luke (#43) dismounted his bike for the final time. Both congratulated each other on their completion after bunny hopping each other for the last day or so!

![Chris and Mitch](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3IDTsliW8ZC2fyBwqqLngH/dc1e22102bf5b4378ea05398bcab4dac/Chris_and_Mitch.jpeg)
Photo: [@biziosona](https://www.instagram.com/biziosona/)

It's been 24 hours of German domination 🇩🇪!

Patrick Stumpf (#7) added to his nation's palmares late last night in a time of 72H 46M.

![Patrick Stumpf](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2QwZegR6h9tMyrSakIOE3t/6c6dfac3fff9220340a9292b6a30b36e/Patrick_Stumpf.jpeg)

Belgian rider Simon De Schutter (#44) reached the finish in the dead of night at 4am local time to achieve a finishing time of 77H 56M.

## Women's Winner

![Ana Orenz](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/1OXLDCL7grMTLYfHetmDL1/f76eee4e34e4b69143ff926457f17109/Ana_Orenz.jpg)

German Ana Orenz (#49) has triumphed in the women's field in a time of 80H 23M which also places her 8th overall. An incredibly strong ride and she even packed a little extra weight in the form of her mascot...

![Ana dinosaur](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5TYhWxJrNaCcmWbphNnJwJ/b8fef56109d0c01f739de72994fa6c10/Ana_dinosaur.jpeg)

Rounding out the top ten were Spaniard Dennis Sorondo (#41) in a time of 85H 03M and Brit Andrew Allday (#5) just 9 minutes behind him.

## Unlucky 13

![Mirko DNF](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/zFi3aUkkz2O2PJIl4RrNy/0e12d376489156ce8b7823eb2567113a/Mirko_DNF.jpeg) 

Devastation struck 50km before the finish for Italian Mirko de Angelis (#13) who suffered two destroyed tyres and ended up walking for some time in the middle of a cold night on the outskirts of Donistia. We hope he returns next year to settle this unfinished business.

![Mirko DNF 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1gh4aEPQDdejP3Zn6XnGBm/0cbff04868576eee7cf1f95615aa4634/Mirko_DNF_2.jpeg)

All photos: [@peterofthespoon](https://www.instagram.com/peterofthespoon)

A 950km traverse of the Pyrenees mountains across the French and Spanish border.

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