Day 02 // Keeping Your Marbles

Words by Stuart Downie

Photos by Alex Duffill and Tomás Montes

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On the morning of day two, the race has already stretched out between Parcours 1 and 3.

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At 8pm on the evening before, race leader Jamie Lowden reaches Torla Ordesa and takes a break before the start of Parcours 2. Pursuers Maxime Agut and Thomas Boury close the distance and forge on along the parcours, a long gravel climb that pitches up in places on mixed surfaces, which means that – depending on your tyre and gear selection – pushing the bike becomes necessary. By late evening, Charlie Bratt (022) also reaches the parcours and presses on through the night on the tail of Maxime and Thomas, contending for the top spot. Others take Jamie’s lead and bed down for the evening in Torla Ordesa. It would be hard to resist after dark, the twinkling lights of the mountain town drawing riders in with the promise of hot food and a warm bed over the cold dark gravel tracks ahead.

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While the top three miss the stunning views of the surrounding peaks in the dark, some as high as 3,000m, they’re rewarded instead with a beautifully clear night. A big, bright moon, thousands of stars prickling the canopy above. While we’re no longer navigating by the stars, if we take a moment to look up there’s plenty of motivation to keep moving on, and with around six hours rest in Torla Jamie takes up the chase in the wee small hours of the morning.

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When the sun is up, the peaks reveal themselves and so too do the views out across the canyon. Control Team 1 climb Parcours 2 on foot, putting in 30,000 steps before lunch not just from necessity—how else do we get stunning photographs on a closed road—but also out of solidarity. It’s a little joy to surprise a rider in an unexpected place with a camera lens or a microphone, seeing them out there and hearing what they’ve been thinking about.

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Nicole van Batenburg (087) has rallied after the disappointment of riding past CP1 and having to double back on herself. Nicole is leading the women’s field again after a restorative night in a hotel in Torla Ordesa, setting out after a warm shower and a good sleep to take on the parcours in the morning light, suitably refreshed so as to shoulder the bike on the climb because it’ll look cooler in the photo. Later, Helene Fromenty (052) tells us we’re into the real Pyrenees here, and it certainly feels it. She’s just hopped back on her bike, having struggled to grip with her slick tyres on the looser surfaces. As we hike back down for a late lunch, we pass Leyla Serbouti (072) pushing up, munching a carrot. Leyla tells us she prefers to ride the parcours during the day – her quick turnaround at CP1 yesterday was due to the fact that she wanted to enjoy Parcours 1 in the early evening light. She’s composed, typically thoughtful, and as ever a joy to encounter.

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Yesterday, Rupert Hartley (102) had to deal with his cranks falling apart. A couple of motorcycle garages later and he’s managed to replace the bearing preload bolt and get it all back together, showing you can lose an essential bit of your bike without losing your marbles. We see him pushing up into Parcours 2, but worry not, the bike is fine. There’s work to do, and Rupert’s wry smile shows he’s game to get on with it. A little later, we see Tom Probert (117) at a hunting gate, and he tells us all we need to know about a dead cow that has been reported on the descent of Parcours 1: “It’s a bit metal!” 

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But not all the animals he’s encountered have been in a similar state, thankfully there have been a few furry friends to keep him company through the lower moments.

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We spoke with TPR veteran and ultra coach Samuel Thompson to see if anything had emerged early on.

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“ Everyone near the front, apart from Maxime, has mentioned sleeping indoors or at least getting good amounts of sleep. Most of them are off the bike for at least four hours, playing a long game rather than forging on through the first night and hoping they can hang on when it often comes back to bite.”

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This is one of the key changes in ultra, especially in longer races, where riders seem to ignore or at least avoid thinking of the early lead as an advantage. Many will come into the control point and not even ask where they are or how they’re doing. The race is less against one another and more with themselves, in spite of what the chimp brain tells you.

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On the topic of managing the mind and making decisions, after Parcours 2 riders must contend with their first significant choice between road and hike-a-bike to reach Parcours 3. Will Ward (121), who is one of Samuel’s coaching clients, has made the choice to ride round on the road.

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“ Making the decision based on whether it's likely to be night seems like quite a key one. Will would have been having to do it in the dark, and I think that's obviously a sensible call in these situations.”

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While TPR could be ridden entirely on road in the past, there’s always been the temptation to head off road to save some time. This edition is obviously a little different to past editions in that respect, and so riders will have to plan to contend with mixed surfaces. Making a trade between outright speed on the road and rideability in the off-road sections comes into play, as does at least a little walking.

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One of the drawbacks of walking a lot, especially in shoes that are not made for hiking, is that your feet become a consideration. TPR veteran Juan Miri (067) has developed blisters on both feet, and with more hiking ahead he’s not feeling especially positive as he considers the hike-a-bike section at the Bielsa tunnel. He’s also suffered a little bit of backwards karma. He found a jacket on the trail which he handed to Race Director David Ayre, and later lost his own jacket. At least he has a spare, and the views are making up for the hardships – we hope that his days turn around and his feet heal a little. In leaving us he remembers Mike’s advice: sleep on it. There’s a nice hotel ahead, Juan.

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We stop for dinner in Arros and as is the way, we’re not long sat down before riders turn up to refuel. Cyril Thibault (028) arrives and grabs some food before heading back out. Franck Gabarrou (042) follows and takes a room for the night, prioritising the rest we spoke about earlier, but not before telling Race Director David Ayre that he hates him, but he also loves him, but he also hates him. Franck loves the Pyrenees, and we love Franck for coming back and bringing his positive energy to the race – it’s a passion we share. As he says before heading off to bed: “It’s the best moment of my life.”

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Among the bright green evergreen pines there are flashes of burning autumnal reds, wild cherry trees with their leaves on the turn. It’s not quite time for the riders to turn, of course – there’s still some way to go to the coast, they must hang on a little longer.

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