On The Dot 002. Tour Divide Preview With Meaghan Hackinen & Nicky Shaw. Plus Trans Balkan Race DQ Discussion & More!

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Welcome to episode two of on the Dot dot COM's
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Race Focus Show, where we reviewed action and look ahead
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to the dots to watching in near future. I'm your
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host Samuel Thompson, and join me today are dot Watcher's
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Nicky Shaw and returning guest Meghan Heckinan who likely needs
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nittle introduction. However, since her last appearance on episode two
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of dot COM's she's had a stellar twenty twenty five,
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completing all of the mountain races in the second fastest
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overall time, finishing in first woman at Silk Cread Mountain
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Race and Hellenic Mountain Race, and second woman at at
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This Mountain Race. This coming week, as we record, she's
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returning to the Tour Divide where she holds the women's
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Grand apart FKT from twenty twenty four. So welcome Megan,
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thanks for joining.
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Excited to be here.
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Is everything ready to fully off later this week?
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It's getting there, getting there. Put the Dynamo wheel on
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and everything works, and yeah, my bike is pretty much
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dealed in. Just like little things I need to buy
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some white wives and little physical things big like route
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planning type like I just need to spend more time
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with the route and really get stuff into my head
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and actually, yeah, feel excited about getting out there this Friday.
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We'll come on to a bit more detail around tour
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divides in a moment, but just a bit of sneak preview.
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You are on our on our once to watch list there.
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So to start us off with the recaps, I have
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a point of clarification to make around the Unbound Excel
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results which have happened a couple of weeks ago. I
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didn't mention in the last episode of dot COM's that
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there was a bit of uncertainty around the third place
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finish it there and the website has been updated and
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so has followed by a challenge and Alex McCormack has
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magically reappeared in third place. So just to clarify, I
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had Robin Perley in first place there, Max Agoot in second,
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and Alex McCormack was third in twenty three hours and
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thirty four minutes, So that means the final stats are
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of two hundred and thirty seven starters, there were sixty
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one finishers, so still still not huge, but gives a
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bit of clarification though. Now the first main event we
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got to cover this this time around is the Transbalkan Race,
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which started on the twenty nineth of May. In terms
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of the results, the top three overall we had Jokim
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McLean finishing in four days and seventeen hours, followed by
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Marcus Valentine in four days, nineteen hours and twenty minutes.
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Behind him was Samuel Leyton Yellow. The first woman and
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sixteenth overall was Dilana Tuna in six days, nine hours,
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and Karen Eckman and Louise Olik were second and third women.
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There was ninety nine finishers out of one hundred and
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seventy three starters, around fifty seven percent there but one.
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I think the major talking point from this that we've
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seen a lot written discussed about was the disqualification of
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the rider Radoslav Golobievski, who was leading for the majority
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of the race. The Transbulcan Race organizers put out a
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statement where they announced the disqualification of this rider for
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receiving an authorized external assistance, which obviously violates the self
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sufficiency rules in this event. They claim has happened multiple times,
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and they gathered photographic proof at a location around seventy
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five kilometers from the finish where he was disqualified. This
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concerns an authorized external media team, which raised suspicions in
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the first place, so the organizers decided to collect firm
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revidence before making any decision, and they found that there
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was a few attempts to meet him at his sleeping
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and resupply locations which were maybe not successful. They collected
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photographic evidence showing that he had he had taken items
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of food and water. It's seen from this from the
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support team. So NICKI, Meghan, what was your initial reactions
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seeing this?
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I think was he he was in the first page
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at the time, wasn't it, and he was leading for
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most of the race, so it was it was quite
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important for them to act as as it was happening.
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So I think the race directors did did what they
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needed to do, and they obviously noticed what was happening
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all the way from checkpoint one where they first noticed
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that external vehicle, all the way through to seventy eight
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comments from the finish I think was it near Nixic.
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So yeah, I'm quite quite surprised in a way because
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he is quite an experienced racer. He's very well known
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Poland it's not his first race. Obviously, a very strong rider,
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so he's now sponsored as well, so he would have
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thought he would have been well aware of the rules.
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So it's just the question around why why did you
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think that was okay in a self supported race? But
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I think the race directors did did great and they
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did the right thing there, actually disqualified, disqualifying him during
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the race and not waiting to the finish.
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I would echo what Nikkei said. I was surprised as well,
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and the fact that it was like a coke and
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a banana, that's kind of humorous, Like it's it's like laughable,
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you know, and you could frame it in a way
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to be like, oh, some guy god disqualified for taking
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a coc on banana, like if the guys are too
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update about your rules. But it's not really that. It's
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the you know, someone receiving outside support in an event
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where it's really meant to be self supported and relying
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on yourself. I think it's I don't want to say
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it's poor use of the race organizer's time to be
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chasing this rider around, but you know they have like
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they can be doing other things to benefit the race,
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and they clearly put a lot of time into doing this,
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and I mean that's a good thing, but I think,
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like it's not I don't know, I'd rather see them,
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you know, doing other race organize their things ideally right
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than chasing one rider around. And I would also I
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would also say that I feel like it was communicated
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poorly by the race organization. I think they did a
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great job of like disqualifying him and taking it seriously.
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But I think the way it was shared on Instagram
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on these three posts, the first one saying disqualified, the
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second one a video statement with like no additional information,
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and the third one with the photographic evidence, I think
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we all wanted to see that evidence in the first post,
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and the fact that it took three posts created kind
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of a bit of a gossip mill and firestorm and
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people coming to the writer's defense. And I think if
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they had given that information all at once, could have
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like it would have still been a dramatic thing, but
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it would have been easier to deal with. So that's
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I guess my one criticism.
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I think it raises some ambiguity if the full reason
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isn't given in that third first post, and you've rreadly
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said that there was especially a lot of the supporters
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on Radolphslav's side were trying to justify these actions, saying,
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as you mentioned, it's just just a banana and coke,
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and to give to give his side of the story,
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he did put our statement on his Instagram. He did
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accept that he took the support, but basically claims that
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this was the only thing that happened and he had
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other issues which he claims that if he was receiving
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it external support that he would have taken use for instance,
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riding with a broken spoke on his on his bike.
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And yeah, he said it was one incident and there
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wasn't It wasn't any other external support around that. So yeah,
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a sort of acceptance. But then then again, when this
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sort of thing happens, it does race suspicions like either
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is this a misunderstanding of the rules, is there something
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wider going on? Especially is you'd like to think the
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organizer have in terms of collecting their evidence. They're not
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just acting on a single thing here that they have
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been thorough and the investigations.
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I think it's it's the principle of breaking the rule
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is not the fact of taking the banana and the coke,
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except that in itself wouldn't have really made significant difference.
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In terms of his placing in the race. But it's
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just is maybe more of a mental thing, you know,
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having that support vehicle there. It's an extremely risky vase,
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So just having knowing that you've got that sport vehicle,
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you know, down the road, it just takes that load
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of risk off your shoulders a little bit more than
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everyone else. So that's what's unfair about having a support vehicle.
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In terms of the interpretation the rules as well. Had
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in discussions of people, maybe they'd raised that some of
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the events he's done the past there may be more
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liberal in terms of what is the definition of self
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supported at whether there is some external help there. But
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I did look at some of the events that he's
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done in Poland especially, and there's one he's done a
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number of times, of Whissler twelve hundreds, where it's quite
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explicit there that there's no external support allowed. So I
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think he hasn't a huge amount of experience in events
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potential we are more familiar with. He was third place
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in at this mountain race earlier in the year and
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that's the only result there is on his dot watch
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a profile. But it does seem like he should be
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familiar with what the principles and what the rules are
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about the self supported style of racing.
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I agree, I'm sometimes surprised when people don't know the rules,
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and then I have to remind myself that there's a
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lot of people getting into the sport, a lot of
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folks coming over from gravel, but that's not the case
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in this situation, right, And I would also, I mean, yeah,
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I think that's all I would to say.
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Also, interesting to note that these sort of incidents, they
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they do raise attention in the wider cycling media. I
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noticed they were articles specifically on this on road CC,
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Bike Radar, Cycling Weekly. You don't get these from that
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often from results themselves, so it's the sort of thing
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that does get people talking a bit wider. And some
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of these articles are around enforcements rules around self supported
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questioning whether we can really trust what goes on, especially
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when there's a lot of self policing involved, and potentially
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if some of these races are too big in places
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to accurately police from the organizer's side. But I think
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it is good to see and when organizers do have
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evidence of people breaking the rules, that they do take
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a firm stance on this and they do implement the
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rules that they have set out in the first place.
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Yeah, this scenario is really hit headline, doesn't it. It's
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not just in ultra distance but also the wider cycling media.
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And it's not necessarily a bad thing because it is
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throwing a spotlight on ultra distance cycling. So but it's
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making maybe the distant community showing that directors do take
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the sport seriously and showing recycling community that this sport
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is taken seriously and disqualifications will be given if the
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walls are broken. So it's not just you know, by
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backing these as fast as you can, it is too
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serious endeavor.
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We don't lis to take away from those who did
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completely course successfully. So yeah, well done again to those
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to all of those who finished this event, because it
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wasn't an easy one. Another event we had on recently
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was Cromvojege, taking place on the thirtieth of May in
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all in Catalonia this year, going up into the Pyrenees
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as well. There are two routes, the full route which
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is one thousand and fifty k in the reducts which
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is eight hundred and eighty five k. There were sixty
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two rides in the full and fifty seven in the reducts.
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In the full event we had Patrick Steger in three
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days six hours, followed Stefano Semenzato two hours later and
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very tight finished just seven minutes behind him was Frank Gaberu.
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The first female finisher in sixteenth overall was Hannah la
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Blestia in four days and seventeen hours, who many of
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you may know as one of the organizers as at
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Lost Dot, twenty ninth overall and second females Anna Vallis
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and thirty first overall. Third female was Grace Pine and
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a lot of riders chose to divert onto the Reduc's
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route during the event. There was some quite challenging additions
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with heat wave at this time and leading some to
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some thunderstorms. So as the first four hundred k of
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both events, both routes were the same, the riders had
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the choice to make to make that diversion, which means
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that a lot of those who set out to do
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full route completed Reducs instead. First on the reduct was
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a Million Mote in one day and eighteen hours, Second
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was Tristan Cardu in one day in twenty three hours,
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and third overall first woman was milligibbons in two days
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and three hours, so following up being first woman on
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the full edition last year to being first woman in
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the reducs this year. And there was really high overall finishes.
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Three out of one hundred and nineteen starters, there were
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ninety nine finishes, so it's eighty two percent. Next one,
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there's an event going on as we speak, which started
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on the fifth of June, which is the Nordic Chase,
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and this caught my eye because I was quite interested
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by what they're doing around classifying finishes here. The Naughty
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Chase is basically a series of events that links some
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of the major cities in North Europe. The one going
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on at the moment is between Birding and Copenhagen, seven
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hundred and ten kilometers. The way that they the classifying
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results or classify the rider's finishes is that every rider
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is part of the general classification, so the ranked by
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their total time to start to finish. But the riders
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can choose whether to be in a social category, which
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is where drafting and group riding is allowed. Because they
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say what they want to keep the race social and
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welcoming to those who want to take it in that way.
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But then there's also a solo definition where there's no
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drafting and there is more in tune with self supported
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at worth familiar of most of the races. So I
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thought this was a really interesting way of allowing all
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participants to treat the events in a way of their liking,
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but also by making distinction between those who are holding
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themselves to fully self supported principles and rules. That means
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that when we're looking at results, we know who is
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on who is on what playing field. So yeah, it's
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wondering if you think this is this is something which
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is it's an interesting option to roll out on other
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events as well.
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I think it sounds like a lot of fun. I think,
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as you know, there's a lot of bike packing events.
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People might sign up for different events for different reasons.
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Right you might have your your a race where you
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really want to you know, stick to that spirit of
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being self sufficient and be out there alone, and and
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other events can be good chances to just you know,
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have an amazing experience, test your kit, prepare or maybe
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kind of I don't know, not prepare as much. And
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this sounds like a really cool way of doing things.
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And there's a lot of different ways to ride a bike, right,
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I'd be curious to kind of see what the media
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looks like from the event or or what people are
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sharing and after to kind of, yeah, to see how
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it pans out. But I think it's exciting.
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I think the interesting bit about this is that it's
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done in a single event. That we do see some
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events that the whole event is either social or solo.
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It's interesting how they combine to the two in this event. Okay,
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moving on, we have some events to preview coming up
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in June. Now, there's a lot going on. I'll mentioned
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first some of the events which we won't go into
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detail here, but there will be commentary on the dot,
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watch your website or lease the tracker. So these are
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some which you might want to keep your eye out for.
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There's the Goats starting on the tenth of June, be
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Hard on the twelfth, they Hope one thousands on the thirteenth,
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and then Transable Race on the fourteenth, Transatlantic Way and
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Solstice Sprint starting on the eighteenth. Further Merry England starting
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on the nineteenth and on the same day dead Ends
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and Cake and then Monaco de Bavaria Classic starting on
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the twentieth June. So a lot there, but there's a
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couple which we want to look into a bit more detail.
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First off, our guest here, Megan, is chomping at the
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bit to get started at Tour Divide on the twelfth
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of June. Starts in banf in Canada, and it's widely
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considered the halo events of bike packing, especially in the US.
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The route follows the Great Divide Mountain bike Trail from
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Banff in Calendar down to Antelope Wells on the US
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Mexican border. It's around four hundred kilometers or as it's
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in the US I mentioned next twenty seven and thirty
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five miles as well, with around sixty thousand mesa climbing.
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It's describe as off road, but there's not a huge
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amount of particularly technical riding in there. So starting with
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the route, we understand this very little change to last year. Megan,
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you'll know about this because I'm sure you've got your
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GPX files all lined up. Are you expecting much difference,
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especially when you did it last a couple of years ago.
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No, there hasn't been many changes in the last couple
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of years. The year I did it in twenty twenty four,
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they added some Continental Divide trail sections in New Mexico
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and those sections have stayed. Personally, I was secretly hoping
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they get rid of them, but they are here still.
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Last year they added some gravel road around Steamboat Springs
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to remove some kind of dangerous highway or back road riding.
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And this year I think they've tweaked some of the
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trail or bike path leaving Silver City near the end.
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But there's really not many changes between this year and
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last year, and it stayed quite similar since twenty twenty four.
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So for me, that's a big advantage because I don't
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need to, you know, refamiliarize myself with a very different
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route and be at a little disappointed they didn't pull
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those single track sections.
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It must be an advantage having a familiarity of the
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having done it before, and I've been looking into what
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the trail conditions are likely to be like. It's difficult
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to discern over such a long duration, long distance. I
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do hear that snow levels in the central and southern
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Rockies above average for this time of year, So you expected,
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especially further north, you expected to see much snow on
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the trails, and how you expected things to evolve as
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you get further south as well.
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Definitely expect to see some snow in the northern sections. Yes,
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it's been a real like mixed bag of winter year.
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In British Columbia and where I live, there was hardly
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any snow in the kind of lower mountains. There was
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still you know, snow to operate the ski hills and stuff,
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but people were climbing way higher than I thought they
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could in like January and February. I thought usually those
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areas are snowed out, so really dry and we're in
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drought conditions here. And for those who don't know, I'm
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in the Okanagan and British Columbia a few valleys over
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from Bath. It's about a five and a half hour,
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dryer hour drive away. But like just very very different
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conditions and the rockies are experiencing. I think it's been
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snowing almost every day of the week in baff In,
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Southern Alberta and British Columbia. Definitely snow on the early
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passes like Elk Pass and Cocoa Claims, probably in Galton Pass,
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and if not snow, it's going to be muddy and slow,
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so not really the course we were hoping for this
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year after seeing how fast things were last year, but
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also something that you know, riders don't don't have control
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over the weather, and we need to prepare appropriately for
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it without catastrophizing. I think pretty much, Yeah, pretty much.
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Everyone has been talking to me as asking me about
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the weather, and I'd love to talk about it on
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00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:24.599
this podcast, but in day to day life, I'm kind
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of over, kind of over it. I've got my kit
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and I'm going to get out there fur their south though,
359
00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:33.920
Like I was in Colorado recently and it's quite dry.
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They had, Yeah, they've had a relatively warm spring, So
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I guess the good news for for riders is that
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these you know, winter conditions shouldn't last forever, and I
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00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:50.039
think we'll experience a great deal of variety on the
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course this year, which is both exciting and scary.
365
00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:59.240
So from what you're saying, doesn't sound like conditions are
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optimal for fastest times. But how much of an influence
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00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:08.359
do you think that makes, especially with the weather as well.
368
00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:11.200
We're talking about the best part of two weeks seven
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for the fastest people, and I don't think anyone can
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00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:16.839
predict that far that far ahead. But from what you
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00:23:16.920 --> 00:23:19.680
know about trail conditions, do you think that's significantly going
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00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:23.759
to affect people out there for the fastest times.
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00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:27.240
I just think it's too early to say, right, so
374
00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:33.640
much can happen in that window, and right now my
375
00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:36.559
attention is more focused on the beginning part of the race,
376
00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:40.079
which definitely seems like it it's non optimal and will
377
00:23:40.119 --> 00:23:47.079
be slower, you know that. That being said, yeah, yeah,
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00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:50.000
I just don't think we know a lot of information.
379
00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.599
But it does look like there's more snow than last year,
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and so that is obviously going to impact things if
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00:23:58.160 --> 00:24:02.720
people are hiking in post tolling through old snow versus
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00:24:02.759 --> 00:24:07.000
in you know, record years being able to ride through unencumbered.
383
00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:12.519
I had a quick question, and so the tour Divide
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00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:16.240
is quite in famous with its peanut buttered mud, which
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00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:20.279
you might remember from two years ago. I guess it's
386
00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:22.240
it's a bit of a given, isn't it that at
387
00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:26.279
some point you're going to have to deal with the
388
00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:28.759
in famous peanut butter mud. So do you have any
389
00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:33.880
particular strategies or anything that you found that works in
390
00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:38.480
order to like cheat moving forwards and clearly clear the
391
00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:42.759
drive chain? And yeah, any strategies that you've found.
392
00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:48.400
So I didn't know what peanut butter mud really was
393
00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:52.319
until iious the tour divides, and I had a strategy
394
00:24:52.359 --> 00:24:55.160
to clean my bike off and keep moving. I think
395
00:24:55.920 --> 00:24:59.440
real true peanut butter and mud is impassable, and it
396
00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:02.480
is a a barrier that stops you in your tracks.
397
00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:05.039
You picked so much up on your shoes and your
398
00:25:05.079 --> 00:25:11.440
bike that it's almost impossible to keep moving through it.
399
00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:14.720
So my strategy is to stop and rest it out.
400
00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:16.599
I had a funny story the last time I was
401
00:25:16.599 --> 00:25:19.359
going through the basin, and I reached Atlantic City on
402
00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:21.880
the edge of the basin in a thunderstorm and decided
403
00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:24.240
to wait there for about six hours because the road
404
00:25:24.359 --> 00:25:26.680
turns into peanut butter mud and it's very remote and
405
00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:29.279
can be quite cold. So I waited for the rain
406
00:25:29.319 --> 00:25:30.799
to stop and the road to dry out, and I
407
00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:33.079
headed out at night, and I was making great time,
408
00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:35.200
and I had dreams of reaching the Love's gas station
409
00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:39.279
in Walmsutter. And then I was in like fifth place,
410
00:25:39.319 --> 00:25:43.279
I think, And then I passed the fourth place rider
411
00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:46.319
and he was sleeping next to the road, and I
412
00:25:46.359 --> 00:25:48.759
stepped into fourth place, and I gave myself a little cheer.
413
00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:50.960
I tried not to wake him up, and you know,
414
00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:54.240
it was so excited. I was like revitalized to power
415
00:25:54.279 --> 00:25:56.759
through the night to Walmsutter And then my bike just
416
00:25:56.759 --> 00:25:58.440
got stuck in the mud. And I realized he was
417
00:25:58.440 --> 00:26:00.440
sleeping next to the road because he got stuck in
418
00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:03.480
the mud. And so I camped like two hundred meters
419
00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:05.960
down the road from him and slept until the sun
420
00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:07.880
came up in the morning and dried out the road
421
00:26:08.279 --> 00:26:11.480
and hit it on my merry way again. So I
422
00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:15.440
think it's just it's a really really hard thing to fight,
423
00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:21.160
and yeah, my only tactic has been stopping and waiting
424
00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:23.640
for it to dry up. I also think the peanut
425
00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:26.839
butter mud, from my experience, hasn't been in the most
426
00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:33.440
northern sections. It's been more like Montana, Wyoming, Colorado. But yeah,
427
00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:36.200
I think our definitions of peanut butter mud probably vary.
428
00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:38.640
I feel like it's just regular mud up here in
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00:26:38.680 --> 00:26:42.599
the north, and yeah, I guess I'll deal with it
430
00:26:42.599 --> 00:26:44.880
when I come to it further south. Make sure I've
431
00:26:44.880 --> 00:26:47.319
got some audiobooks to listen to when I'm seated on
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00:26:47.359 --> 00:26:49.640
the side of the road or in a porta potty.
433
00:26:50.519 --> 00:26:54.240
Well let's look at some of the riders to watch.
434
00:26:54.759 --> 00:27:00.279
There is a unofficial start list which the riders have
435
00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:08.440
listed their target finished time in terms of days. There's
436
00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:13.400
around two hundred and thirty who are planning to start
437
00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:18.400
at the Grand Departs on the twelfth of June, heading south,
438
00:27:19.400 --> 00:27:21.599
some out there doing the visual time trials and so on,
439
00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:25.440
all heading north as well, and we'll list these starting
440
00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:29.759
with those who have the most optimistic outset. There are
441
00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:33.440
three on the Grand Depart who are aiming for thirteen
442
00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:39.000
days or less. These are Seb Brewer, Alex McCormack and
443
00:27:39.319 --> 00:27:42.000
Victor BERSONI A lot of talk before this has been
444
00:27:42.039 --> 00:27:47.480
about this battle between Aleix and Victor. Seb Brewer, who
445
00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:51.640
has finished third in Autless Mountain Race in twenty twenty three.
446
00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:55.319
He's been Silk Road Mountain Race in twenty twenty three
447
00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:57.839
as well first in bad Lands in twenty twenty two.
448
00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:03.160
Is a former European Mountain Bike Marathon champion, so that's
449
00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:06.240
what he's doing on the technical stuff could well be
450
00:28:06.279 --> 00:28:09.839
part of this as well. Megan, who who do you
451
00:28:09.880 --> 00:28:12.160
pick out of those? Oh?
452
00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:16.000
I didn't have to pick people. I don't know. I
453
00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:19.200
think it's such a long course, it's just impossible to pick.
454
00:28:19.240 --> 00:28:23.000
But I guess why you're doing a race preview so
455
00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:26.160
that we can share our opinions. So I don't know.
456
00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:31.240
Victor BISONI looks pretty hot right now. Alex McCormick was
457
00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:34.160
so fierce in the mountain races last year. I really
458
00:28:34.680 --> 00:28:38.319
I really loved just doing the races. I was gonna
459
00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:40.279
say side by side, but he was far ahead of me.
460
00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:44.480
But he had a really calm presence, which I think
461
00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:46.960
can get you far in an event like two early Ride.
462
00:28:47.559 --> 00:28:51.200
And he's obviously got the legs for climbing with the
463
00:28:51.240 --> 00:28:54.720
double everest. And I actually don't know much about Zebruer,
464
00:28:54.880 --> 00:28:58.920
but he's got an impressive deep resume. I guess i'm
465
00:28:58.920 --> 00:29:01.720
gonna say Alex. I'm going to say Alex. Yeah.
466
00:29:01.920 --> 00:29:06.400
I think I agree. I would love to see Alex win.
467
00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:10.880
He's British, so maybe I'm a little bit biased there
468
00:29:10.920 --> 00:29:15.000
as well, to see a bit win the to a divide,
469
00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:19.200
which would be really awesome. I think Victor he's obviously
470
00:29:20.440 --> 00:29:23.920
taken the orch distance willed by Storm, so he'll be
471
00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:26.680
he'll be one to watch for showing as well. And
472
00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:28.119
I'm said it.
473
00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:32.640
Seems like Victor, he's taken on new challenges. For example,
474
00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:35.799
his first mountain bike race was at this mountain race
475
00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:41.160
earlier this year. He won that. He he adapted very
476
00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:45.200
quickly to his journey in the trans Continental Race, learning
477
00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:47.039
a lot from his lesson the first time round to
478
00:29:47.160 --> 00:29:50.279
then win the second time. And it seems like he's
479
00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:52.680
just anything you throw it him. He seems to be
480
00:29:52.759 --> 00:29:56.079
able to come out on top. So I definitely would
481
00:29:56.079 --> 00:29:59.559
not put this past him. And they these are all
482
00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:03.160
profile that it's not a huge leap for them. I
483
00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:07.759
mean they've got experience, very relevant experience. Victor winning event,
484
00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:11.480
which in Transcontinental race is a similar sort of duration
485
00:30:11.640 --> 00:30:15.160
he has now has that mountain bike experience. Alex McCormack
486
00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:18.440
very familiar with the off road stuff, having done the
487
00:30:18.440 --> 00:30:23.160
whole of the Mountain Rose series and recently setting this world
488
00:30:23.200 --> 00:30:28.000
record for the furthest distance ridden in seven days. So
489
00:30:29.039 --> 00:30:34.119
these are athletes at the top of the sport. And yeah,
490
00:30:34.359 --> 00:30:38.279
it's I mean, this is it, you could say, as
491
00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:41.200
another slight step up to do the Tour of id
492
00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:43.240
in the sort of times they are aiming for, but
493
00:30:43.759 --> 00:30:47.079
by no means seems out of their reach or unrealistic,
494
00:30:47.559 --> 00:30:50.720
and just as a reminder, the FKT is still held
495
00:30:50.759 --> 00:30:54.200
by Justin Levaca from twenty twenty four and thirteen days,
496
00:30:54.279 --> 00:30:56.440
two hours and sixteen minutes, so that's some time that
497
00:30:56.440 --> 00:31:00.640
I'll be going for. Although Robin and Purdy winner last year,
498
00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:03.920
did finish in eleven days, nineteen hours, but the route
499
00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:08.680
was significantly changed because of Numbli five. It was re routed,
500
00:31:08.960 --> 00:31:13.279
so officially, unofficially it wasn't counted as the FKT. So
501
00:31:13.920 --> 00:31:15.839
I think it'd be interesting to see you with three
502
00:31:15.880 --> 00:31:18.880
of three of these riders aiming for less than thirteen days,
503
00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:21.880
whether one or all of them managed to beat that,
504
00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:25.920
then we've got quite a long mist of riders aiming
505
00:31:26.039 --> 00:31:30.759
for fourteen days or less. Notable one of those is
506
00:31:30.839 --> 00:31:37.240
a Megan Hackenan, which would be the female FKT if
507
00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:40.039
you were coming less than fourteen days, Omegan, So is
508
00:31:40.039 --> 00:31:42.000
that is that on your mind? FKT? Is that a
509
00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:42.480
goal for you.
510
00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:48.799
For sure? Yeah? The women's FKT right now is fourteen days,
511
00:31:48.880 --> 00:31:51.880
twenty three hours, like twelve minutes held by askting Killops.
512
00:31:52.519 --> 00:31:54.920
My time was fifteen days, twenty three hours, so I'd
513
00:31:54.960 --> 00:31:57.599
have to shave a day off, and I think in
514
00:31:57.640 --> 00:32:00.240
good conditions, that's possible. I've got a lot of of
515
00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:03.279
intel and insight into the route. I can better plan
516
00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:08.039
my stops. I know I can motivate myself better to
517
00:32:08.079 --> 00:32:10.400
get through some of those harder sections because I kind
518
00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:13.039
of know where the end is now instead of it
519
00:32:13.079 --> 00:32:19.160
being some vague point on my GPS. And yeah, I
520
00:32:19.160 --> 00:32:22.759
feel like my training has been good this year. I'm
521
00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:25.960
a sponsored rider now, so I have better equipment, and
522
00:32:26.039 --> 00:32:28.119
I don't think we can discount the value of that.
523
00:32:28.599 --> 00:32:31.799
I was running a twenty eighteen s Alsa Cutthroat with
524
00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:35.160
like thirty thousand plus kilometers on it, and now I'm
525
00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:39.240
running a twenty twenty six that's pretty new as well
526
00:32:39.279 --> 00:32:43.160
as my other gear. Right, I also have more time
527
00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:45.839
to train and prep and plan. I mean, I'm still
528
00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:48.799
behind and everything. I'm still struggling to stay on top
529
00:32:48.799 --> 00:32:52.480
of the stuff, but I do a lot of advantages
530
00:32:52.559 --> 00:32:54.799
now compared to twenty twenty four.
531
00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:58.559
I like to hear how confident he sounds, and also
532
00:32:58.599 --> 00:33:01.880
with clarifying that you you already holds the FKT for
533
00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:04.880
Grande Pas in fifteen days twenty three hours that you
534
00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:09.000
set in twenty twenty four. So yeah, I think like
535
00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:12.759
you said, it's sounds like you've got a lot a
536
00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:16.319
lot more going on your side this time round, and
537
00:33:16.680 --> 00:33:18.759
being a veteran, of course, it's only going to play
538
00:33:18.759 --> 00:33:21.440
in your favor. Who do you think from the female
539
00:33:21.559 --> 00:33:25.759
side is going to going to be pushing you there?
540
00:33:26.119 --> 00:33:30.359
There's a few exciting women. We have Leah Goldstein, who
541
00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:33.920
actually lives about an hour from me. She was a
542
00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:39.640
Race Across America, the supported race winner. She's also I
543
00:33:39.680 --> 00:33:43.440
think the overall winner in she was overall and Race
544
00:33:43.480 --> 00:33:46.799
Across America overall winner in the trans nd Bike NonStop
545
00:33:46.920 --> 00:33:49.559
last year as well as the Pacific Coast by Grace.
546
00:33:50.680 --> 00:33:53.960
I think this event is a little more off road
547
00:33:54.119 --> 00:33:58.480
than some of her previous events, but she's a pretty hard,
548
00:33:59.559 --> 00:34:02.079
pretty hard person. I feel like she'll be able to
549
00:34:02.119 --> 00:34:08.239
handle what the route throws at her. And yeah, we
550
00:34:08.280 --> 00:34:12.320
also have Karen Polcock who raced last year and I
551
00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:17.199
think came in third. And one I believe Arizona Trail Race.
552
00:34:17.880 --> 00:34:20.440
Just really strong rider. I know she works as a
553
00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:24.400
mountain guide, so tons of experience like in the outdoors
554
00:34:24.480 --> 00:34:29.079
with you know, weather and whatever the mountains con throw
555
00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:34.440
at you, and and just really formidable athletes. So excited. Also,
556
00:34:34.480 --> 00:34:39.519
fellow Canadian, so excited to see Karen. Yeah, there's a
557
00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:41.320
few other ones, but did you want to did you
558
00:34:41.360 --> 00:34:43.880
want to talk about anybody? Samuel or Nikki?
559
00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:48.039
I think the only other one that really springs to
560
00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:52.320
mind is Tanya Hakkee, who's finished the tons On Bite
561
00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:55.920
Race previously. Not sure what year that was in, but
562
00:34:56.119 --> 00:34:59.840
she she finished quite quite strongly there and also used
563
00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:04.719
to as well, so she'd obviously got long distance experience.
564
00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:08.519
It's a first time at the Tour Divide, so I've
565
00:35:08.559 --> 00:35:09.920
been interested to see how she does.
566
00:35:10.480 --> 00:35:14.360
Yeah, Tanya seems like someone who's just tough, Like from
567
00:35:14.480 --> 00:35:17.559
following her other races, she seems like someone who will
568
00:35:17.559 --> 00:35:22.320
be able to handle these conditions, yeah, while probably having
569
00:35:22.360 --> 00:35:27.519
fun doing it. I heard that Heather Jackson was also
570
00:35:27.559 --> 00:35:29.440
going to be racing. I believe she said that on
571
00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:33.639
social media and online. The list of racers we have
572
00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:35.840
right now is not the official list. It's the one
573
00:35:35.840 --> 00:35:39.000
that people can voluntarily sign up for, and I don't
574
00:35:39.000 --> 00:35:42.760
think it includes all the racers right Not everybody feels
575
00:35:42.800 --> 00:35:46.880
like signing up on some random list. And yeah, so
576
00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:51.599
it'll be interesting to see if Heather Jackson races it.
577
00:35:51.639 --> 00:35:54.639
As a Grand depart or an ITT. I know that
578
00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:57.239
a month ago she did Cocodono, which is a two
579
00:35:57.280 --> 00:36:02.159
fifty mile running ultra. Two weeks ago she raced unbound,
580
00:36:02.199 --> 00:36:07.199
but d nft. You know, maybe maybe like Victor, she
581
00:36:07.519 --> 00:36:10.639
decided to stop that effort to save her legs and
582
00:36:10.719 --> 00:36:15.360
everything for the tour divide or or or maybe for
583
00:36:15.440 --> 00:36:20.440
another reason. But personally, I really hope that Heather Jackson
584
00:36:20.599 --> 00:36:23.599
races the Grand Apart because I think it would be
585
00:36:23.599 --> 00:36:28.119
pretty cool to line up against, you know, like a
586
00:36:28.199 --> 00:36:33.519
former pro triathlete turned runner turned gravel like that. That
587
00:36:33.639 --> 00:36:38.400
excites me. And yeah, it just I think for me
588
00:36:38.480 --> 00:36:40.239
it's more exciting to see them on the start line
589
00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:44.480
than do an itt later. So but maybe if she's smart,
590
00:36:44.519 --> 00:36:47.800
she'll do an itt later when these snowy conditions blow over.
591
00:36:48.599 --> 00:36:51.920
Well, you're you've got quite a bit of company there
592
00:36:51.960 --> 00:36:57.559
with other riders targeting for fourteen days or less. There's
593
00:36:57.599 --> 00:37:00.000
a couple I pick out from there. I've got z
594
00:37:00.159 --> 00:37:04.519
the year. Shiroboga, whose nickname is the Farmer. He was
595
00:37:04.639 --> 00:37:07.760
first place at Colorado Trail Race in twenty twenty four
596
00:37:07.960 --> 00:37:11.920
and is a returning veteran at tour Divide after finishing
597
00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:15.039
fifth last year. And someone we had just on the
598
00:37:15.119 --> 00:37:19.840
last episode of dot COM's is Angus Young, who has
599
00:37:19.960 --> 00:37:23.760
quite a long resume in ultra distance cycling, and this
600
00:37:23.880 --> 00:37:25.840
is this sort of event that I think's really going
601
00:37:25.880 --> 00:37:29.199
to suit him after his fkats on the European Divide
602
00:37:29.280 --> 00:37:32.280
Trail and the Eastern Divide Trail in the US, so
603
00:37:33.000 --> 00:37:34.920
he knows what it's like to ride a long way
604
00:37:35.119 --> 00:37:39.320
on divides. So yeah, I be interesting see how he goes.
605
00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:43.280
Nicky's anyone else from those those who are saying that
606
00:37:43.280 --> 00:37:45.239
they're going to do in fourteen days or less that
607
00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:46.039
you reckon.
608
00:37:46.599 --> 00:37:48.760
I probably want to keep an eye on Lawns turned
609
00:37:48.760 --> 00:37:54.440
down as well. So Extro Rider. He was Who's second
610
00:37:54.480 --> 00:37:59.280
time to the Tour Divide, having finished third overall in
611
00:37:59.679 --> 00:38:04.440
twenty four on the podium, So maybe he's going back
612
00:38:04.639 --> 00:38:07.599
to try and improve on that time or just to
613
00:38:07.719 --> 00:38:11.079
have another experience there. So I do know it's an
614
00:38:11.079 --> 00:38:14.800
incredibly strong rider, so excited you want to watch.
615
00:38:15.360 --> 00:38:19.639
I think Lawrence and Eggnets could be challenging the you know,
616
00:38:19.880 --> 00:38:22.840
the podium or I think I think they're both contenders
617
00:38:22.840 --> 00:38:26.400
for the win. Yeah, So I think that's a good
618
00:38:26.400 --> 00:38:31.119
thing to mention, in my opinion, m and.
619
00:38:31.159 --> 00:38:35.199
Any of the insight intel you've got Megan on riders,
620
00:38:35.599 --> 00:38:42.239
especially in any with nice stories or interesting profiles.
621
00:38:41.440 --> 00:38:44.079
The men's side. No, I'm not. I'm not so familiar.
622
00:38:45.079 --> 00:38:52.440
I yeah, I feel like I was in the twenty
623
00:38:52.519 --> 00:38:57.039
twenty four edition along with Lawrence turned down and he uh,
624
00:38:57.079 --> 00:38:58.960
he made some big pushes to get through some of
625
00:38:59.000 --> 00:39:02.239
the you know sections where the weather was coming, so
626
00:39:02.599 --> 00:39:04.920
you could really see he was quite strong. I think
627
00:39:04.960 --> 00:39:06.880
he maybe had trouble with two less tires or some
628
00:39:06.920 --> 00:39:09.440
sort of mechanical were ended up like hitchhiking off route
629
00:39:09.440 --> 00:39:12.320
and coming back on route, a very North American experience
630
00:39:12.360 --> 00:39:16.280
in an ultra. And yeah, just kind of seemed to
631
00:39:16.360 --> 00:39:19.639
keep his head together for that. So you know, with
632
00:39:19.679 --> 00:39:22.880
a little better a little better luck on the gear
633
00:39:22.960 --> 00:39:26.119
side of things, you might do well.
634
00:39:26.840 --> 00:39:29.920
As you mentioned making this is an unofficial start list
635
00:39:30.119 --> 00:39:32.599
of lies and people putting their information in, and I
636
00:39:32.639 --> 00:39:34.519
do record out Robin and Purley didn't sign up to
637
00:39:34.559 --> 00:39:37.960
her last year, so you may well either have people
638
00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:42.199
who are capable of challenging or people to watch out
639
00:39:42.320 --> 00:39:45.599
for who haven't signed up for it, or potentially people
640
00:39:45.639 --> 00:39:49.400
that we're not for they aware of their background to
641
00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:53.840
end up end up being up there. So yeah, starting
642
00:39:53.880 --> 00:39:55.800
on the on the twelfth of June, this is going
643
00:39:55.840 --> 00:39:59.360
to be a fascinating one to follow and to riding
644
00:39:59.480 --> 00:40:08.199
your case the next event, which which we're going to
645
00:40:08.400 --> 00:40:12.880
take a quick look at. Firstly, Nikki, you fan of
646
00:40:12.960 --> 00:40:14.400
pick and Mix, my.
647
00:40:14.639 --> 00:40:18.559
Fan of brick and Mix on utra distant races, especially
648
00:40:18.599 --> 00:40:22.599
when I did the London You Want to Grows, I'll
649
00:40:22.679 --> 00:40:26.800
be about ten twelve years ago now, I was basically
650
00:40:26.880 --> 00:40:29.079
just living on the can mix. It was just a
651
00:40:29.119 --> 00:40:34.519
tour of the sweet shops of the UK, so yeah, yes,
652
00:40:34.639 --> 00:40:35.280
that would be yes.
653
00:40:36.320 --> 00:40:39.280
I have memories growing up in the UK of every
654
00:40:39.280 --> 00:40:41.679
Friday allowed to go and get a pick and Mix,
655
00:40:41.920 --> 00:40:44.239
and I was trying to think of what my favorites were,
656
00:40:44.360 --> 00:40:48.440
maybe Cherry Cola bottles and those long snakes. But it's
657
00:40:48.440 --> 00:40:50.280
a bit of an aside. The reason I say this
658
00:40:50.480 --> 00:40:54.079
is that the events we're looking at here is lepev three,
659
00:40:54.400 --> 00:40:56.239
which starts in the twenty to night for June. It's
660
00:40:56.599 --> 00:40:59.280
it's tied to itself as the first Pick and Mix
661
00:40:59.400 --> 00:41:05.599
Ultra runs through Germany, Switzerland and France, and the reason
662
00:41:05.920 --> 00:41:09.880
why it's term pick and mix is that there's parts
663
00:41:10.159 --> 00:41:13.000
where the route splits and riders have a choice of
664
00:41:13.480 --> 00:41:16.199
sticking to the road, sticking to smooth stuff, or taking
665
00:41:16.360 --> 00:41:21.960
a shortcut across the gravel. They say there's twists when
666
00:41:22.000 --> 00:41:26.239
the shortcuts come along, as this supposed to be no
667
00:41:26.360 --> 00:41:29.800
clear advantage which route people take, so we have your
668
00:41:29.880 --> 00:41:34.119
choice of your personal preferences and what suits your skills
669
00:41:34.159 --> 00:41:40.320
and your equipment. It seems like a really well considered
670
00:41:40.320 --> 00:41:43.599
event in terms of how the organization are setting it
671
00:41:43.679 --> 00:41:46.440
up and how they've considered the route. What I very
672
00:41:46.519 --> 00:41:50.199
much liked seeing from the way that the organizers had
673
00:41:50.639 --> 00:41:53.880
defined the route is that they completed all their scouting
674
00:41:54.079 --> 00:41:56.320
by bike. None of this was done by car, because
675
00:41:56.320 --> 00:42:00.679
I feel it's the experience you get by riding is
676
00:42:00.800 --> 00:42:03.519
totally different to being a side a vehicle. So it
677
00:42:03.559 --> 00:42:05.679
shows that the organizer has gone to great care of
678
00:42:05.679 --> 00:42:09.440
defining the route and finding out what really serves serves
679
00:42:09.480 --> 00:42:14.000
the riders. And another bit, it's that they are offering
680
00:42:14.199 --> 00:42:17.960
thirteen percent discount for flinter riders. And what you may
681
00:42:18.000 --> 00:42:22.119
ask why they've come up with this, it's because it's
682
00:42:22.119 --> 00:42:25.239
the average gender pay gap in the EU, which means
683
00:42:25.239 --> 00:42:29.360
that on average, flinters receive thirteen percent less hourly in
684
00:42:29.440 --> 00:42:35.000
relation to two men. So Megan's is an event which
685
00:42:35.719 --> 00:42:37.679
sounds like, sounds I could interest you at some point
686
00:42:37.679 --> 00:42:38.280
in the future.
687
00:42:39.239 --> 00:42:42.480
This sounds awesome. I'm actually hoping to do a season
688
00:42:42.480 --> 00:42:44.599
in Europe with more of a focus on road and
689
00:42:44.920 --> 00:42:50.039
like easy gravel. Let's say this sounds like a little
690
00:42:50.719 --> 00:42:53.320
It reminds me a bit about TCR, and obviously it's
691
00:42:53.360 --> 00:42:55.360
completely different, but I feel like in TCR you can
692
00:42:55.400 --> 00:42:58.320
take the longer road route or you can do like,
693
00:42:58.679 --> 00:43:02.199
you know, the iffy shore cut that might just go
694
00:43:02.320 --> 00:43:04.800
over the mountains and be on some sketchy gravel trail.
695
00:43:05.239 --> 00:43:09.519
And I usually, you know, didn't choose that option because
696
00:43:09.559 --> 00:43:13.079
I was on a road bike, but that option always
697
00:43:13.079 --> 00:43:18.280
intrigues me right, like to do the shortcut, and because
698
00:43:18.280 --> 00:43:20.159
there's gonna be an adventure and a story and some
699
00:43:20.239 --> 00:43:23.199
ridiculous stuff you're gonna have to encounter along the way.
700
00:43:23.320 --> 00:43:26.480
So I love it. It sounds really down to earth,
701
00:43:26.599 --> 00:43:32.760
really yeah, really community oriented, really wholesome and fun. Like
702
00:43:33.079 --> 00:43:35.280
I am super stoked about this one.
703
00:43:35.880 --> 00:43:39.320
I think it sounds really exciting. It's good to see
704
00:43:39.519 --> 00:43:46.639
new formats appearing into these races. I think watch distance racings,
705
00:43:46.679 --> 00:43:50.960
who are so popular now is just another option, And
706
00:43:51.039 --> 00:43:53.960
it sounds like there's normal an emphasis on the adventure
707
00:43:54.000 --> 00:43:59.239
itself rather than you know, the racing and who comes first,
708
00:43:59.440 --> 00:44:04.119
so which a lot of people are. They are therefore,
709
00:44:04.280 --> 00:44:07.920
rather than you know whose who's the fastest to finish,
710
00:44:08.239 --> 00:44:11.239
it's more about the experience and the people that you
711
00:44:11.280 --> 00:44:12.000
meet along the way.
712
00:44:13.039 --> 00:44:16.159
Yeah, I think it's great that there is an opportunity
713
00:44:16.159 --> 00:44:18.679
for people to treat it how they want, especially with
714
00:44:18.760 --> 00:44:22.280
those choices of routes as well. And another bit of
715
00:44:22.280 --> 00:44:25.760
around the route is that it fees into how they've
716
00:44:25.760 --> 00:44:29.480
called it laperiphery, that they're trying to avoid big cities,
717
00:44:29.559 --> 00:44:32.039
big roads, and yeah, it must have taken a lot
718
00:44:32.079 --> 00:44:35.199
of time to both plan the route scout it to
719
00:44:35.280 --> 00:44:38.239
make sure that it does it does fit that and
720
00:44:38.360 --> 00:44:42.760
it does give the give the riders that experience. So yeah,
721
00:44:42.840 --> 00:44:45.599
be interesting one to follow the first edition and the
722
00:44:45.719 --> 00:44:46.360
end of the month.
723
00:44:46.920 --> 00:44:50.159
I think it's also really cool that it probably encourages
724
00:44:50.199 --> 00:44:53.920
like a diversity and uniqueness of bike setup and configuration.
725
00:44:54.079 --> 00:44:56.480
I think we see that already in ultras, like people
726
00:44:56.960 --> 00:45:00.760
you know, bringing different types of bikes and that there's
727
00:45:00.800 --> 00:45:03.599
no like one rate bike to ride, but an event
728
00:45:03.639 --> 00:45:06.239
that includes road and gravel and you have these options,
729
00:45:06.239 --> 00:45:07.880
Like I think we're going to get some pretty cool
730
00:45:08.000 --> 00:45:10.800
rigs out of photos. So that'll be fun to see
731
00:45:10.800 --> 00:45:13.159
how people set themselves up for this kind of adventure.
732
00:45:14.400 --> 00:45:20.800
Yeah, certainly. Now one more event that we are going
733
00:45:20.840 --> 00:45:24.159
to take quick look at is the Transpyentees, the trans
734
00:45:24.239 --> 00:45:29.880
Iberica version. It obviously the Transiberica Lost Dot crew. Neither
735
00:45:29.880 --> 00:45:32.320
one of them is back down on calling their events
736
00:45:32.360 --> 00:45:35.000
the same same thing. We've got the Transpyentees raise some
737
00:45:35.079 --> 00:45:38.039
Lost Dot later in the year, so not confusing at all.
738
00:45:38.079 --> 00:45:41.000
But just for clarity is the trans Iberica version starting
739
00:45:41.039 --> 00:45:44.320
on the twenty eighth of June. This one just runs
740
00:45:44.840 --> 00:45:47.280
just I say, runs from one side of the Pyrenees
741
00:45:47.280 --> 00:45:50.480
to the other one one hundred and twenty four kilometers
742
00:45:50.519 --> 00:45:54.400
with twenty eight thousand meters of climbing over that. This
743
00:45:54.519 --> 00:45:58.440
involves thirty four mountain passes and it zigzags across the
744
00:45:58.480 --> 00:46:01.079
French and the Spanish side of the Pyraode. He's ten
745
00:46:01.119 --> 00:46:05.960
border crossings apparently, so some of the most iconic Pyrenees
746
00:46:06.119 --> 00:46:08.400
climbs in there, and it's a couple of short gravel
747
00:46:08.440 --> 00:46:13.039
sections as well, so not totally straightforward. We've got We've
748
00:46:13.079 --> 00:46:16.320
got a few riders to watch with connections to dot
749
00:46:16.400 --> 00:46:20.480
Watcher and dot COM's. We've got Chris Melman, who was
750
00:46:20.800 --> 00:46:26.360
on the podcast a couple of episodes ago, who's, as
751
00:46:26.360 --> 00:46:29.920
we mentioned, he's got quite a packed season so coming
752
00:46:29.960 --> 00:46:32.639
soon off competing on Bad ex Cell, He's moving on
753
00:46:32.679 --> 00:46:35.239
to this one. Another member of the dot Watcher team
754
00:46:35.239 --> 00:46:38.400
who we just mentioned, Middi Gibbons, has taken part in.
755
00:46:38.480 --> 00:46:40.960
This is a really big field, two hundred and forty
756
00:46:41.000 --> 00:46:44.199
five solos and thirty five lots of pairs.
757
00:46:45.119 --> 00:46:49.400
I think Chris Chris, as you mentioned, is probably a
758
00:46:49.440 --> 00:46:50.400
strong one to watch.
759
00:46:51.320 --> 00:46:53.920
I am just looking at the starter's list and I
760
00:46:53.960 --> 00:46:57.599
see Bruno Ferraro on the list, and I just want
761
00:46:57.639 --> 00:46:59.719
to give a shout out to him because we have
762
00:46:59.800 --> 00:47:01.559
died and some of the same events like North Kate
763
00:47:01.639 --> 00:47:05.280
Fourenty twenty nineteen and TCO twenty twenty two. I think
764
00:47:05.320 --> 00:47:08.360
he's the organizer for Seven Serpents and just a really
765
00:47:08.400 --> 00:47:12.000
lovely guy and pretty strong too, so I'm excited to follow.
766
00:47:11.719 --> 00:47:15.119
His diet and we've got seven serpents going on as
767
00:47:15.159 --> 00:47:17.760
we speak, which will come to in the next next
768
00:47:17.800 --> 00:47:20.119
episode of dot Coms. But yeah, I'm sure he'll be
769
00:47:20.199 --> 00:47:22.559
chomping at the bit to go and race himself after
770
00:47:22.920 --> 00:47:28.800
watching riders do his event. Well that's all for this time.
771
00:47:29.360 --> 00:47:31.159
We're keen to hear from me about which events you
772
00:47:31.159 --> 00:47:33.199
would like to see featured in future episodes. So if
773
00:47:33.199 --> 00:47:36.320
you're an event organizer think we've missed something that merits mentioned,
774
00:47:36.400 --> 00:47:38.840
then reach out to us at our Instagram which is
775
00:47:38.880 --> 00:47:41.920
at dot COM's Pod, or email us at dot Com'spod
776
00:47:42.000 --> 00:47:45.079
at gmail dot com. The next regular episode we'll be
777
00:47:45.079 --> 00:47:47.480
returning on the first Thursday of the month as usual,
778
00:47:47.760 --> 00:47:51.239
and we'll have another race show next month, but be
779
00:47:51.360 --> 00:47:53.960
sure to check out the event commentaries and dot watch
780
00:47:54.000 --> 00:47:58.480
it in the meantime. So, Nikki, you're doing Solfstede Sprint
781
00:47:58.519 --> 00:48:01.440
then in a couple of weeks apparently.
782
00:48:01.519 --> 00:48:05.280
So yeah, it's the third time I'll be doing this
783
00:48:05.440 --> 00:48:08.760
race and it's definitely going to be the last time.
784
00:48:08.880 --> 00:48:11.320
So it just seems to fall at a good time
785
00:48:11.360 --> 00:48:14.599
in the year and it is just two to three
786
00:48:14.679 --> 00:48:17.280
day things, so it was quite a nice adventure to
787
00:48:17.320 --> 00:48:20.079
go and do and route changes every year, so it's
788
00:48:20.119 --> 00:48:25.719
always it's always a new adventure as well. And I
789
00:48:25.800 --> 00:48:29.960
just really enjoy the whole community vibe and the whole
790
00:48:30.440 --> 00:48:35.599
atmosphere and start and the finish leam always goes to
791
00:48:36.360 --> 00:48:39.159
great extent just to make sure that it feels like
792
00:48:39.199 --> 00:48:43.599
a real party atmosphere at the finish. So yeah, I'm
793
00:48:43.639 --> 00:48:47.760
looking forward to that. That'll be screwing up scale if
794
00:48:47.800 --> 00:48:50.360
that's actually it's a week on Thursday now, so I
795
00:48:50.400 --> 00:48:53.000
need to start my stop tape pretty soon.
796
00:48:54.679 --> 00:48:57.519
They start training, start training.
797
00:48:58.960 --> 00:49:03.840
Some training in between the lostp one I won, but yeah,
798
00:49:04.039 --> 00:49:07.079
just a couple of weeks and then recovery train and
799
00:49:07.079 --> 00:49:09.840
then take again all in space for weeks.
800
00:49:10.599 --> 00:49:13.920
We'll look forward to following your dot there and making
801
00:49:14.800 --> 00:49:18.280
feeling confidence last few days of preparation for tour Divide.
802
00:49:18.679 --> 00:49:21.719
Yeah, I guess, so it feels very real. I'm excited
803
00:49:21.719 --> 00:49:24.119
to get back out there. And you know, one of
804
00:49:24.119 --> 00:49:27.119
the reasons I'm coming back is because it's just a
805
00:49:27.480 --> 00:49:30.760
really cool, epic route. I enjoy being out in the
806
00:49:30.760 --> 00:49:34.199
mountains and I think I'll get to see some parts
807
00:49:34.239 --> 00:49:36.920
that you know, maybe I didn't see at night before
808
00:49:37.000 --> 00:49:39.679
and and vice versa, and I look forward to kind
809
00:49:39.679 --> 00:49:42.800
of that, like palim sest of memories coming back to me.
810
00:49:43.239 --> 00:49:45.639
Some of the tour divide crosses with the trans Am
811
00:49:45.760 --> 00:49:48.119
route and that's an area I know from that race
812
00:49:48.159 --> 00:49:51.679
as well, and I'm really excited to be back in
813
00:49:51.719 --> 00:49:55.840
those places in Colorado and remembering my very first bike race,
814
00:49:56.000 --> 00:50:00.880
so ready to get up and get after it, even
815
00:50:00.920 --> 00:50:03.599
if that means flocking through the snow and mind.
816
00:50:05.559 --> 00:50:07.519
Well, we'll look forward to following your daughter, and I
817
00:50:07.519 --> 00:50:09.000
hope you have a hope you have a great race,
818
00:50:09.079 --> 00:50:12.360
a great time, and a great result. So thank you
819
00:50:12.400 --> 00:50:15.519
again to both and we'll speak to you again soon.
820
00:50:17.119 --> 00:50:17.960
Thank you guys.