Anisa Aubin finishes Via Race in 15D 4H 59M

Joanna Ruminska-Pietrzyk wins the inaugural Via Race in a time of 13D 10H 45M

Adam Bialek wins Via Race

What are Will and Lucas talking about at the second refuge

Fortune favours the brave

A message from the Via Race organisers 

Welcome to Via Race

Early Sunday afternoon Anisa crossed the finish line and became the third woman on the podium on Via Race. Finishing a race of this magnitude is an emotional time for all riders, but for Anisa this was particularly poignant coming on the anniversary of her father passing away. There to great her were both her husband and mother and the photo of them together shows the strength of that emotion. 

Every time I saw Anisa on the road she looked quietly determined and she just kept moving forwards, executing her plan. I think she could be one to watch next year. But first the challenge of getting home as she had nothing planned. Should be fun!

Chapeau Anisa, total respect for your ride.

At around 8pm last night, Joanna arrived in the finish town of Giovinazzo. She had such a strong last day with minimal stopping time to complete the final stretch. Her lead over second place Saz Harris never really dipped much under 3 hours. Since taking the lead on day 1 Joanna has never relinquished it. It looks like the heat as she hit Italy coming out of the Nivolet gate and into the Po valley might have made her ride more eventful than she was hoping for but recovered well and can proudly call herself the winner of this inaugural edition of the Via Race.

Saz came home 3 1/2 hours later to become the second finisher in the Women's category in a time of 13D 14H 21M. Clearly the efforts over the course of the race were not too much as she is the first rider to lift her bike up over her head in celebration.

![Saz Harris - Second Place on Via Race](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5Kq9VqaNIAH62YTTEjmMf1/49f2afd5700f8bb3e89b39fd27fc0373/IMG_0234.jpeg)

It's been a pleasure to dot watch and commentate on both of these riders.

Third place woman, Anisa, is closing in on the Apennines gate and I think could finish tomorrow morning in plenty of time to shower and change before the Sunday evening riders party. All riders, whether finished or scratched, are welcome at the riders party and it will be a great celebration of the event and of everyone's journeys.

As riders have continued to arrive at the finish line, no doubt happy to get off the bike for the final time and have a well deserved rest, the last category will be decided today - the women's winner of Via Race 2024.

Joanna has led from the start, putting in a strong performance over the first week to build a sizeable lead. When Nicky was taken out by a driver in Spain it looked like it would be a clear run to the finish for Joanna. But Saz has ridden consistently day after day, or mostly night after night, trying to avoid the heat and keep pushing. And whilst she might say that she isn't racing to catch Joanna, that is exactly what she has been doing. The gap is now under 5 hours with around 12 hours to go. So Joanna should have this comfortably but that is a lot closer than we would have expected and it wouldn't take much to turn that around.

Further back, Anisa has just passed through Florence and so could be finishing late Sunday evening maybe in time for the finishers party. Meanwhile Fiona, for whom success was reaching the first refuge and anything more than that a bonus, is now closing in on the Apennines gate and could be on for a Monday or Tuesday finish.

Chapeau to all four of these incredible strong and determined women. 

The women’s winner will be crowned today

After Adam crossed the line on Monday afternoon, Lucas, as expected, cruised home around 15 hour later on Tuesday morning to claim second place. A very well controlled ride from Lucas, showing the power of good sleep allowing him to ride strong and consistent throughout the race. Once he came down off the , having taken the northerly route, his second place was his to lose. And lose it he didn't. Excellent work Lucas.

![Lucas Becker - 2nd Place Finisher](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/32V47eUzkaeibIz1pIqDR4/155eb92f20370dd26618fce519c489fe/IMG_0232.jpeg)

The race for the final spot on the podium came down to the wire yesterday. A bold move my Krystian to come out to the coast early, and having pushed through the night before, paid off. He held onto a 1 hour lead as their routes converged and he held this all the way to the finish line. A spectacular ride from Krystian, often a bit chaotic with some interesting routing choices, some that were excellent, some that left us wondering why. Oversleeping at the second refuge, getting onto a completely different sleep pattern to everyone else. But ultimately it paid off, and he can now proudly call himself a podium finisher on the Via Race.

![Krystian Jakubek - 3rd Place Finisher Via Race](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3mK79FC5SWj8g38o7I4Jxa/13ae22b6f36aa7a452713d8b4743a2be/IMG_0231.jpeg)

Commiserations for Bruno who looked to have 3rd in the bag until those last 6-7 hours. He can still be proud of a good race. Bruno and Krystian were then followed home some 3 hours later by Will and then Michele. Michele is from the area where the finish is situated so had a grand welcome from friends and family. Marc pushed through last night to finish around 2am this morning, whilst Chris took one last night of sleep before rolling home to a well earned beer around 11am. Next across the finish line was Jair, just after 2pm this afternoon. That is all the finishers we have so far. Next up will be Juhani who has around 3 hours to go.

Whilst the race is over for some, for the majority of the riders the race is still very much alive. And the heat of central Italy is providing a stinging last obstacle to overcome. I heard from Alex earlier on today who was having to stop in every town he went through to get cold water and ice to keep hydrated and body temperatures down. It's often said that the real hero's of a race like this are not the ones who finish in 9 or 10 days but those who are out there for 16-20 days. Doubling the time out on the course fighting the mountains and the wind and the heat. 

Not four days ago Fiona was struggling with a knee problem that was threatening to end her race but she has worked on stretching and increased her sleep to enable her to keep going and is now approaching the Nivolet climb. David is approaching the Nivolet from the northern side and should meet Fiona at the top of the climb. What stories will they have to share?

The pairs victory, barring any mishap, looks likely to go to Remo and Michal. They hold a sizable lead over the next pair still out on course. But the women's race still looks like it could come down to the wire. There is around 8 hours separating Joanna and Saz and from reports I'm hearing are both struggling with the heat and conditions out there. That gap is holding constant today but with 	at least 2 days racing to go plenty can still happen. I will be watching this space.

We have our men’s podium complete!

Adam Bialek has won the inaugural Via Race in a time of 9 days 6 hours and 57 minutes.

This afternoon Adam crossed the finish line in Giovinazzo to take first place on Via Race. One day one he established a lead and throughout the race he has never looked in doubt for the win. He's played his own game throughout. Sleeping as much as needed. Sometimes very little, sometimes quite a bit. Most surprising, and the part that sealed the deal, was the decision to take the northerly route into the Col De Nivolet and the hike a bike section. But the fact he knew it was hard and he was wearing road shoes and so paused briefly in the InterSport in Bourg St Maurice to get some running shoes was a masterclass of race management. I hope he kept those shoes because they should be framed on the wall alongside his stamped cap. He even managed to get 6 hours of sleep last night so I'm sure his recovery wont take too long. A stunning race from a worthy champion. Chapeau Adam.

Lucas looks to have second place locked in and to be honest the minute he took the more northerly route and established a gap on Will we thought this would be the outcome. He came with a plan to get good sleep and ride hard and he has stuck to that throughout. I think that sleep has allowed him to push harder and with less stopping through the day. Are we seeing a new pattern of racing emerging?  He's currently got about 6 hours to go to the finish line so the question is; will he stop or push through. If i were a betting man (and I'm not, honest), I think he will push through given he's rested so well throughout the race. 

The battle for the final podium spot is where it really gets interesting. Bruno, Michele, Krystian and Will are within 6 hours of each other and  the race is on. They are all roughly 24 hours from the finish so this could come down to who can handle riding through the night and then onto the finish. They all seem to be on different sleep strategies at the moment so the positions change all the time. Tonight will be crucial.

Further back more stories from the field. Rob Roy looked to be struggling with the heat but then his freehub exploded and he has made his way back to Florence. Will he continue after fixing the bike in the morning? Who knows, rumours were he'd scratched but the MadCap app still shoes him active. Eivind the Terrible, he of much sleep and a lot of fast riding had a nasty crash today. Some bruising and some road rash but he looks good to continue.

In the women's race, despite a comeback from Saz yesterday, Joanna looks to have reestablished a lead of around 10-12 hours. Will this swap around through tonight? We shall see tomorrow. 


What a night in the race to be the third rider across the finish line. It looks like Bruno got 4 hours of sleep whilst Krystian pushed through the night. But what's really interesting is the routing choice. Krystian pushed out to the coast early which seems to have given him a flatter run in and a pretty strong tail wind whereas Bruno has to come across those northerly winds. 

As it stands at 9am Bruno had 90km to go according to my provisional estimate of his routing whereas Krystian has just 70km to go. On a flat route trying to ride 28% faster on tired legs might be a step too far for Bruno. But we don't know how much food and water they have left. Will either of them need to do one more pitstop? Or will Krystian struggle more after pushing through the night.

This is going to be exciting but I think Krystian may be shading it at this point.

The race for third just got really interesting

There are some really exciting contests going on across the field right now. Not only is the north south split around the Nivolet creating some change but also going through the Apennines has also shaken things up.

Let's start with the women's race because this just got interesting. Ever since day one, Joanna has established a commanding lead. She's pushed on relentlessly with nothing seeming to phase her. Meanwhile second place Saz has been playing her own game and just ticking the km off. Yesterday I called out that there looked to be a 12 hour gap between the two of them. But looking closely at the tracker it looks like the off-road option may not have gone to plan for Joanna. She's come through the top of the Nivolet and is now sleeping about 45 minutes into the descent. Meanwhile Saz has been eating up the tarmac km and got to the Turin refuge at a similar time to Joanna stopping. This potentially closes the gap to around 5-6 hours. A huge turn around in 24 hours. Is fatigue playing a part? Did Joanna have mechanical issues on the off-road hike a bike. What we can say is that this race has everything to play for.

Also having everything to play for is the fight for the final step on the men's podium. When Krystian was getting ready to leave the Turin refuge last night it felt like he'd missed his opportunity, however the extra sleep seems to have paid dividends. A massive push through the night, making some big distances across the flatlands of the Po Valley saw Krystian go from 7th to 3rd. And as that bunch of riders closed in on the Apennines gate, they must have been able to see each other. Krystian stopped early for sleep whilst Rob Roy, Will, Bruno and Michele have pushed on. But how this play out over the next 3 days is anyone's guess.

At the front of the men's race Adam continues to set a ferocious pace. He holds a comfortable lead over Lucas and should finish sometime early afternoon tomorrow depending on how much sleep he wants tonight. Lucas is clear in second place and should finish sometime Tuesday.

In the pairs, Remo and Michel have ticked off both the Nivolet and the refuge and are about to head across the Po valley towards the next gate. Unfortuntely Harry has had to scratch due to pretty bad saddle sores, leaving his partner Matt  to continue alone, he's nearly at the Turn refuge. 

Sadly our one para-athlete, Wayne, had to scratch today. His leg was getting badly infected due to the rubbing with the prosthetic limb. A massive shout out to Wayne as I can't even imagine what he puts himself through on an event like this. Chapeau

I had the pleasure of riding the Nivolet today and what an incredible experience that was. Quite possibly my best ever climb. Check out the main foto for this update if you want to know what it's like!

Things are getting interesting everywhere!

I have arrived at the second refuge. Riders getting here will get a warm welcome and some very warm temperatures. 33 degrees coming through Turin on my way here. The routing choices continue to shake up the leaderboard as does the accumulating fatigue. 

After Lucas and Will arrived together last night but with Will still needing to do the climb to the Nivolet, Lucas got a good sleep and has now pushed on. Clear daylight between himself and Bruno Wicht who has now leapfrogged Will into 3rd place. Bruno went short on sleep getting about 3 hours at the refuge and then pushed on up whilst Will took a 10 hour stop here at the refuge. The chasing pack now all looks a lot closer. Krystian became the 3rd rider to take the off-road route, pushing through the night to get to the hike a bike around 6am. He's still here having had a very hot sleep but he looks like he's getting ready to leave. 

Rob Roy, Chris, Eivind, Marc and Jair, whilst all taking the road route, have gained time over the last 24 hours and the race could get interesting. 

In the women's race Jonna is pushing hard and is now going round Grenoble and about to enter the Alps. However Saz is keeping pace around 12 hours behind and looks very positive in her updates.  3rd place is Anisa who is 12 hours behind Saz. I caught up with her at Le Bezy and she seemed very positive. 4th place is Fiona who is 12 hours behind Anisa! So it's all pretty evenly spaced! She was really happy to make Le Bezy at around 11pm last night. First goal achieved Fiona! Grinshina and Sophie are making their way across between the Picos D'Europa and the Pyrenees. Despite the refuge at Le Bezy returning to normal business on Monday riders are still being tracked, will still have their times at the gates marked and are still very much in the race.

I am now heading up to the Nivolet to see who I can find there tonight and tomorrow morning.

Shake up in the leaderboard

Will and Lucas arrived at the second refuge just ten minutes apart earlier on this evening. Both of them pushed hard through the day, taking very different routes. Lucas to the north, over the off-road climb to Nivolet, Will to the south, on the tarmac approach.

Only, Will now has to climb up the Nivolet to the gate whilst Lucas can continue eastward to the Po valley and onwards. It seems that Lucas has gained around 6 hours time wise. But what psychological gain has he made. For Will, arriving at the refuge only to see Lucas arrive ten minutes later knowing he has already done the gate might be a crushing blow. We can only see how he bounces back from this.

The next question for the race is how does this open up the field. Adam is long gone and is almost at the Apennines gate. Lucas will no doubt leave soon and get a big gap. But what of the others coming along behind. It looks like Krystian is the next up on the off-road option whilst Bruno Wicht is nearly at the refuge having followed the southern approach. Krystian could potentially leapfrog into 3rd place here. Michele looked like he was going for the off-road option but turned off down the Maurienne valley to take the Col Du Mont Cenis climb. Judging by the tracker this looks like it will bring him out ahead of Rob Roy so he's gained here. 

Most of the other riders are taking the most southerly route. Are they following the tracker and sticking to their original plan? Or are they not looking at the tracker. This could open up an opportunity for someone further back to take the northern option and leapfrog into a higher placing.

IT's all very exciting.

It's also a very exciting race to see who makes the cut off at Refuge 1. This closes at 9am tomorrow morning and whilst riders can still self certificate they will all want to get there before that time.  Fiona will be the next in, followed by Daniel and Sergio in the early hours of the morning. Further back Filippo, Daniele, Steve and Calvin all have a chance of making it with a big shift tonight but for the rest it sadly looks like 9am is not going to be an option. However they are all still riding so well, they can still keep going and get their caps stamped. No doubt with a warm welcome from Amy and James at Le Bezy.

I am hoping to be up at the Nivolet tomorrow evening watching riders come through. I can't wait.

The second two riders are now closing in on the Nivolet from different directions. We will now get to see the difference between the two routing options. Both riders have been riding at similar speeds although Lucas has been gaining ground on Will over the last couple of days. This will probably take most of the day to play out, maybe longer, as Will can go to the refuge first before climbing up to Nivolet which potentially gives him a faster option across the Po Valley afterwards. But assuming no issues with the off-road, Lucas should make the top of the climb first. 

One of the potential pitfalls on a long hike a bike section can be developing Achilles pain. Walking for long distances in very stiff cycling shoes can aggravate this. Adam avoided this with his quick pit stop in Bourg to get some running shoes. Will Lucas do this? Or continue in his cycling shoes. 

No such issues for Will however he will have two climbs to do before the refuge and the ascent of the Nivolet. First up is the Lauteret. This is a long long drag up a busy road from Bourg D'Oisans topping out at 2057m before a long long fast descent into Briancon. The second climb is the Col de Montgenevre which straddles the border between France and Italy at a height of 1860m.

If I were a betting man my money would be on Lucas to win this battle and take control of second place on the podium. When I was still planning on racing Via I was going to take the northerly route and my estimations were that it would be around 4 hours faster. Let's see if I was right

Will and Lucas are closing in on the Nivolet

Niel Copeland

VIA Race 2024 Tracking + Commentary: With a focus on adventure, community and competition, the first chapter of VIA pays homage to the grassroots of ultra distance racing. VIA is a trilogy consisting of three chapters over the next three years, starting with a 4000km race across Europe this year.  

VIA Race 2024 Tracking

With a focus on adventure, community and competition, the first chapter of VIA pays homage to the grassroots of ultra distance racing. VIA is a trilogy consisting of three chapters over the next three years, starting with a 4000km race across Europe this year. 

The route is steeped in history, following in the footsteps of Hannibal, the Carthaginian General who led his army and 38 elephants from Southern Iberia across mountain ranges to Southern Italy. Where this edition finishes, the second edition will begin. 

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