FLINTA Winner // Encouragement, Empowerment, Fulfillment
August 1, 2026
Words by Jake Thorpe
Photos by Matt Grayson, Michael Drummond, Tomás Montes, and Sam Dugon
A Dedicated Win
The TCR’s inaugural FLINTA Category has its first champion. Sarah Bosslet (120) was guided into Kalamata by the soft glow of dawn – her race’s final sunrise. A wave of emotion rolled in as she was greeted by Race Director David Ayre, and the weight of the moment washed over her. There was a long hug; few eyes remained dry.
As she caught her breath, her first words were not ones of triumph, but of dedication.“I couldn’t have done this without Mohit.” His enduring belief, still radiating through that permeable space between life and death, has sustained her throughout.
Encouragement, Empowerment, Fulfillment
Three years ago, Sarah Bosslet rolled up to the start of her first TCR. Arriving in Istanbul, ~4,100 km later, she crossed the line just four hours and two positions behind Mohit Kohli. The race was the beginning not just of her journey into the sport, but of their journey together too; along with a few of their fellow riders, in their commitment to flight-free travel, Sarah and Mohit had cycled back from the finish line. A connection took root. That year, Sarah had ridden a strong and consistent race, but Mohit saw something more. He recognised Sarah’s potential, encouraged her to keep pushing, and believed that, one day, she would find herself on the category podium.
In the wake of Mohit’s collision in Chile, the following February, Sarah had questioned whether she would ever ride again. Returning to race another TCR last July took immense courage. And yet, sustained by the belief of friends and, of course, of Mohit, Sarah arrived 53rd to the shores of the Black Sea, the 5th fastest woman of TCRNo11. “I know now that I’m strong, I know that I’m a fighter and I think, without the race, I wouldn’t have known that,” Sarah had acknowledged, at the finish line.
At race registration for this, her third consecutive TCR, Sarah told David that she was feeling well prepared; she had returned to ride for more than just a spot within the General Classification. As she assumed her first race lead in Sweden, at that point, tracking 24 hours ahead of her most ambitious schedule, Sarah admitted, “I can only do it because of Mohit, because he believed in me, because he told me I could be top three.” Plumbing new depths in pursuit of an earlier crossing, Sarah rode a colossal 660 km to Malmӧ, by far the biggest ride of her race. Peaking on day 3, she joked, had not been the plan.
But the outcome was far from a foregone conclusion. Sarah was not the only one to edge an advantage from an earlier Baltic ferry. Joining her for the crossing, and then for the subsequent 3000 km, Camille Albisser (270) had been a worthy counterpart. The two women had traded the lead down the continent, never separated by more than 10 km. Neither were granted an easy run. For Sarah, it was the heat – unrelenting on the Hungarian plains – that nearly saw her derailed, for Camille, a stubborn puncture in Slovakia. And yet, both had pressed on, neck and neck almost to the last.
After having raced along the fourth parcours within a typically narrow margin, while Camille slept, Sarah continued, propelled by a distant goal. The goal, however, had nothing to do with her racing ambitions. Instead, it was a secluded spot beside Lake Ohrid, where she had camped with Mohit on her way back from her first TCR. Drawn onwards by the pull of a cherished memory, Sarah dug in. This was the decisive move – not calculating, but connecting.
For the TCR’s inaugural FLINTA winner, her own reflective triplet is very different from the one that paved the way for her fellow champion, Robin Gemperle. Rather than an experiment, a failure, and a success, Sarah’s races have been cast in softer shades; defined not by outcomes, but by feelings. The encouragement after her first race, from Mohit; the empowerment of returning, in his absence; and, now, the fulfilment of everything he believed she could become – and more. Congratulations, Sarah. What a journey it has been.
