Arjen Veldhuizen

Sjoerd van ‘t Hul

Joris Bosch

Janco Nagelhout

Ariane Richter

Matthijs Beerepoot

Michael Barrett

Toni Langer

Laurent Molenaar

Jean-Sébastien Henniquiau

Jan-Willem Bobbink

Lotte Reintjes

Richard de Boer

Matthias Csernak

Bram van Engelen

Norbert Münch

Diederik Bronsveld

Sarah Dunker

Robin van Dijk

Bob Willem Van Streun

Ewout Meijer

Kris Lafleur

Nick Lettink

Eppo Dehaes

Fiona Mansfield

Ardin Corbijn van Willenswaard

Frank Schünemeyer

Devin Solleveld

Nino Drost

Belinda Geritzmann

Rachel Mortimer

Lizzie Kroeze

Higor Ramos

Thomas Terbeck

Silja Kessler

Marco Glorie

Owen Murphy

Eelke Bakker

Ruben Vita

Leanne  Bentley

Gregor Towers

Jurrien voor in t Holt

Florian Dietrich

Emmanuel Coltat

Robin Feder

Philipp Stanehl

Ernst Huijboom

Yaish Koelewijn

Tyler Sindel

Felix Lennert

Omar Di Felice

Ingmar Sluiter

David Hiscock

Jan Kuiper

Dominik Engelke

Dirk Rietberg

Bas Stegehuis

Lauran Verstraeten

Jesse Nagel

Stijn De Veylder

Eiko Schuurman

Dmitriy Ivanov

Daniel Journell

Louise Wilcocks

Aniek Rooderkerken

Casper Bester

Rens van der Hout

Eric Wille

Bram van Geerenstein

Hanneke Brouwer

Tom	ter Wielen

Sebastian Ott

Simon Goes

Sander van Tienhoven

Kay Habets

Matthias Pittoors

Michiel Grobben

Ole Cohen

Valérie Hoogers

Leon Rotmans

Anna Zöll

Lukas Biniossek

Noah Hoekendijk

Luuk Davies

Elisa Sassmann

Patrick Kühn

Will Amond

Nikolaas Van de Loock

Ward van der Ven

Bram Bet

Toine Verdick

Thomas Verbraeken

Jochem de Kwant

Gijs Moonen

Rik Aalders

Jelmer Van Leer

Megan Bagley

Martijn Kroondijk

Lorenzo Marsicano

Laurens van Rijssel

Luca Noelia Gruber

Lucas Rüesch

Kestutis Povilaitis

Ingrida Kazakeviciute

Piet Jonker

Jakub Grabmuller

Jan Runo

Friederike Blömer

Melvin Welsink

Ricco Lin

Crew 1


As the clock struck 10pm in at Brewpub De Kromme Haring, the first edition of Utrecht Ultra came to an end. All riders who had not scratched already, successfully made it to the finish before the 2200 CEST cut off. Noone is still riding. 

The last rider home was Ruben Vita (cap 15) in a time of 98 hours and 33 minutes. Ruben came in just 14 minutes ahead of Eelke Bakker (cap 7). Both riders having over an hour in hand on the time limit.

In total 39 solo riders made it to the finish. Of these at least 3 finished outside of classification either due to missing a control cut off or due to outside assistance (a bike swap). 26 solo Riders scratched. 

In the pairs it's hard to tell exactly from the trackers, but it looks like Jelmer van Leer (cap 89) & Martijn Kroondijk (cap 90) and Megan Bagley (cap 97) & Lorenzo Marsicano (cap 98) all arrived together, or within a minute of each other. In total 9 full pairs finished, with Jochem de Kwant (cap 106), finishing out of classification after his pairs partner, Laurens van Rijssel (cap 105) scratched in Maastricht this morning. Seven pair riders scratched.

Looking at the distances on the leaderboard it's clear there's a big diversity in the routes chosen, of the solo riders Devin Solleveld (cap 39) rode the furthest with 1037km, while in the pairs Anna Zoll (cap 82) & Lukas Biniossek (cap 81) topped out at 1048km, this is not helped by them having ridden straight past CP2 and having to back track. The shortest complete route goes to Janco Nagelhout (cap 53), who managed it in 932km. Unfortunately follow my challenge doesn't give us any data on the amount of climb each rider encountered. 

It's fair to say that the rain and cold temperatures in the first days of the race were not what people expected when they signed up for an event in August in western Europe. Everyone gave it their best and put on a truly impressive display of endurance. This was the first edition of the Utrecht Ultra, hopefully the race will be back again next year, with a different selection of Parcour to test riders in what is a beautiful, and often overlooked area to cycle in. Congratulations to everyone who rode Utrecht Ultra 2023. 

Day 4 - Finishing touches


Day 3 of Utrecht Ultra 2023 has seen a steady stream of solo riders reaching the finish in Utrecht. In total 28 solo riders and 3 pairs (6 riders) have made it to the finish.

Finishers today included Jan-Willem Bobink (cap 45), who reached the finish at 1022 on Tuesday morning. Jan-Willem put in an impressive first day and was first rider to make it to CP1, however between CP1 and CP2 the rain started to take a toll on his electronics. Jan-Willem stopped in a hotel to recharge all his devices, but then had his Garmin fail. This would become a problem that plagued him for the rest of the event. Eventually after coaxing the device back to life with rice and a warm hotel room along the CP2 parcour, Jan-Willem eventually bought a new Garmin on Monday afternoon. He then took a good rest in Maastricht before continuing on in the early hours of the morning. Jan-Willem arrived at the finish wearing an innertube around his torso like a sash, a style reminiscent of Fiona Kolbinger on TCRno7. 

![Jan-Willem Bobbink (cap 45) at the finish](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/PrZGApcBViv2TS1znYCIc/d36e70285103eef890cb68a7812abc56/UU2023-D34-finish-19.jpg)

Eleven Solo riders remain on the road. Along with seven pairs. This includes Silja Kessler (cap 4). She spent last night at Malmedy, and decided to skip CP2 and it's parcour entirely, going straight to the CP3 parcour, which she completed before continuing on to the finish parcour. She's currently stopped for the night just inside Belgium with under 200km to go. 

In yesterday's update it was said that Silja Kessler was riding a white koga with Rohloff hub and a single pannier. This was incorrect. Her boyfriend contacted us this morning to offer a correction. On the morning of the start the bike Silja had intended to ride suffered a broken chain, she started on a borrowed Bianci classic bike with a pair of panniers, which she swapped for a different bike in Arnhem. Unfortunately this bike swap means that Silja is unable to be included in the GC. 

![Sijla Kessler (cap 4) on the road. ](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2ZSOCih37cKi3FdND5wyUp/787811ff25caf0865b76ba122c20a373/IMG_20230809_020340_280.jpg)

The mix up arose due to Silja's bike being parked next to the white koga at Brewpub De Kromme Haring before the start. So who's the owner of the white koga bike? That would be Eelke Bakker (cap 7). At the time of writing Eelke is still moving just south of Maastricht, having completed all three control parcours and reached all three CP's within the time limit. Eelke is the current solo Lantern rouge, and has about 200km left to go with just under 20 hours to do them. 

![Bikes with Panniers at the start. ](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5MO8Q7OX7v4Gd2Kfgap6VX/59f6b32cdab4f339eb31ac7c36931161/XT1A9381.JPG)

In the pairs, no new pairs have made it to the finish since yesterday's update. This leaves seven pairs still on the road. All seem to be stopped for the night. It looks like two pairs (caps 89 & 90 and caps 95 & 96) have stopped in the same hotel at Bree in Belgium. Bram Bet (cap 102) and Ward van de Ven (cap 101) are closest to the finish, having stopped in a hotel just off the course near Einhoven. Lantern rouge of the pairs are Laurens van Rijssel (cap 105) and Jochem de Kwant (cap 106), who have stopped in Maastricht They are less than a kilometre behind Megan Bagley (cap 97) and Lorenzo Marsicano (cap 98).

With all remaining riders on the finish parcour, it looks like Wednesday at Brewpub De Kromme Haring will be busy.


Day 3 - A day of finishes.


At the time of writing our first solo woman has just reached the finish line. Ariane Richter (cap 19) arrived at 0155 Tuesday morning in a total time of 55 hours and 55 minutes. Ariane was trailing Leanne Bentley (cap 5) by only a few kilometres until early this afternoon, when Leanne unfortunately scratched from the race due to knee pain. Leanne gave an amazing effort, a veteran of the Atlas Mountain race and the Dales divide, this was an unusual venture onto the road. We wish Leanne all the best for her recovery. 

Ariane has ridden an impressive, strong, and consistent race with less than seven hours overall stopped time. Ariane also finishes 5th overall in the General classification. 

While Ariane is the first solo woman to reach the finish line, she wasn't the first woman. Anna Zoll (cap 82) arrived back at Brewpub De Kromme Haring at 0026 local time, along side her pairs partner Lukas Biniossek (cap 81). They were followed just over an hour later by the 2nd pair Noah Hoekendijk (cap 103) and Luuk Davies (cap 104). 

Ahead of all of them, arriving at the finish in a time of 48 hours and 9 minutes, was Arhen Veldhuizen (cap 23). He was followed 46 minutes later by Sjoerd van 't Hul (cap 22). Sjoerd and Arjen had been battling it out against each other and against a strong headwind all day, with the riders so close neither dared stop for risk of losing time on their opponent. Both riders were incredibly closely matched. Arjen had marginaly longer stopped time, 5 hours 53 minutes, to Sjoerd's 5 hours and 16 minutes.

They were joined a few hours later by Joris Bosch (cap 1) rounding out the podium in a time of 52 hours, and Janco Nagelhout (cap 53) 18 minutes later.

  ![Arjen Veldhuizen at the finish with a pizza](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2MiRDGkBeDrhLrUEKYSX8C/1b04a79efbfa286374029a745794071e/UU2023-D3-2223-finish-4.jpg)

Elsewhere on the course things have been largely uneventful. The weather has improved somewhat, allowing riders to make more comfortable progress.  Pairs rider Megan Bagley (cap 97) even posted a photo on her instagram story of sunshine. She didn't comment on how long it lasted. 

  ![Janco Nagelhout on the Thier de Coo](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6rc3szAvNjQoGTQR1J9XYJ/6777f76c32c6002c10b285043d5a1e93/UU2023-D3-3.jpg)

This morning as scratched rider Ernst Huijboom (cap 12) ate his breakfast at a hotel in Zuid Limburg, he was lucky enough to catch a snap of Arjen Veldhuizen (cap 23) going past. 

  ![Arjen Veldhuizen passes Slenaken (photo credit Ernst Huijboom)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5YHJJ6WXPjWr81tnoFMCTo/c4725e71ad6a819d547ed725262381c2/IMG_20230807_082636.jpg)

CP2 has now closed and all riders still riding passed through before it closed, with the exception of Silja Kessler. Sijla is stopped for the night just outside of Malmedy. Sijla's classic Koga tourer with Rohloff hub, chunky tyres, and single pannier setup is unusual among the riders, even so she's still averaging 210km per day, and while not in the GC, she can still be recorded a finish when she reaches the finish line. Ride strong Sijla. 

Just 40 solo riders made it through CP2 before it closed. Leaving 25 riders who scratched prior to CP2. In yesterday's report is was mentioned that Robin van Dijk (cap 73) did not make the CP1 cutoff, and was resting on the parcour. He woke up and reached the CP at 0614. He has since gone on to reach CP2 in a time of 5 hours 41 minutes, before continueing on to CP3 8 hours and 35 minutes later. Like Sijla he is outside GC, but can still be a finisher. 

There's 22 hours left on the clock before CP3 closes, and a total of 44 hours until the finish cut off. After the unbearable rain of the first day the weather has calmed down and looks like it should make for better riding conditions for the rest of the race. 

Good luck to all still riding. Ride strong. 

  ![Unknown rider on the course ](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3GVBujZRro6CIiJyJ0Pd7v/90b4b49bff9d6a7d0bde2e5faec293a0/_MG_7950.jpg)

Day 2 - The beginning of the end. 

There was a relaxed atmosphere at Brewpub De Kromme Haring on Saturday afternoon as riders arrived to get their bikes checked, sort the necessary paperwork, and collect their cap and tracker. Coffee was drunk, food was eaten, and a lot of discussion was had about the weather. It had been raining on and off all day, people checked the forecast. Would they get a dry start? How long would it stay dry? Some debated do they want to start with leg warmers on, or wait until it gets colder. 

Some riders carry that little bit extra, like the lucky troll figure on Megan Bagley's (cap 97) bike. Picked up in Norway during the Bright Midnight race.

![Lucky Talisman](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/61gY4dozy6mOFCtI2DXOQ0/9089ed766fa217fbe767d211e16fd239/XT1A9387.JPG)

For others they carried surprisingly little. Gregor Towers (cap 79), has to be at work on Tuesday morning and is hoping for a very low stop strategy. His bike contains what he hopes is the bare necessities needed for this challenging route. 

![Gregor Towers (cap 79)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2GoW3RjuY9tLkge4ddpn9v/b422b62cb01f6f7a2b4f12e0f6fd215b/XT1A9405.JPG)

As the time approached 1800, riders assembled in the square next to the brewpub, there was time for a few photos, and a quick announcement from race organiser Ruben Platte wishing everyone luck. 

![Women of Utrecht Ultra 2023](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7IP18rPDF21jNiXRYqWTyl/5c2442c7e9aa3610e641a18e92a779e0/XT1A9419.JPG)

The clock struck 1800 and the riders headed out. First the solo riders, then 5 minutes later the pairs. With over 90 riders, the gate out the square was a choke point, so splitting the group made things a bit easier for everyone. 

![The race begins!](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/79YK9JXNM3A6PPHgSPdzu8/cd5d15d4dfd25fac0d8e3a38e1f11e9d/XT1A9436.JPG)

Riders soon settled into a rhythm, as they headed east towards Arnhem. Many were somewhat surprised to be presented with a set of stairs to get them up onto the bridge over the Rhine. Fortunately this is the Netherlands and there is a conveyer to help riders get their bike up the stairs. 

![Unknown rider pushing their bike up the stairs](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/71R0Tl6qZkESCUdh1lHEkO/328edabcf017f90256fc68f553774fc5/_MG_7334.jpg)

By 12 hours into the race, the first riders had already completed the Start parcour and were approaching the CP1 parcour. Jan-Willem Bobbink (cap 45) was the first rider through CP1. He had some issues with power to his garmin as well as his phone and after having his card stamped at CP1 checked into a hotel for an hour or so to charge everything. Jan-Willem would continue on and be the second rider through CP2, just 12 minutes behind Arjen Veldhuizen (cap 23).

Leanne Bentley was first woman through CP1 and CP2. She opted to get some sleep in a safari tent at the CP2 campsite. This allowed Ariana Richter (cap 19). At the time of writing Ariana is 3rd on the road overall, but has stopped for some rest just before the Belgian border, zooming in on the tracker it looks like Ariana is sleeping at a shopping centre. Leanne, after a good rest at CP2, is moving again, has completed the CP2 parcour and is about 40km behind Ariana. Leanne has just over 4 hours stopped time, to Ariana's 2 hours. It'll be interesting to see here the two riders will be relative to each other when Ariana wakes up. 

![Leanne Bentley (cap 5) at CP1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/24tvSdSlBIDBC9Dv8LO9Bp/9e20453d19a4a0635132039f18c77a40/UU2023-D2-CP1-5.jpg)

In the pairs the first to get their card stamped at CP2 were Elisa Sassman (cap 88) and Patrick Kuhn (cap 87). However they weren't the first pair to reach this point. Anna Zoll (cap 82) and Lukas Biniossek (cap 81) rode past the check point without getting their card stamped. They realised their mistake and went back for the all important stamp. At the time of writing less than 10km seperates the two pairs, with Anna & Lukas having the advantage. Elisa and Patrick have had more rest, and have had to ride less thanks to not cycling past the check point. 

![Pair Elisa Sassman (cap 88), and Patrick Kuhn (cap 87) at CP2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6P5FOzLTr23HRmW7qzTfUu/6b32ff587cf69be9ccb05cc0d201a892/UU2023-D2-CP2-9.jpg)

Further back the tracker map is littered with the dark grey dots of scratched riders. Twenty-two solo riders and three pairs have scratched as of the time of writing. Of the riders who have announced a reason, the main reason given has been the weather. Too cold, too wet. I expect most riders did not expect an event in August to be quite this cold and wet. Hopefully all riders will be able to get some rest, and be back next year to have another go. 

In terms of the Lantern Rouge, three riders did not make it to CP1 within the cut off. Of these Sijla Kessler (cap 4) is carrying the Lantern Rouge. She's currently stopped just inside Belgium a few kilometers south of Aachen. Tyler Sindel (cap 20), and Robin van Dijk (cap 73) are also showing as active, but resting along the CP1 parcour. While out of GC, there's still plenty of route ahead and they can still hope to reach the finish as a finisher, even if they are unable to make the general classification. The last riders to make it through CP1 before it closed were Thomas Verbaeken (cap 95) and Toine Verdick (cap 96). They reached CP1 at 2340, with 19 minutes to spare. 

It looks like Monday is going to continue to be damp, tho not as wet as the first 30 hours of the race. But it's going to be cold, down to 8°C in  the High Fen's that many riders are passing through. 

Good luck to all riders still on the road. We'll be back for our next update at the end of Monday when CP2 closes. 


Day 1 - Rain and pain 


The Utrecht Ultra brings a new ultra cycling event to the Netherlands. On
paper it's a 1000km event with ~10000m of climbing, and a relatively
generous 4 days and 4 hours time limit. 

Those familiar with the geography of the Netherlands may be looking at
that 10000m climbing figure, and be wondering how that's achieved in a
country where 26% is below sea level, and the terrain is famous for being
flat. The event achieves this amount of climb by doing what many a good
long ride in the Netherlands does. Leave. (No really, cycling from The
Netherlands to Germany for cake, and then back again is surprisingly
common).

The route for this event comprises a mandatory start section in the
Netherlands, a mandatory parcour around the first checkpoint in
Germany (57.5km), a mandatory parcour around the second checkpoint in
Luxembourg (51km), a mandatory parcour around the 3rd checkpoint in Belgium
53.7km, and then a final mandatory parcour in the Netherlands to the finish.
The Dutch parcours are quite long at 283km and 232km respectively, making
up over half of the expected distance. All together the 5 mandatory
sections are 676km with approximately 6000m of climbing. 

The route

The route starts off along the Amsterdam-Rijn kanaal (a shipping canal that
connects the Rhine with the port and city of Amsterdam), then turns inland
across polder country before skirting along the south of the Utrechtse
Heuvelrug towards the Veluwe. This small ridge of hills stretching from
just east of Utrecht to Arnhem are the remains of the terminal moraine
left behind by the retreating ice at the end of the last ice age. The hills
of the Heuvelrug comprise sand and gravel, and are not particularly steep
or high. At Amerongen the route climbs up the Heuvelrug along gravel
paths, following for a couple of kilometres a section used by the Race
Around The Netherland Gravel Edition. Descending back to the Rhine, the
route continues up river through Arnhem, before turning south across the
river. Skirting Nijmegen for the most part, the route takes in the Oude
Holleweg climb, it's not a big climb, with a total elevation gain of just
68m, but with max gradients of 21.6%, riders are certainly going to feel
it, especially when they've still got 900km to go. After the fun of this
climb the route returns to the river Maas, and continues south. 

After a brief short cut across Germany east of Sittard, the route hits
Zuid Limburg, and the climbing really starts. Taking in the 22% gradients
of the Keutenberg, followed by the 18% of the Gulperberg, before finishing
on the almost tame 9% of the Camerig. Here the mandatory start parcour
ends, and riders are free to choose their own route to the start of the
CP1 parcour.

The routes chosen between the end of the start parcour and CP1 will depend
a lot on whether riders favour shorter distance, or less climbing. For
some the obvious continuation is to follow the road up towards the
Vaalserberg, the highest point in the Netherlands (322.6masl), and the
potential to pick up a 5th "country" for their ride as they pass through
Neutral Moresnet, others might head south to skirt around the Vaalserberg
avoiding unnecessary climbing. 

![The Vennbahn In Belgium... In Germany. ](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/637PMAxPG30bqDFOaw6TSY/5af7473fd2f1e2589b2aa9804295f966/XT1A4103.JPG)

A likely popular choice for those wanting to get to the CP1 parcour
with the least worst climbing is likely to be via the Vennbahn. The
Vennbahn was originally built by the Prussian state railways to carry coal
and iron between the north of Luxembourg at Troisvierges, and Germany in
Aachen. Following the treaty of Versailles, the track bed was given over
to Belgium, who have kept the land ever since. In 2013 it was converted
into a long distance cycle way, providing a rather scenic way to get from
Aachen all the way to Luxembourg with a maximium gradient of 2%. The land
is still Belgian, giving you a ride along a small strip of Belgium inside
Germany. That max 2% gradient is significiant in a region full of steep
punchy climbs. Following the Vennbahn to Lammersdorf while not the most
direct route, allows for climbing to be done mostly at a almost benign 2%.

![View across the Rursee](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5uEnZRmU0IhcP8CIkfnW3L/42cbcfe60e4f83e0a4c9daa7ba1f0a77/Q7240898.JPG)

The CP1 parcour is centred around the Rursee. A lake created by the
construction of the Rur Dam. Located on the northern edge of the Eifel
mountain range, the tree covered slopes around the lake provide for a
stunning backdrop upon which to place a bike race. In its 57.5km length,
the parcour includes 1340m of climbing including sections at 21%. The
parcour starts at a dam in the middle of the Rursee, ascends to just over
500m, before descending back to the main Rur dam, follows the river
downstream, before going back over the 516m hill to Gemünd. Following the
river Urft the riders cross to the south side of the Rursee and hit the
steepest climb of the Parcour. 

![One of the steeper sections of climb](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/524lSytG6vNcKk5xzMptJO/20bf3dca3a2969327f57a313e595d9ca/Q7240910.JPG)
(It's really hard to show in photos how steep something is. Hopefully this photo gives an idea of the gradients involved). 

Riders who are able to look around while tackling the 21% inclines of this
section will find themselves riding through a rather strange set of
buildings. Marked on the map these days as Vogelsang IP, the buildings
were built in the 1930's as a training and education centre for future leaders of the
National Socialist party. The architecture was chosen to impress and intimidate.
Walking around it, everything feels slightly off. Disconcerting. Out of
scale. It's an uncomfortable place to be. The contrast between the stunning
views over the lake, and the architecture and purpose of the buildings
jars. While it has since been used by both the British and the Belgians as a
military base, the whole location feels wrong. There is a cafe (open until 1700) at the Museum near the top of the hill, but even the museum has an odd feel about it as if they don't really know how to present this place. Having completed the brutal steep climbs to get out
of the valley, riders will then ride along the disproportionately wide and imposing entrance road to the site.

![The exit from Vogelsang IP](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3AZLyH8CZIPmGE29bF1oVM/2446c2c3a4d0b2bbb5ab5d4715af3899/Q7240935.JPG)

Some respite from the steep climbs comes in the descent to the village of
Einruhr, before heading to Dedenborn and the worst climbing of the whole
parcour. Topping out at 30% as it rises out of the valley, the only saving
grace is that due to construction work further up the valley the road is
currently closed to through traffic, so our riders can face the climbs in
relative peace. Eventually the gradients level out, and riders reach the
checkpoint in a rather anticlimactic car park. The check point closes at
2359 on Sunday, giving riders 30 hours to cover the ~400km to this point.

From the end of CP1's parcours to the start of the CP2 parcour, the
obvious flattest route is going to be once again the Vennbahn, tho it
remains to be seen if riders will follow it to the end in Troisvierges,
or if they will try to cross to the cycle ways along the Enz river. Neither way is ideal, and it's gonna result in a lot of climbing.

The CP2 parcour starts just west of Echternach in Luxembourg, and takes a
winding route along the hills of the Our valley, looping into Germany
briefly before crossing the river back into Luxembourg. The route
traverses beautiful terrain. The area around Echternach is nicknamed Little
Switzerland, and is dominated by thick forests and craggy terrain. Riders
will need to be aware of resupply options here. Luxembourg is a beautiful
place to ride a bike, but outside of the towns, there's not much by
way of supply points. What's marked as a village on the map is unlikely to
have a bar or shop. This parcour is much tamer than the previous, tho it
still contains some 20% gradients. The checkpoint itself is located just
over 4km into the parcour on a campsite. Here there is an option for
riders to get some sleep with 4 camping pitches reserved for riders of the
Utrecht Ultra. The control closes at 2200 on Monday. 

After finishing the CP2 parcour riders will need once more to cross the
High Fen into the heart of the Ardennes. Part of the same geological
formation as the Eifel of CP1, the Ardennes forest ranges from Germany
all the way to France. Sparsely populated it's crisscrossed with steep
valleys carved out by fast flowing rivers. It's upon the canvas of these
valleys that the organisers of the Utrecht Ultra have decided to paint
their picture. Even tho it's only 53.7km in length, the CP3 parcour packs in
1340m of climbing taking in the climbs of Côte de Brume, Thier de Coo,
Côte des Hézalles, Côte de Wanne via Neuville, and the Col du Rosier. The
control is located 10km into the Parcour at the foot of the Thier de Coo. 

While of no more than 300m total ascent on each of the climbs, the 15+%
gradients, one after another are going to hurt. The control closes at 2200
on Tuesday. The parcours also passes close to the famous Spa Francochamps
racing circuit, home of the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

After finishing the CP3 parcour rides are left with the small issue of
getting back to the Camerig and picking up the final 232km long finish
parcour. After what riders will have experienced so far this section is
relatively benign with the steepest gradient likely to be once back in the
Netherlands as they approach the Camerig from the eastern side. 

The 232km finish parcours claims just 630m of climbing the majority of
which is in the first 30km. Descending down the Camerig riders hit the
climb from Epen to Epenheide followed by the Loorberg. From there it's
pretty much down hill to Maastricht, and the Maas valley. Once more the
route cuts across Belgium before reentering the Netherlands just south of
Valkenswaard, there's just the small matter of crossing the rivers of
the Rhine delta (Maas, Waal, Lek). Bridges crossing these rivers account for the majority of the climbing in the last 150km. Before once more
picking up the Amsterdam-Rijn Kanaal, and the final few kilometers into
Utrecht. ~1000km and 10000m of climbing under their belt. Riders have
until 2200 on Wednesday to reach the finish. 

It's worth noting that the weather forecast at least for Saturday and
Sunday is substantial amounts of rain, the Ardennes are famous for their
highly unpredictable weather (ask anyone who's watched an F1 race from Spa
in recent years), and with riders reaching heights of over 560masl, the
weather is likely to be a signficiant influence on people's ride. Those
unlucky enough to have a headwind on the final slog north from Maastricht,
may find themselves longing for the hills of the Ardennes, as they battle
their way through the Dutch Mountains. 

Good luck to all riders, updates will be published on Dotwatcher
approximately daily throughout the race. 


Intro to the route

Julia Freeman

Utrecht Ultra 2023 Tracking + Commentary: Utrecht Ultra has a 50:50 mix of free and fixed route: a set route out of Utrecht guides riders to Zuid-Limburg, The Netherlands, followed by three checkpoints and corresponding parcours in the Eifel region, Luxembourg and the Belgian Ardennes. The finish parcours takes riders back to Utrecht.

Utrecht Ultra 2023 Tracking

Utrecht Ultra has a 50:50 mix of free and fixed route: a set route out of Utrecht guides riders to Zuid-Limburg, The Netherlands, followed by three checkpoints and corresponding parcours in the Eifel region, Luxembourg and the Belgian Ardennes. The finish parcours takes riders back to Utrecht.

Utrecht Ultra 2023

DotWatcher.cc

Utrecht Ultra 2023

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Distance — Elevation

Terrain

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