Race Preview

Let the games begin

All Aboard ⛴

Oh what a night...

"You are a sadist!"

Halfway and beyond

Night shift, anyone?

While we were sleeping...

The power of the bicycle

Tick, tock, tick, tock...

Andrew Phillips

Christian Englert

Gautier Bonnecarrère

Christophe Dijkmans

Steven Le Hyaric

Lukas Neubeck

Brendan Cassidy

Fiona Kolbinger

Julien Roissard

Cristian Auriemma

Thomas Ceyrowsky

Daan Marsmans

Leighn Chambers

Wim Verheyen

Eloi Miquel Arcarons

Jaco Wessels

Colin Smith

Fanny Bensussan

Jason Black

Thomas Jacquelinet

Julien Morret

Nicola Shaw

Dragomir Titei

Gerco Beekhof

Emiel Maelfait

Sarah Cinquini

Andrea Boscolo

Nicholas Mead

Markus Spieth

Frieder Backu

William Palmer

Paul Gannon

Niel Copeland

Niklas Hanses

Jakob Klaer

Marianne Thissen-smits

Per Arne Janssen

Jean-silviu Dupouy

James Armshaw

Frederick Aubry

Bryan Averre

Andrea Seiermann

Renato Caudiullo

Thomas Chateau

Frank Scholler

Robert Reinecke

Peter Boynton

Derek Gamblin

Nerijus Pudziuvelis

Douglas Migden

Hashim Hassan

Lisa Pfeiffer

Francesco Ruggiero

Philippe Ernst

Konstantinos Arvanitopoulos-darginis

Emanuel Matti

Joe Rass-court

Tolga Alpagot

Alexander Kopp

Thomas Boury

John Cooke

James Runnicles

Jonathan Sarkies

Omar Di Felice

Ulrich Bartholmoes

Filippo Nicotra

Giuseppe Colucci

Francesco Pizzo

Robert Britton

Kai Magne Barstad

Giulio Minniti

Ede Harrison

Ben Davies

Liam Lynch

Nick Underhill-day

Veit Köster

Patrick Doupe

Alfred Bonasera

Tomasz Rozmiarek

Martin Schneider

Christopher Greenan

Laurent Niederst

Iwan Runggaldier

Andrea Galanti

Leo Andrione

Julie Elder

Christian Bel

Car 1

Car 2

Sofiane Sehili

Adrien Liechti

Martin Waldenberger

Christoph Fuhrbach

Louis Rostren

Germain Omnes

Tom Bukowski

Simon Pope

Marek Polacek

Ian Appleby

Alex Armstrong

Adam Heyburn

Ad Mulders

Mike Janssen

Hi everyone, it’s ya gal [Grace](https://www.instagram.com/thisisgrace_) (of the Lambert-Smith variety) back for another race. You may have joined me for HT550 earlier this year – I’m still reeling from that, are you? – and I’m delighted to bring you commentary for this year’s Two Volcano Sprint.

The very first edition of Two Volcano Sprint in 2019 saw just 30 riders line up at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. This year, organiser Juliana Buhring has had to cap the number of entries. “We could easily double the number of riders given the number of entries we receive,” she says. “We want to give everyone a unique experience, so we have to limit it.” She also cites the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic as another reason she has chosen to keep the number of riders manageable.

So, let’s get into the nitty gritty…

## The Route

<iframe src="https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=event&eventId=156136&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%; height: 700px; border: none;" scrolling="no"></iframe>

For the first time, the route is switching directions. Riders will begin their volcanic journey in Nicolosi just below the towering Mount Etna on Friday 15th October at 05:00 local time. Riders will begin climbing Mt Etna almost immediately and the best bit? They’ll climb it twice following the course of the 2020 Giro d’Italia. Will we see a few early sense-of-humour failures?

By the time riders get to the ferry at Messina (ca. 200km in), they’ll have climbed almost 4500m already.

“I’ve treated the riders to slightly longer mileage and much more altitude gain than the previous events,” says Juliana with a cheeky smile. Juliana’s home is in southern Italy and what she doesn’t know about the area probably isn’t worth knowing. “I’ve included an extra tough mountain:  Mt. Gelbison in Cilento. There’s also a wonderful climb of 18 switchbacks to the famous Cristo Redentore of Maratea.”

Other than those highlights, the route looks to favour climbers. To be at the pointy end, riders will need easy climbing gears and lightweight kit (if any!). More than anything, they’ll need strong mental resilience. It’s going to hurt no matter whether you’re at the front or the back of the race.

## The Riders
Right then...I think this might be the best ultra-race startlist I’ve ever seen. I’m going to keep this section as brief as I can, so I can drop some facts and figures later in the race.

### Favourites

![Ulrich Bartlomös 1 2VS2021](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/wxr79dIeKSs87M2QWrRUy/7496da775f911b3e18888dbd8fc02237/WhatsApp_Image_2021-10-09_at_16.33.07.jpeg)

Sofiane Sehili. Ulrich Bartholmös. Fiona Kolbinger. Omar di Felice. Steven Le Hyaric. Need I say more? Ulrich won the race in 2019 and 2020. Sofiane came second and Omar came third in 2020. Fiona Kolbinger won the Transcontinental Race in 2019 and will give these three a run for their money.

Steven Le Hyaric is a French powerhouse who just won the North Cape 4000. Can compatriot Thomas Jacquelinet (winner of Lost Dot’s Transpyrenees) give him a run for his money for a spot on the podium?

### But wait, there’s more...
Other notable mentions must go to Fanny Bensussan who has had a great season so far placing 14th overall in Three Peaks Bike Race and 9th in TransIberica (1st woman). Joe Rass-Court brings another admirable palmares to the field after placing 5th in this year’s Transpyrenees. Daan Marsmans could also throw a challenge given his victory on Race Around the Netherlands. If the wind picks up and the hills subside a little, I know whose dot I’ll be looking for.

Honestly, the depth of talent, skill and power in this field has me feeling quite starstruck. It’s all to play for and I can’t wait for those dots to move across that map while I live vicariously. More than anything I’m excited to see what Fiona can do – it’s been a while since we saw the FK dot move. Go get ‘em!

## A word from the race organiser
As I’m sure some of you already know, Juliana Buhring is the organiser of this race. It’s set in her home country, she knows the route inside out. What advice would she give to riders? “I think they need to not take themselves too seriously,” she advises. “This is meant to be as much fun as it is a challenge and I hope they will enjoy seeing some incredible parts of the south of Italy enroute as well as partaking of the famous southern hospitality and congeniality with the locals they encounter. Golden tip: always carry a space blanket, you never know.”

## See you next Friday!
It’s going to be an early alarm for those of you following along from home. The dots will begin rolling at the following times around the world:
- 15/10/2021 05:00 CEST (Central Europe incl. Spain, France, Germany, Italy etc.)
- 15/10/2021 14:00 AEDT (Sydney, Melbourne)
- 14/10/2021 23:00 EDT (New York)
- 14/10/2021 20:00 PDT (California)
- 15/10/2021 12:00 JST (Tokyo)

Hope you can join me!

Anyone else ridiculously excited for this race to get going? I have to calm myself down every time I see someone post a picture about the race.

## Benvenuti in Sicilia
The last couple of days we've seen Catania airport oozing with bike boxes, which is quite amusing when you think of passersby wondering what the heck all those boxes are doing there.

![Bike boxes Catania](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/1paKfKCHrRTA9i4TVR8oUl/df67440232abac289b1a4af6e26f7a5c/245342318_671181147192386_813521837846023225_n.jpg)

## Carb loading begins
I've unfortunately never had the pleasure of visiting Sicily (I'm working on changing that, trust me) however it's rocketed to the top of my must-visit list after seeing everyone having a very nice time carb loading.

![food of sicily](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/JsEDx3y8jq1NCrobeY0iQ/d42e7de5e08421b9f7fc7343892c6f5f/food_of_sicily.jpg)

Gelato - YES. Cannoli - YES. Deep-fried-arancini-but-spaghetti-style - YES.

I'm hungry just looking at these pictures. Put them all in my mouth right now.

## Is sleep-loading a thing?
I've never had a good night's sleep before an event. Nerves just get the better of me and I just lie there worrying if I'll miss my alarm if I drift off.

It's important to be well-rested before big races and someone who knows more about that than most will be the doctors among the field such as Fiona Kolbinger.

Rumour has it she worked multiple night shifts in the lead up to the race and had two hours' sleep the last two nights before travelling to Sicily.

How will the affect her race? Will she benefit from the night shift body clock and be able to push through? Is she superhuman and therefore it won't affect her?!

## Race Briefing is underway

![simon pope race briefing](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/5tL8X7gHEYGs9ADF36ir7R/b69774fd4dbe6c739b7bec937369d0b6/245423122_116780214092115_7230013024432327203_n.jpg)
Image courtesy of Simon Pope cap 96b

Juliana has assembled the troops in Nicolosi for the rider briefing. Hope you're listening, dear riders!

If there's any juicy goss to come out of tonight's pre-race shenanigans, I'll be sure to update. You might want to keep your eyes peeled on Sofiane's instagram account a bit later. He's got some exciting news to share - I won't steal his thunder but it's worth holding on for!

Sleep well everyone. Set your alarms for 5am Italy time. That's 4am where I am :| send coffee!!

Race Day Eve!

***yawns*** early, isn't it? I didn't quite make the 4am alarm, I'll be honest with you but it was tactical. I would've had nothing more to say other than "woohoo the riders are now riding their bicycles up a volcano, more to follow". Now we're a couple of hours in, things are starting to shape up a little to give us a hint of what we can expect to see throughout the course of the day.

## Surprise pairs!
![Adrien and Sofiane](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3BFU9UYNt7W0vabhsaRFEG/5bed81a28a973b892545637b11e1b7c3/245217462_291072462861592_5894787652077151072_n.jpg)

Unbelievable scenes! Sofiane is riding as a pair with Adrien Liechti. Both are very experienced riders as Sofiane explains in his post about the decision. They're both bike messengers and we all know how successful bike messengers are at ultra races.

We've seen a pair win a race outright before in [Across Andes](https://dotwatcher.cc/results/2019/across-andes-2019) when [Andrés Tagle](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/Andr%C3%A9s%20Tagle) and [Rodrigo Canuto Errázuriz](https://dotwatcher.cc/profile/Rodrigo%20Canuto%20Err%C3%A1zuriz). I reckon Adrien and Sofiane (Sadrien?) will show us again what a dangerous pairing can do to the pointy end of there race. We'll see ;)

The only thing that disappoints me is their lack of matching moustaches for the occasion. Poor form, lads, poor form.

Fiona Kolbinger is biding her time for this section I feel. She currently sits around 20th. Yesterday we heard how she's had like 2 hours' sleep or something daft so tbf she's doing INCREDIBLY well and I certainly wouldn't be anywhere near as far along as she is right now if I were in her shoes. I would be in bed, reader, warm and cosy in bed.

## The first hour
So before my alarm went off what's actually happened? The single-digit temperature had riders reaching for all their layers. The cold made for pretty icy conditions at the top of Etna to the surprise of many.

Most people have now crested the first ascent of Etna (makes me feel extremely lazy for lying in bed) and they're on to the second ascent (did I mention how lazy I feel this morning?).

![Daan Ulrich 1](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/2FG5ivGTtO428F4QG8lQ8B/d13d8ceba3c598d032409aa36b4db4cf/WhatsApp_Image_2021-10-15_at_05.24.33.jpeg)

Somewhat predictably Ulrich is leading the pack however it's not without challenge. Race Around The Netherlands winner Daan Marsmans is hot on his heels.

This second ascent should sort the pack out a bit more before they all need to board the same ferry at Messina.

Speaking of ferries: they're every 40 mins and they run 24 hours so a missed ferry is unlikely to cost anyone the race, especially at this early stage. What time do you think the first rider will board a ferry? I'm going to hedge my bet on the 13:20 departure. Bit of fag packet maths says Ulrich will make it in around 9-ish hours from the start since it's 200km into the route.

## First Flat Tyre Award!

The first flat tyre award goes to Niklas Hanses. What a mare. Poor guy pulled over to fix it where the 2VS crew caught up with him.

![Niklas Hanses flat tyre day 1](//videos.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/17uVlMs5DPRvyj5X8UEmyX/44f20e5ce7b7b8bae470e5e907f43425/WhatsApp_Video_2021-10-15_at_06.20.26.mp4)


[](https://www.instagram.com/p/CVDAWletX9s/)

The first ferry crossing was made today at around 13:00. The first 8 riders were all on the same ferry: Ulrich and Daan rolled in together closely followed by Omar di Felice (cap 81) and Joe Rass-Court (cap 56) just ten minutes later. While Gautier Bonnecarrère (cap 72) arrived 30 mins after Ulrich and Daan, he still managed to hop on the same ferry. The final three, Christophe Dijkmans (cap 63), Christian Englert	(cap 66) and Alexander Kopp	(cap 48) on this ferry made it just in time for boarding.

And of course our master photographer James Robertson managed to catch them all have an amazing time since they were so buzzing with energy.

![Ulrich Daan sleeping on the ferry](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/4gntP8UTxmf8U2PluswI9J/690376a96b010573edea1a8309535fc6/2021_1015_13324000__2_.jpg)

**Important point!** The top 20 riders will be allowed to set off on the other end in the order in which they arrived at the ferry. Therefore, Ulrich and Daan were allowed to go 10 minutes before Omar and Joe and so on. Contrary to a few people thinking it was a waste of time racing around Etna, the race continues!

![Evening sailing](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/2byXyUAW2KBJqZCTbhezCe/a3be6d3650b76be464a090b18b4f597b/Screenshot_2021-10-15_at_16.26.45.png)

As I write, there's a peloton of riders hanging out at the ferry port for the next sailing. I have incredible fomo. I want to be there chatting away, loving the Italian scenery and food with them.

![Rider summary video day 1](//videos.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/3swj3jI1ChaDmOmBAerRee/e8b99a58cabc44c4043ba7f22f4f7620/Untitled.mp4)

The ferries become less frequent after 20:40 and riders will have to wait an hour between crossings rather than the usual 40 minutes. Normal schedule resumes at 04:40 tomorrow.

## Sharp pointy end
Just 20km separates the top 10 and riders are bunnyhopping each other all the time. A race this close I don't think we've seen until now. The sleep strategy of the riders going into the first night will be interesting to see.

I've just dug through Daan's Strava for his Race Around The Netherlands performance and found that he stopped for just 14 hours throughout the 83 hours it took him to finish/win the race. Though RATN is around 800km longer than 2VS, I think it's fair to say Daan's no stranger to performing with sleep deprivation. THE PLOT THICKENS!

## Will travel for gravel

![riverbed day 1](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/Fh7cYyEt642jtMVd4Hp37/9a21cd12f956eb332eac7db973e411cc/Screenshot_2021-10-15_at_16.41.52.png)

No road race is complete without a section or two of surprise gravel. Not one to disappoint dotwatchers and riders alike, Juliana offered up a dry riverbed to keep everyone on their toes. Literally.

The optional section could be avoided with a smoother but longer detour and most still chose feel the rocks of Sicily under their feet/cleats.

![Riverbed smiles day 1](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/4LdiY8R63d0VGMV0KDqh5l/0755983bad6683e1cba67a6d26045a70/WhatsApp_Image_2021-10-15_at_16.38.57.jpeg)

## Doug makes it over to Europe
I saw his name on the start list but I just wanted to give a little shout out to Doug from the USA. Some of you may have read his story of [20,000km on the Transcontinental](https://dotwatcher.cc/feature/20000km-on-the-transcontinental-race) and he's made it back over to Europe to race his bike again. I'm delighted to see his dot this side of the Atlantic once more.

Apparently he thought he'd be the lanterne rouge but it turns out he's got company at the back of the race. I'm sure he's having a wonderful time and I hope we can get an update later in the race.

A wet weather system has hit a lot of riders on the route in southern Italy late tonight. An update to Fanny confirmed

"I just stopped because there's a big big rain shower just now, it's been super cold since the very beginning - can you hear the rain, it's crazy just now! - I wasn't expecting any rain at all but here we are. The ground was frozen on top of Etna and when we were descending it was so windy, so I wore all my clothes and I have nothing left in my bags on my bike. I'm very slow once again but you know still going! Until now with the rain! I'll see if it stops or not. I don't know what I'm going to do. I wasn't planning on sleeping but why not? I'm in a little village right now, so maybe I should just sleep?! It's crazy to think it's only 10pm but it's been dark since 7pm so it feels like it's been forever and the sun should be out soon but of course it won't be until around 7am, so that's a lot of darkness."

Ulrich also confirmed he'd stopped to wait out the rain in his space blanket.

![Mongiana day 1](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/aqWxW0z40LpEekN7sdo2o/6c39343cf2df9c5046f0ce7d90770ac4/Screenshot_2021-10-15_at_22.12.50.png)

Quite a few riders look like they've slowed with a few groups sprawled along the route now, notably in Mongiana

We're expecting tonight to be...well, let's say type 2 fun. Who will make it out to the morning?

Rain stops play (for some)

The top ten looks completely different to last night and I am SHOOK. What the heck happened?! Well, let's find out.

## Ulrich & Omar scratch

"I want and I have to report you my DNF. I have to take on the responsibility for my health at this point of time. I talked with doctors in Germany and with their recommendations, I was close to the emergency room last night, barely able to breathe," Ulrich said in a message to race officials adding that he was battling lung problems, too.

Read his full post for his explanation below.

[](https://www.instagram.com/p/CVFDibhsF1y/)

Omar declared himself out of the race citing how cold he was and how he wasn't mentally in the right place to continue the race.

They're on their way to Napoli by train where they'll see in the other riders pending any health updates.

I'm obviously gutted to see two of the race favourites leave in such circumstances. Ulrich and Omar always light up races they sign up for but these things happen. You're caught by surprise and you don't have the tools to deal with the task at hand. Ultra-racing pushes your body to its limit, so any shocks to your body are likely to be amplified.

Other scratches since last night include **Francesco Pizzo** (cap 52) and **Filippo Nicotra**	(cap 83).

I think Frank Scholler may have also scratched based on the position of his dot right now.

**Daan Marsmans** has tracker issues and I'm told he's still in the top 15 riders.

## How to shelter from a storm
**A masterclass from Two Volcano Sprint Riders**

While there have been some unfortunate scenarios following the storm, I'm happy to report many people found some quite amusing ways to sit/sleep it out.

"You won’t believe my luck - when in Casoleto, I knocked on a door, hoping I could sleep inside for a few hours. It turns out I knocked on the mayor’s door and he let me (Jean-Silviu Dupouy cap 31) & Niklas (97) stay at his agritourism house 😁"

![agritourism shed night 1 2vs](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/5FuyIwxpoy7bWzd1eOLzJ2/e198e23be583d33a87b6e13a5e694b1f/WhatsApp_Image_2021-10-16_at_04.31.40.jpeg)

**Nicky Shaw** also chose a cosy spot to catch 40 winks.

![Nicky Shaw night 1 2vs](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/40rlM17vzpYVxmN8WTnZYN/572c672f02c6af2d995c483744a90480/245642429_253891496680433_4617589202024960728_n.jpg)

Two of the new frontrunners, Alexander Kopp and Christian Englert can varying lengths of sleep. Alex found the holy grail of ultra-distance hotels - find out where he slept in the video below (I apologise for the quality - the file was huge!).

![Rider 48 sleep](//videos.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/7piuvvMB0iX6Yh2PU8GxUE/232382198393e03535137cd506c9245b/Untitled__1_.mp4)

**Emiel Maelfait** simply "slept on a bench somewhere" - haven't we all?
![Emiel Maelfait 2vs 1](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/6QCGaZVGhPKFuogTdDJHMg/b7beb4cf08d2f05cc6d81d6c89c10bc0/WhatsApp_Image_2021-10-16_at_07.50.24.jpeg)

Pairs riders Simon and Tom Bukouski and Simon Pope spent the night shivering in their sleeping bags before deciding to get back on their bikes. Tom explains the layering concept for kit.

![how to layer kit 2vs](//videos.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/1eHZ1QbGqriA5mKnAEPvbA/0af0bb861f115e261c1b9fcdd6399897/WhatsApp_Video_2021-10-16_at_07.57.08.mp4)

## A look forward
So we're at the half way point of the race already - this really has been a sprint so far - so let's see what the next few kilometres entail for today.

![gravel section 405km 2vs](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/18mZJFjLR8CHKf6RCkUoec/90686b2d8eb360ee7447b92b91bbf7ed/Screenshot_2021-10-16_at_08.08.01.png)

Fanny has just started the off-road gravel section at kilometre 405. I'm sure she's enjoying that! There seems to be a cluster of riders at the other end of this possibly resupplying in the shops before continuing on.

A 15km climb at around 490km into the race. It looks pretty spicy with ramps of over 10% from what I can tell, though its average is just 5% so it should be manageable for everyone.

The good news is there's an almost 50km descent waiting from kilometre 618. Looks like it'll be a fun one.

I'm going to grab a coffee and watch some dots for more action. I'll be updating more frequently this weekend, so I hope you can join me.

p.s. as soon as I pressed publish on this report, Sofiane updated his instagram stories while Adrien fixed a puncture. He echoed the same thing as other riders "it's cold and it rained really heavily" but then confirmed that he and Adrien are still friends. WOOP! He hasn't packed gloves with him though - what a monster!

We have an update from the queen of ultra-racing, Fiona Kolbinger. Juliana caught up with her this morning to ask her how she fared overnight.

![Fiona Kolbinger day 2](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/10nYE98jzAbQQwZcRV3hfZ/2f4bef7b1cd224d9fddfd176ce414d60/Screenshot_2021-10-16_at_09.33.39.png)

Upon arrival, Fiona was carrying around 4 bags of sweets and stuffing them into her jersey pockets all the while riding along like it's no big deal. Then she couldn't quite get one of the bags in so she just did no hands for a bit...again like it's no big deal. WTF!

"What's going on?!" she asked Juliana referring to the fact that Ulrich and Omar are now out of the race. After Juliana gave a short update, Fiona pedalled along making her way through a bag of gummy bears.

They're on a climb so the pace is steady. Vito said, "there's a nice pizza place round here" to which Fiona replied, "no pizza!" - is this the secret to winning ultra-races? No pizza?! Juliana chimes in, "she doesn't need pizza, she's surviving on gummy bears!"

![Fiona gummy bears 2vs day 2](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/1In8saWHjDyyhzGncBq0dT/fb1c6322eb3cd76871f9210905cf4c07/Screenshot_2021-10-16_at_09.39.42.png)

"I had two hours of sleep in a hotel," said Fiona. "But there was no blanket and just a sheet on the bed!" Fiona then goes on to tell Juliana what she got up to in the time the led to her getting a hotel room.

"I got caught in the first shower, then in the middle of nowhere this restaurant popped up. I went to the restuarant, who was in there? Adrien, Sofiane and two other guys. I thought I'd have a nice sit down meal with Adrien and Sofiane - these guys are fantastic! Then it stopped raining so I became ambitious again and left."

"The second shower, I came back into civilisation but I was soaked, then I thought, best thing is to probably go into a hotel doing the Russian thing: heating on full power, everything on top, window open! The Russian thing always works!"

So after a...cosy?...couple of hours channelling some Russian energy, Fiona started her day at around the 360km mark near San Vito sullo Ionio.

"You survived much better than most overnight," said Juliana. "A lot of people feel dead this morning."

"This morning I was also dead! This climb - the first one," she began, referring to the steep climb from Cenadi which is 10km with ramps frequently over 10%. "I have no idea what it's called but was steep, it was long and it sucked...and you are a F*&^ing sadist!"

Let's see what happens when the real climbing starts 😉

There is just about as much climbing in the second half of this race as there is in the first half, so as riders tick over the 550km mark, I imagine there are very few sighs of relief. Not least because there's are a couple of absolute monsters of climbs waiting for our dearly beloved riders.

## Alex Kopp takes a break

We heard from Alexander Kopp this morning, who appeared to be in jovial spirits, however it looks like last night has claimed another victim. He's taking a breather (literally, he's having lung troubles) in a hostel in Acri (642km) and he'll see how he feels later on.

We also have reports of Jason Black suffering a little and he's done the same thing and got himself a hotel room. I'll update as I find out more info.

## Scratch update

Another front runner checks out and this time it's Thomas Boury. All ok but he'll be heading home rather than completing the race. James Runnicles, who was a little further back has also said toodle-do to the race.

## Nicky and Fanny go head-to-head

An exciting race between Nicky and Fanny is unfolding as the pair continue to leap frog each other. The race crew caught up with this horse who observed both riders.

![nicky-horse-2vs](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/GmcqFwhsg2ng10nBy7dZt/2867bcc29175ead638d576245b050da6/nicky-horse-2vs.jpg)

![fanny-horse-2vs](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/59Gg5xREbs9hrh3NpdGzAz/f2c076da2ac0ad922015d9de2aa73b5c/fanny-horse-2vs.jpg)

When asked if it had a favourite out of the two, it simply replied with, "neigh" - horses these days, I tell ya...

On a serious note, there's just 15 minutes between the pair which is very exciting. Both are incredibly tough and won't give up without a fight, so I'll be paying close attention to these dots. Fiona is 100km up the road as I type. Anything can happen...

## Riders begin to tire

I'm getting reports of a lot of riders saying they'll need to get some sleep tonight. It's so easy to go all out on the first night because you're fuelled on adrenalin and just want to push yourself. Eventually, your body gives you signs as to whether that's sustainable or not and many are now looking forward to taking a break tonight.

![Julien morret 2vs day 2](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/zwuZdh61UQevpNLod1Pdl/6057e71c4e5eedbd1e5723545bdc2c38/WhatsApp_Image_2021-10-16_at_17.10.21.jpeg)

Julien Morret (pictured) is one such rider who managed just one hour's sleep last night. He told the race crew he's in need of sleep but intends to ride at least part of the night.

At the other end of the spectrum, Niel Copeland got a solid six hours in his bivvy bag last night after the storm! He could be one to keep an eye on overnight tonight.

Nicky also said she's aiming to grab some sleep as soon as she feels tired. How much sleep is anyone's guess!

## Coming up...

A climb for no reason at all except to look at the 5th largest Christ statue in the world and the weather looks like it might be kind to the riders at the pointy end.

I'll be back a bit later tonight with some more goss. In the meantime, you could check out [this webcam](https://www.meteopresila.it/webcam/webcam-sila/) which is live-streaming around the 510km mark at a place called Pantane. See if you can spot the riders!

Phwoar, is that the time already? Tonight, I made excessive portions of three (or four...I can't remember) bean chilli, fed my friend's cat, done a big load of laundry and, well, taken dotwatching to the next level apparently! Enough of the mundane routines of my life, what did the riders get up to while I had a hectic time?

## Don't let the bed bugs bite
Today's numero uno is getting some well-earned sleep in Rotonda at 770km but in doing so Christian Englert and Lukas Neubeck have overtaken him. Will the two Germans hang on until Andrew wakes from his slumber to find he's slipped down the leaderboard? This is the first time Andrew's stopped for any length of time, while the Christian got a couple of hours last night. Lukas, like Andrew, hasn't really stopped the whole race yet. Animals!!

Christoph Dijkmans could be a dangerous opponent for the front group. He slept from 20:00-01:00 last night and is the most well-rested of the top 10. Is he going to pull an all-night to do some stealth overtakes while the others are sleeping?

![party in altomonte 2vs day 2](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/1x8WjBfM3ZmSdyRwQF3rwA/a1241ac45cc5abc1e920bd303c077d39/Screenshot_2021-10-16_at_22.11.35.png)

Fiona also looks like she's paused for the night at a hotel. Presumably she's aiming to get more than two hours tonight. Sofiane and Adrien are also in the vicinity, though I can't tell if their trackers are off-course slightly and they're camping behind a jewellery store, or they're in the same hotel as Brendan Cassidy over the road.

![Party in Acri 2vs day 2](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/4oIob2AOAntPJAA0dG944n/d80b8ec0784b5861c9ba0cba341ce7f6/Screenshot_2021-10-16_at_22.12.48.png)

Another hive of non-activity is Acri at kilometre 640 where no fewer than 8 riders rest their little heads. One of the hotels is called HOTEL SUPERSONIK (in capitals!) so I hope these riders come out fully charged tomorrow morning.

## Tomorrow looks savage!
And I can't wait. Riders have to climb up to look at the Jesus statue then they have the wonders of mighty Monte Gelbison. I'll be hanging out all day Sunday for dotwatching banter if anyone wants to join me.

I'm excited to wake up and see what's happened already!

Morning folks, did you sleep well? I certainly did. Freshly laundered sheets, winter duvet...so cosy. If anything, I was too warm and had too much sleep! How do we think the riders fared overnight?

I think we can safely say that **Andrew Phillips** is going for the win. He slept for the grand total of two hours in which time **Christian Englert** overtook. However it wouldn't last as Christian than gave in to sleep for a couple of hours and Andrew regained his position at the front of the race. **Lukas Neubeck** also managed an hour in Maratea before he began his ascent to visit old mate Jesus.

There's a new guy on the virtual podium right now: **Gautiere Bonnecarrère**. A couple of hours' sleep around the same time as Andrew has given him enough energy to sprint into third place. Meanwhile Christian Englert hasn't moved for another hour. Struggling with sleep dep, do we think?

**Christoph Dijkmans** and **Steven Le Hyaric** are now jostling for position and are mere minutes apart. Exciting to see who'll prevail, not least because it looks like Steven had a pretty wild night with the locals.

![Steven Le Hyaric partygoer 2vs night 2](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/4heRwSRMZJOBSw7ymkdiSd/211a3223d319bc31b8c96f1c881ec48b/Screenshot_2021-10-17_at_08.16.47.png)

Steven's instagram stories have been entertaining over the last few hours to say the least. He ended up listening to heavy metal and getting selfies with some partygoers. My French isn't great (reader, I can just about ask for croissants and coffee on a good day) but it looks like he's having an awesome time!

Luckily, Lily on the race crew has translated a few bits for me and perhaps the most important message to share is Steven saying words to the effect of "the real race is the friends you make along the way" and it's so true. These races are about experiences, about people, about community from both inside and outside the race. What good is it if you put your head down for 1100km, have no fun, no good stories to tell and walk away not having *lived* throughout the race? Know what I mean?!

## Jesus loves you and so does Juliana (deep down!)

![jesus statue 1](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/5kr1VS5oVaejZNTt0nzN6i/2451513dff97cd743862d68600c7295c/jesus_statue_1.jpg)

This is what I mean when I say there's a huge Jesus statue to visit. Riders had to climb to the top, say g'day and cycle down the exact same way they came up. Hopefully each rider received some blessings for the onward journey...or is that not allowed in the rule book? I guess he'll offer tips and encouragement to all riders so it's fair.

As I type, Fiona has just reached the top but she had an interesting night. She was less than pleased with a gravel section which she had to walk. She took to sending Juliana voice messages to voice her dismay at the rocky conditions under foot. 😂

## Sofiane announces he wants to scratch

![Sofiane night 2 2vs](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/7dESVgbeaXSB64IQqjO70t/7360a7a1ceeab32703aa7f76e1f011c8/Screenshot_2021-10-17_at_08.32.59.png)

Adrien and Sofiane are having a wild ride out there. Sofiane took to Instagram to update fans on his progress. He's waiting for Adrien at the bottom of a hill at this point. "We stopped around 10:30-11 in a hotel, grabbed a couple of hours of sleep, a shower, a bit of food...just to be able to have a strong night. I just finished the downhill gravel section. It's very steep here! Today was long with gentle climbs but since Acri it's been short, really steep stuff..."

He is then interrupted by a neighbour who heard him chatting away. The old man wanted to see if he was ok. Luckily Sofiane's multi-lingual skills sorted him out and the man wished him well.

"It's going to be a long race, we still have 450km or something like that. A long way to go...I don't know when we'll get there. It's a longer race with more climbing, so we'll see how it goes."

He then breaks out into song, which is exactly what we love about Sofiane's races. If he doesn't have a sing song at some point, there must be something wrong.

"This (singing) is my way of saying thank you to my followers! I not only like cycling, I also like to eat food. Sometimes I wonder if I only cycle in order to eat more food!!"

Then comes some bad news...

"It is with a heavy heart that **I have decided to scratch** from this year's Two Volcano Sprint. I am doing so for two reasons: the first is that I ate too much food it Sicily before the race and I got fat and I can't get my fat ass up these climbs and basically this race is all climbs. I am also scratching for a second reason. I feel the solo category had a lot of drama but the pairs? Not really. And I feel like the people want it. I hear you and I'm giving you what you want. Here I am and I'm delivering for you. However as you know, I'm racing as a pair and if I want to quit, I have to get my partner to agree with it. **Adrien is not ok with me quitting** - he doesn't want me to drop out which means that I have to continue. That's unfair, that's cruel. It's really cold and he has gloves and I don't. So I'm going to keep going...BUT...as a matter of protest, if we win the pair category, I have decided to ask Juliana to only play the French anthem and not the Swiss anthem. **This is my final decision, it may seem harsh but I do feel that such cruelty deserves to be punished**."

You know when Juliana said riders shouldn't take themselves too seriously? This is what she meant! A round of applause for Sofiane and Adrien keeping it real in the midst of an incredibly tough challenge!

## More sleeping arrangements revealed

![stormtrooper gnomes](//videos.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/7qQbOkWq6ouIq5CZjPjudp/ad95f3e717ac6447dd445ba3cf26cba5/WhatsApp_Video_2021-10-17_at_06.58.10.mp4)

Elsewhere in the race, pairs riders (caps 33a and 33b) Adam Heyburn and Alex Armstrong managed a solid six hours' sleep in a hotel last night. They hope to catch up with a few other pairs and climb the leaderboard today. Alex spoke to a member of the race crew and said, "yesterday night was the worst day I've ever had doing any sport at all!" Dramatic, much? To be fair, I can believe it! Then, it gets better. Alex was hallucinating - watch the video above to find out what he saw - sounds terrifying! He said he also thought barriers in the road were cyclists due to the reflections.

![Sleeping arrangements 2vs](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/3Ln94Id6rPUwsWXyv8fmbi/29a3565bb9e89e044477bd8b45df8a40/WhatsApp_Image_2021-10-17_at_06.58.59.jpeg)

Celeste then bumped into three other riders who shared their overnight exploits. Derek Gamblin (cap 35) chose a delightful toilet block in a children's play area for his night's sleep. Hope it wasn't too smelly and cold, Derek! Per Arne Janssen (cap 41) has a good sleeping bag apparently so just took himself a few metres off the side of the road and got cosy for a couple of hours.

Then we heard about the generosity of fellow humans. Emanuel Matti (cap 54) stumbled across a taverna and when he explained to the guy what he was doing, the guy offered him his couch in the workshop for the night. FAITH IN HUMANITY RESTORED!

## Leighn forges to the front pack
I want to send big tailwinds to Leighn Chambers Sontos today, who has put in a mega shift the last 24 hours. His lovely wife Carolyn had her name down to race but she was unable start. It was at this point Leighn stepped in a took her place. It was a last-minute decision and as such Leighn hadn't really had time to train! As a token of their partnership and love, Leighn is wearing Carolyn's jersey and helmet and also riding her bike, and it seems to be doing the trick! He's just outside the top 10 *for now* but I reckon he's got the strength to pick off a few riders ahead of him. The TCR veteran is no stranger to a hard bike race, so watch this space!

## Mechanicals and stomach problems stop play

![Sarah Cinquini 2vs](//videos.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/6p0auXKWW7TgIL69p0spyI/d28f3d9bc1fcb127e6e79a1594dff821/WhatsApp_Video_2021-10-17_at_07.47.11.mp4)

Sarah had a mechanical last night which forced her to get a lift to a bike shop to try and fix it. She returned to the place she went from to continue her race some hours later. It looks like she dinged her rim and the tube/tyre wasn't holding in place. She managed to get five hours' sleep in a hotel and she'll continue on.

Lisa Pfeiffer (cap 24) has suffered some stomach problems overnight but she's still rolling along. She slept in an open-air chapel last night and plans to find somewhere this afternoon for a bit more rest. She had a puncture and sidewall tear yesterday, which she managed to fix with tape she carried with her. It's also worth noting that she came into this race with a saddle sore that's causing a bit of discomfort, so she really is a trooper.

![Peter Boynton mechanical 2vs](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/5Q2Rlm1Yyp76R6TR4tHf29/93e17f792502b46e5083364c57d90fbf/WhatsApp_Image_2021-10-17_at_09.05.49.jpeg)

Peter Boynton also suffered a puncture overnight and fell off his bike grazing his knee in the process. The pump he carried decided not to work properly, so he was really tested mentally at this point. Luckily, it worked enough to get him rolling again but he's hunting down a better pump today.

## Joe Rass-Court scratches
Another victim of the storm calls it quits. Joe's lungs haven't recovered since that epic first night (I'm sure we'll be talking about this night for years to come) and he's making his way back home.

## Coming up...

Monte Gelbison, the most savage climb of all. As I type, the first two riders have just summitted. I'll be back later with an update!

Grace Lambert-Smith

The riders of Two Volcano Sprint are about to erupt into a display of power and endurance.

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