[ENG] Road To TCR #2

THE EXCITEMENT OF THE START

Every Thursday, I send out a newsletter about my training, my thoughts, and the lessons I've learned as I prepare for my next adventures. This newsletter is designed to help me fund those adventures, and only those adventures. All profits go directly to my association "Double Dash Spirit" and are used solely to build a budget for my upcoming seasons.

This newsletter will evolve over time to bring you even more content, always with the aim of sharing my experience with you. Whether to inspire you to take up a challenge, give you tips on how I approach events, or simply keep you up to date on my future projects.

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Today, I’d like to talk about something that struck me right from day one of The Transcontinental Race, and what makes it one of the greatest ultra-distance races in the world: the incredible passion it creates. Not only among the 330 registered riders and the many disappointed applicants who couldn’t join, but also among the huge number of dotwatchers following along on social media and out on the roads.

This year, the TCR celebrated its 10th edition, and the big names in the sport showed up, including last year's podium: Christoph Strasser, Robin Gemperle, and Tim de Witte, all determined to settle some scores. There were also veterans like Josh Ibbett, the last winner in Istanbul, along with his runner-up from that year, Alexandre Bourgeonnier, the only Frenchman to have ever made it to the podium. Among the women, it was disappointing that Cynthia Carson couldn’t make it due to a road accident just weeks before the race, but the start list remained impressive with reigning champion Jaimi Wilson and promising talent Jana Kesenheimer, winner of both the Trans Pyrenees and the Three Peaks Bike Race.

To capture all this, there were plenty of live updates on social media, as well as specialized websites like the excellent dotwatcher.cc, providing daily summaries, bike overviews, race favorites, and more. The organizers also had reporters and photographers along the route, telling the stories of the participants through podcasts and blog articles. In an age of live TV broadcasts and real-time information, I’m completely captivated by this style of storytelling, where dotwatchers use their imagination while tracking the dots on the map, then see these stories come to life through legendary photos.