TCRNo11 Day 14 // Every Cloud

Words by Jake Thorpe

Photos by Matt Grayson, Sam Dugon, and Tomás Montes

‍

‍

‍

Special Executive Powers

In the close heat of the midday sun, the race’s first pair rode arm in arm under a string of raised bunting to claim Constanța’s last classification title. It was a final show of camaraderie, an outward display of the internal bond that’s required to cross a continent collaboratively. 

‍

But for Matthew Garthwaite (396a) and Oliver Hayward (396b), this bond had occasionally felt more suppressive than supportive. Matt, returning from a solo GC finish at TCRNo10 to throw his hat into the ring of the pairs category, reflected on this new format as an exercise in “constant compromise.” He knew it was going to be harder than riding solo, but quite how much harder appeared to come as a slight surprise. 

‍

Matt had been designated the decision maker from the off, given his existing experience of the race. And the pair’s potentate had grand ambitions. A category win was one thing, but being among the first to cross Constanța’s finish line held far greater appeal. 

‍

‍

‍

Time: The Great Healer

‍

After a blistering start in Santiago, the pair admitted they’d “overcooked things” in the hope of holding ground within the race’s vanguard. But at least they’d stretched out a lead. Given their hefty advantage, the pair’s success looked, for a while, to be contingent on little beyond some careful bus parking. But with Matt’s ambitions still lurking quietly beneath the surface, the pressure on forward progress remained unyielding. 

‍

While the road to Bari was far from smooth – with hill reps required to recover a Tailfin bag, shaken loose on Spanish gravel – the only major threat to the pair’s position came from the Adriatic. The Brits had maintained a convincing lead through Western Europe over rival duo Falk Döring (390a) and Manual Dixken (390b). But, by Bari, this lay in tatters as they lingered at the port for the evening sailing, while their chasers clawed back ground, reaching the ticket office just minutes before last check-in.

‍

Now on Balkan soil, the Brits were forced to step things up again, moving from defense back into attack in order to re-establish their position. Far better rested than the German duo, however, this was quickly achieved, and any imminent pressure thereafter relieved, with Falk and Manuel scratching from either side of Burrel’s control. “We always knew, if we had to,” Matt recalled, “we could turn the screw.” He’d stayed confident throughout that the pair could, if needed, find a new gear.

‍

Oli, meanwhile, had already been forced to step up to keep pace with his pair. Ending his days totally spent, his kit sporting a marbled pattern of salt stains, he had hoped the race might relent in its later stages. But despite having victory all but secured, Matt had refused to drop the reins, driving the pair into Constanța with the same intensity they’d shown leaving Santiago.

‍

‍

Asked whether they were proud of their achievement, the pair left a pronounced pause. It seemed pride had taken a back seat to relief, at least at this proximity. “It’s definitely Type 2 fun,” Matt conceded, “Right now, I’m too tired to be happy.” 

‍

Oli appeared a little more satisfied by their achievement, but did admit that, on his return to the UK’s Peak District, he’d be selling his road bike and getting back out on the dirt. Still, his plan is less drastic than Matt’s – who, at present, seems intent on “quitting cycling for good.” We hope the balm of time’s passage is enough to convince him otherwise.

‍

‍

The Student Becomes the Master

‍

Arriving the previous evening at Zoom Beach Bar, half an hour before the revelry of Saturday night was nudged, irreverently, into Sunday morning, Lael Wilcox (112) became the 22nd rider to Constanța, and the third woman to cross the line. Lael’s partner Rue was waiting at the finish line, glad to be relieved of her usual duties by the three other photographers present.

‍

Lael seemed thrilled to have added another continental crossing to her – already extensive – collection. Radiating positivity despite persistent mechanical troubles, she’s been a delightful addition to this year’s field. With her endless enthusiasm, Lael has reminded all riders that the apparent masochism of this race can always be grounded in deep gratitude for the simple act of riding a bike across a continent.

‍

‍

As one of ultra-cycling’s original trailblazers, Lael has inspired a whole generation of riders to compete on equal footing, defying the segregation of the sport by proving that races, not just fields, can be led and won by women. 

‍

Lael admitted that, in this race, she often considered the strong women around her as “teammates” rather than rivals. Relying on them to put pressure on the sharp end seemed to spread the burden of representation, and allowed Lael to ride in a way that kept her own priority front and centre: to keep the joy of racing alive. It’s a testament to Lael’s legacy in the sport so far, that the responsibility of proving women’s capacity on the bike no longer falls so squarely on her shoulders.

‍

With characteristic decency, in the same breath as she celebrated the end of her own journey, Lael made sure to extend her support to all those still out on the road, pushing on pedals day and night to reach Constanța. 

‍

‍

‍

The Ubiquitous Peach

‍

One such rider, Chris Murray (033), has been making storming progress through the Balkans, leading her Adriatic wave across Eastern Europe towards a spot in the General Classification. Landing in Durrës on Saturday night, Chris wasted no time on her dash to Burrel. Pushing on into the early hours to arrive at the control by sunrise, Chris was the first of her crossing to gain a stamp on Albanian soil. 

‍

For the time-trialler – who currently holds the British women’s 24-hour record – chunking has been the key to tackling the journey so far. Chris had, until recently, avoided trying to digest the route as whole – a distance she delightfully described as “flipping bonkers” – preferring, instead, to process it in more palatable portions. Allowing the evolving culinary landscape of the ride to tally off her progress instead, Chris kept a daily “snack-rep” – a rundown of the day’s resupply.

‍

‍

Her “snack-rep”, she admitted, had been pretty dull through Albania. Stuck, illiquid in a cash economy, the Brit has found herself confined to the inventory of petrol stations, the only places to boast a card machine. Surviving on individually packed pâtisseries and, of course, “the ubiquitous peach” – something that sounds a little like a late-sixties folk-rock troupe – Chris was looking forward to making a more avant-garde exploration into local cuisine whenever circumstances allowed. 

‍

Pressing on in hot pursuit of those riders at the tail of Bari’s previous crossing, Chris is currently carving up the last chunks of her ride. On the menu before long? Bulgaria, a final border, and then a beer in Constanța’s finest beach bar.

‍

‍

Hot Pursuit

‍

Riders are arriving at Constanța’s finish line sporting blanched bibs and albescent bar tape – the residual signs of salt and sweat.

‍

Many of those still on the road are enduring daytime temperatures of over 40°C, leaving them to grapple with the age-old Balkan dilemma: ride all day and face the heat, with provisions and no dogs; or ride all night and avoid the heat, with dogs and no provisions. Back for his fourth TCR since 2018, James Illman (217) knows this trade-off well. Like Chris, James also arrived in Durrës on Saturday night, but unlike Chris, he progressed a little more gingerly towards Burrel’s control. 

‍

Having spent his first hours on Albanian soil in effusive praise of the surface, versus the "atrocious" Puglian tarmac of the last few days, when that soil became dirt, James appeared to have a change of heart. While on the direct, off-road approach to the fifth control, the Brit’s electronic gears died. To make matters worse, the gravel rash from a later tumble on the rough terrain left him unable to ride in his aerobars. Left pedalling an easy gear in an upright position, James’ pace dropped dramatically. 

‍

This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. On the short, tarmac descent to the fifth control, James was caught off guard by an unmarked speed bump. Managing, this time, to retain control thanks to his pace and position, he narrowly avoided a second dalliance with the dirt. “My small crash saved me from a bigger one”, he sagely reflected.

‍

It seems that suspending judgement can be a sensible policy in a race of this scale. Silver linings can almost always be found; and, ultimately, a little reframing can sometimes be enough to separate a graze from a scratch. 

‍

‍

Scratch Report

Jur de Koning (382b) – Rider scratched 16:00 CEST 11/8 via SMS - no reason given.

Norman Lomax (117) – Rider scratched 12:08 CEST 11/8 via SMS due to knee pain.

Mattias Molin (289) – Rider scratched 10:58 CEST 11/8 via WhatsApp due to a crash resulting in a fractured shoulder.

Viggo Vea (018) – Rider scratched 9:46 CEST 11/8 via SMS due to leg injury.

Kenneth Lamont (233) – Rider scratched 8:51 CEST 11/8 via WhatsApp due to mechanical issues.

Dave Nash (250) – Rider scratched 17:47 CEST 10/8 via WhatsApp due to “the juice not being worth the squeeze”.

‍