TARNo2 // May 14th: The Bats Say Hi

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Words by Andrew Phillips

Photos by Matt Grayson and Sam Dugon

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As control team 2 sat down this morning in Niksic’s Hotel Marshal to order the eponymous breakfast, it quickly became clear from the sight of my eggs that Just Stop Oil had put down their orange paint too soon. I soldiered on, and sat there poring over the tracking map trying to focus on the riders. Presumably they were having a more difficult time than me. Certainly, Spike Morris was; he’d reached the Albanian-Montenegrin border late on day one, only to find that he’d left his passport behind in Shkodër. Desperately, he rang around local taxi companies, trying to find one willing to courier it to the border for him. Eventually, after a quick rule check with the Rider Comms Manager, he found one and for €100 was able to continue on his way with just a few hours wasted.

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Overnight, Justinas (02) had opened his lead to 3+ hours over yesterday’s second place Christophe Dijkmans (14), with just 90 minutes kip compared to Christophe’s four hours. As a result of this luxurious behaviour, Pierre Bischoff (32) had passed Christophe in the night to move up into second place.

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Having gulped down as much of our breakfasts as physically possible, without opening a refinery, we jumped into Control Car 2 and set off in search of riders. When we found Andy Dodd (06), Christian Dupraz (12) and Daniel Perotti (15) in Trebinje refuelling, it quickly became apparent from the relaxed smiles on all of their faces that they’d had a much better time than Spike Morris. All three had taken a good rest overnight, Andy Dodd bivvying out before hitting a pre-scouted resupply in Trebinje, whilst Christian Dupraz and Daniel Perotti had shared ‘the Josh Ibbett hut’ from TARNo1. Josh, if you’re reading this: the bats say hi.

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Christian looked in surprisingly good shape for a man riding a rigid drop-bar bike with tyres almost as hard as the ballast of the Ciro trail over which he was passing. “It’s good for the road” he said with a slight shrug. So are 30mm slicks, but whatever he’s doing is obviously working for him as he battles around the fourth/fifth place spots.

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Daniel Perotti had a glint in his eye and power in his legs as he left town, and it took an effort to reach him on my reporter’s bike. I extended a microphone over the gulf between us so that he could divulge the secret of his power: “I bought a bottle of water from an old man on top of a climb, and it was a bit expensive, but I thought you know what, the man has to make a living” he told me. “Then, a couple of kilometers later I cracked it open and took a swig… It was pure schnapps!”. Perotti declined to comment on how much he’d consumed before he managed to trade it with a woman for something softer.

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Further up the road Christophe and Pierre were locking horns for second place as we caught up with them just after the Bosnian town of Čapljina, down low on the aerobars and riding at road speeds as they leapfrogged on the tarmac. Both seemed happy with how their race was progressing, Pierre confiding that he hadn’t expected to be in second place at this point, and Christophe declaring that his main aim is to make the race as tough as possible for Justinas. A noble aim.

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After speaking to them, we set off in search of Justinas, some three hours ahead and closing in fast on the Sutjeska National Park. After Nevesinje the route leaves the tarmac for around 120km, and by the time we found him enjoying a sugary drink by the Upper Neretva in Ulog we had wrung every last ounce of grip from our hire car to catch him. He was sat, as always, with a huge grin and a demeanour so relaxed you’d think he was composing lounge music rather than leading a bike race.

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Further back, composition was in short supply for Elias Backmund (16), who was found by race reporter Tom Probert sat on the floor of a bike shop surrounded by inner tubes. The German rider had had chronic problems with flats, and had only brought TPU tubes as spares (a move which is sure to raise eyebrows amongst seasoned racers). Forced to spend 6km walking back towards Trebinje he found some alternative spares and was able to continue, but lamenting the delay which had deprived him of not only time, but also the rivalries he’d built with those riders around him.

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As night falls the top five consists of:

1. Justinas Leveika (02)
2. Christophe Dijkmans (14)
3. Pierre Bischoff (32)
4. Daniel Perotti (15)
5. Christian Dupraz (12)

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Scratch Report: Marin de Saint-Exupéry (01) scratched due to illness

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