TCRNo11 Pre-Race Report: A New Era

Words by Jake Thorpe

Photos by Tomás Montes, Liz Seabrook, Beatrice Berlanda, and Matt Grayson

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A NEW ERA

And just like that, it’s upon us. A new era. A world of unknowns. Unknown triumphs, challenges, strategies, technology. Unknown pathways, passes, detours and shortcuts. Chance encounters. Meticulous planning undone by misfortune. But among these unknowns there is one crucial known: that ahead lies another decade of beautifully hard bike races. A decade where “ordinary people”, in the words of Jesse Carlsson – founder of Curve and architect of several very long bike rides of his own – will “do extraordinary things”. A new decade of the TCR.

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THE ROUTE

Far from milking a winning formula – rehashing the plot of years gone by – the 11th edition, the first of this new era, steps boldly forwards. A new country, an extra control, and more split parcours will nudge riders ever on to fresh pastures. But they needn’t fear. The TCR’s essence remains: the traverse of a continent from sea to sea. And there’ll still be tips of the hat to cycling’s legendary duels, to ancient pathways and pilgrimages, and to ferocious crits around medieval squares. A sprinkling of the race’s own history too: the Assietta – Mike’s original off-road parcours – is included, as is a jaunt in the general direction of TCRNo9’s third control – the mountainous Dibër district of northeastern Albania – a dalliance with its deceiving, deteriorating roads.

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What’s more, the Transcontinental, in this latest iteration, has finally assumed its paradigmatic form. Arrow straight – as races go – TCRNo11 is a facsimile of the perfect traverse. With its start in Santiago and its conclusion in Constanța, riders will begin and end their continental span within one longitudinal degree. It’s an idea that has captured the imagination of adventurers for centuries: to draw a line, set a bearing, and ride towards that horizon.

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Check out the TCRNo11 Ride with GPS collection here.

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So confusion may, understandably, arise when riders, fresh from Compostela’s Grand Départ, glance down at their GPS only to realise that this bearing they’re so faithfully following points not east, in fact, but west. From Santiagio, they’ll chase sun and salt – charging westward towards the wild Atlantic. At the coast they’ll turn – backs to the setting sun – and ride, from then until the race’s end, towards dawn. 

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The Picos come first, just as they did for sailors, voyaging from the Americas; peaks so impressive as to claim the definitive. A floating parcours, separated from its control either by an acute off-road stretch – or its obtuse paved proxy – plunges riders into the heart of the Cantabrian Mountains. 

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Then comes the fractured band of the Pyrenees: the connective tissue tethering central Europe to one of its southern limbs. Standing by one of Mike’s founding principles of this race – history; and, specifically, paying homage to it – the winding path through the Pyrenees spins a yarn. This thread through time tours some illustrious climbs, each steeped in tales of conquest and calamity alike. Riders will charge up the Pourtalet, then the Aubisque; bridge to the Soulor and then churn up the valley towards the parcours’ climax – the Tourmalet. This col first featured in The Tour de France in 1910, and has reprised its role 80 times since – the most capped climb in the race’s 112 editions.

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If, until now, riders have managed to postpone an appointment with the rough stuff, their time will arrive with the third control. The Strada dell'Assietta – the TCR’s first departure from tarmac back in its third edition – strings a highline between Sestriere and Susa. Riders will be forced to keep a weather eye; with most of the Assietta sitting more than two kilometres above sea level, all will be at the mercy of the mountains’ mercurial conditions. 

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With that, the race descends – down through Northern Italy towards the rolling Tuscan hills and the city of Siena, one of those rare places best known not for its buildings, but for the space in between: the Piazza del Campo. Home to the Palio, one of the world’s first crit races in all but name – a race on four legs not two wheels – Siena will also host the start of a double parcours. 

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Beginning beneath the secular spire of the town hall’s clock tower – originally built to challenge the cathedral’s own protrusion, and with it, the power of the church – the mandatory riding will trace the path of the Strada Bianche, a modern classic in the racing calendar. Lulled into false security by the idea of a pro peloton barrelling along the very same terrain despite narrow tyres and high pressures, riders may find the chalky tracks less amenable than first imagined. Expect grazes; bring plasters. Pacentro comes further down the road – 300 km further, to be precise – perched on an Apennine plateau. Riders will follow the path of flocks and herds, ferried up to higher ground to escape the summer heat – an ancient pattern of transhumance repeated. Then, once more, salt, sea.

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Across the Adriatic, a new world beckons. The Balkans arrive, with their networks of unpredictable pathways – few of which match up, in reality, to their cartographic counterparts.

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Then pushing on relentlessly east, by hook or by crook, riders will claw their way through Eastern Europe to collide, eventually, with the mighty Danube. Carried, for a moment, by its own eastward momentum, their paths will soon separate and riders will be guided instead by the final parcours, which takes them into the ancient city of Tomis – today’s Constanța. There, for reasons symbolic – and, by this point, aromatic – riders might fling themselves into the waters of the Black Sea; sweat mingling with salt. Sublime satisfaction. A continent crossed. A journey complete. 

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So there’s the route. But what of the riders?

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THE RIDERS

The first edition of the TCR’s new decade has gathered the most balanced field to date. Off the back of the #100TCRWomen campaign – an effort to encourage participation by those that fly the flag of FLINTA: a coalition of women, lesbians, intersex, non-binary, trans, and agender individuals – the 83 who comprise this category represent almost a quarter of those to line the start. This year, all caps will bear their names. 

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Competition will be fierce. But it’s important to remember that there is no women’s race; no splintered field. Those competing will compete as one, for the same goal – the same goal there’s always been: to become the fastest person to cross the continent. So who might be in contention?

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Christoph Strasser

A man who needs little introduction, Christoph has, in his two decades in the saddle, sewn himself into the fabric of ultra-cycling. First winning the Race Across America (RAAM) in 2011, over the following years, Christoph honed his craft in supported, single-stage time trials – setting a course record on his second RAAM win, only to break it on his third. In 2022, after three more RAAM victories, and a 24 hour world record to boot, Christoph ditched the support and took to the stage of TCRNo8. The two wins that followed displayed a masterclass in pacing and composure. Christoph is as formulaic as they come. Ride for 20; rest for three; keep stoppage to an hour, is his metronomic rhythm. Formulaic as he may be, however, TCRNo10 proved him fallible.

Having come within a whisper of a TCR hat-trick last year, he was scuppered by punctures on Parcours 4, leaving him short of tubes. Broken pumps, Sunday closures, financial illiquidity in cash economies – all have, at one point or another, put the brakes on his wheels of progress. Though Christoph has, it seems, learned from his mistakes. In a recent despatch, it looked as if, this year, tubes have been turfed out and sealant has sidled on in. If we can be certain of one thing, however, it’s that, for Christoph, where paved is possible, paved is more than probable.

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Jana Kesenheimer

Thirteenth overall last year – TCRNo10’s fastest woman – will be back to challenge her position and regain her title in the process. From her home in Innsbruck, she dispatches monstrous cols before breakfast, dashing back in time to don the duds of her day job as a lecturer and post-doctoral researcher in social psychology. Breaking onto the scene 5 years ago, Jana rocketed to fame with her film Three Peaks and In Between – a documentary about her first ultra-race. Last year, too, the cameras descended with her predominantly self-filmed TCR story airing on primetime German television. She has done wonders for encouraging women to participate in this male-dominated sport. 

But the cameras are a distraction, a burden; without them, she’ll be quicker. The field, too, will encourage her this year – a strong contingent of women, she admits, ignites her motivation. Cautious by nature, we’ll more likely see her – like Christoph – sticking to predictable paved paths, than risking daring departures to play in the dirt.

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Justinas Leveika

Riding in a dramatically different style to the formulaic Christoph, Justinas – AKA The King of Chaos – likes to fly by the seat of his Albion pants. His strategy is surprise. And it’s one that works. His truly astonishing palmarès includes a course record on the Tour Divide – taking Mike’s crown after almost a decade untouched – a win at the Arizona Trail Race (AZT) – and victories at the AMR and Fat Viking – a race of studded tyres on Norwegian snow tracks. And that’s all just last year.

But one thing’s for sure: chaos has never previously won TCR. Bad planning has always meant bad performance; so it might mean a change of tack for Justinas if he’s to gain a different crown – the crown of the fastest person to cross Europe.

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Lael Wilcox

For a decade, Lael has occupied space at the sharp end of some of the world’s toughest races; from Tour Divide-ing, to Triple-Crown-ing, to Mountain Race-ing, to Iditarod-ing, she’s seen her fair share of start lines and an impressive proportion of finishes. In 2015, she gained the women’s record for an ITT (individual time trial) of the Tour Divide – a record that stood for 9 years. A year later, in 2016, she won the Trans Am outright – a 6,800 kilometre fixed route traverse of North America – in 18 days. She currently holds the women’s record for the global circumnavigation by bike: around the world in 108 days. But women’s records neither define, nor confine her. Now, she has her sights set on the record outright: around the world in 77 days, or less. For Lael, unlike for Jana and Christoph, dirt beckons. We should expect to see her tackling fundamentally different terrain to her returning rivals.

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Abdullah Zeinab

This Australian-Palestinian wildcard has perhaps the most natural flair for all things ultra of any of TCRNo11’s stacked field. After documenting 2017’s inaugural Indian Pacific Wheel Race (IndiPac) – Mike’s last ride – in The Journey to the Other Side, a year later, Abdullah burst onto the scene in a blaze of glory, winning the race’s unofficial reprise. Having been, at the time of Mike’s death, uninitiated into the world of ultra-cycling, Abdullah had been struck not only by the eminent grit of Mike, and his competitor Kristof Allegaert, but by his spirit – the capacity to lean into the austerity of the race, and love it all the same. He knew he had to compete. A year after his IndiPac win, Abdullah joined the start line of the Trans Am, still a relatively unknown entity, and proceeded to take the record by 10 hours – a feat as yet unrivalled on two wheels. And later, in 2022, after a gruelling, 2,750 kilometre, neck-and-neck battle on dirt, through the furnace of Southern Africa, Abdullah emerged victorious in the inaugural Rhino Run, besting his rival, Kevin Benkenstein, by just 17 minutes.

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But these wins haven’t come easy. When he rides, Abdullah pushes to the physical, mental and spiritual limit. Far from a glutton for punishment, however, it’s the self-exploration found in these crucible conditions that appeals to him; the competition, the prestige, and even the riding, invariably play second fiddle. Races offer, to him, a chance to liquidate, breaking free of his current constraints to re-form as a stronger, more resilient solid. Expect his race, this year, to be quite the spectacle.

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Cynthia Carson

Eighth at Badlands in 2023, that year, Cynthia became the first woman to finish in the race’s top 10. Her successes continued into the start of last year where, at the Atlas Mountain Race (AMR), she claimed 14th overall, crossing the line as the fastest woman. With her gaze set on TCRNo10, however, setbacks began to mount. In her own words, “sometimes you’re up, and sometimes you’re down”. And in 2024, for Cynthia, things took a tumble. 

Races were cancelled; at Unbound, she crashed; and then, just 2 weeks before the TCR’s Roubaix Grand Départ, a collision with a vehicle on Austrian roads left her sporting 50 stitches in her face. The road to recovery has been slow, and it’s a testament to her grit that she will be back this year to pick up the gauntlet of her first TCR. Having Romanian roots, and living in Spain, for Cynthia more than most, the route makes sense.

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We just interviewed Cynthia on the Women Who Race podcast in the run up to TCR.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen.

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Victor Bosoni

It would be remiss not to mention, in this brief biography of aspirant victors, the boy-wonder, Bosoni. Last year, at just 22, Victor demonstrated the grit of a seasoned professional, doubling back from the head of the race on a 500 km detour to retrieve a forgotten passport, crossing the Alps three times in the process. Some would have scratched. Others would have cursed the rigid rules. Yet more might’ve basked in the glory of this escapade. But Victor? Ever unpretentious, he remained humble about his achievement – one that saw him clock the fastest split from CP4 to Istanbul – and instead deflected all praise towards the leading riders. 

This year, already with a major win against the cream of the world’s gravel crop under his belt, this 23-year-old hotshot will have his focus trained on the front of the race… the very front.

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Who Else?

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As usual – though perhaps to the greatest extent yet in TCR history – a throng of promising riders will be descending on Santiago, each vying to take the 11th crown. 

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Another of TCRs fastest women, the ninth edition’s Jaimi Wilson will also be returning. With this her third TCR, experience will be on side; and in this race, as time and time again we’re shown, experience counts.

April Drage – Aussie-adventure-cyclist-supreme – on the other hand will be embarking on her first TCR. Part of the Curve clan, she has excelled in her own hemisphere, winning Race to the Rock outright last year, and becoming the first woman to cross the finish line of the inaugural Rhino Run 2 years earlier. Only once having ventured to race above the equator, she tackled the Tour Divide in 2023, finishing in under 19 days. It remains to be seen what she’ll do on northern tarmac.

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Beside her, Marin de Saint-Exupéry – a vocal advocate of sustainable travel – will be lining up for his fifth TCR. Having improved almost every year, from second-to-last in 2017 – at just 20 years old – to 5th in 2022, he scratched in TCRNo9 from fatigue; unsurprising, really, when you consider his practice of riding to races. He’s no stranger to a Mountain Race and is one of the few to have raced the Full Nelson – Atlas, Silk Road and Hellenic – riding to each to secure consistent top five finishes, and a win in Morocco in 2022. Marin will be in strong contention for the Green Leaderboard – a classification reserved for those having travelled to and from the race overland.

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Of course there are more, too many to mention, but familiar names will soon appear as dots on the map as the race begins and the riders spread out; Pawel Pulawski, David Tschan, Lucas Strittmatter, Florian Moreau, Andre Bachmann. And, no doubt, in this new era, new names too will surface – future champions taking to the stage.

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PAIRS

Most notable, perhaps, in the pairs category this year, we have Gavin Towers – a visually impaired rider – tackling the race with teammate Tom Butcher by tandem, with Gavin the stoker and Tom his pilot. Thanks to this special exemption on the grounds of inclusion, this year will add tandem to the assortment of alt-bikes that have, over the years, made the journey across the continent – a list that, until now, included TT, fixed gear and, somehow, Brompton. 

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Travelling by more conventional means, Dina Byland and her pair Christian Dupraz will have eyes keenly on the pairs prize. Christian maintains an impossibly stoic calm through even the toughest conditions. Scooping snow from his drivetrain after a particularly frosty Accursed this year, he remarked, of the weather, that “yeah, it’s ok” – before quietly proceeding to take 3rd place.

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And, of course, Julien Gravaud and Simon Taulelle – the charismatic Frenchmen that lit up last year’s Accursed – are set to embark on their maiden TCR. Known best for their animistic ideas around the spirit of ultra-cyclists, and nicknamed accordingly, The Beavers will be in strong contention for the top spot.

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THE WILDCARDS

And finally, a nod to the wildcards; those that give the race its unique texture. 

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Mikko Mäkipää – one of the race’s venerable characters – will be back to add an 11th race to his impeccable Transcontinental palmarès. Famed for his circuitous approach to route finding, Mikko is guided first by curiosity, and second by controls – with the backdrop of General Classification’s gently ticking clock the only thing to stop him from riding indefinitely. 

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Sergey Shulubin, too, returning once more on his trademark blue fixie – a beast with bullhorn bars and devilish geometry to match – will be aiming for his first General Classification finish. 

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And last, but by no means least, joining Sergey on the quest for GC is Han Lu, former bursary rider and TCRNo9’s lanterne rouge – a title hard fought and hard won after a month-long battle from Belgium to Greece. This year, she’s chasing that most coveted category, General Classification, awarded only to those that ride within cut-off and crucially, who do so in the spirit of the race.