The eighth edition of the Transcontinental Race was a long-awaited race. I was pretty sure that it will be my most important event of the 2022 season. In January when I started my structured training I was aiming to be in my best possible shape for the start. Working hard through the winter brought me a lot of confidence in my fitness and I was counting the months and days until the start. Unfortunately, when the time came I was done. At last, that was how I was feeling. Two races before TCR injured my achilles tendon, and I didn’t have enough time between them to recover, so on the registration day in Geraardsbergen, I was already having my kinesio taping put on, and I was hoping that the pain won’t develop later on.

So there I was, at the start of the most exciting race of the year with a bunch of the strongest ultra riders in the world. I knew that I have been racing too much earlier this year, and I was worrying if I’ll be able to push as much as I could and would want to. It wasn’t an ideal mindset. Luckily I had a lot of conversations with myself beforehand about that whole situation, and I was super happy anyway for the racing that I had before the TCR. Both RAF and APN were big succes for me and I was feeling good with what I had. I agreed that I’m not here anymore to win the race, but I’m here to make it unforgettable. I set a personal goal, of 10 days, to be at the finish in Burgas for my wife’s Magdalena birthday, and I was going to hold on to it!

Having the experience that I have, makes the whole thing a little bit easier, and I knew that to achieve such a big goal, I had to make the small goals happen along the way, so the first one was to start with the front and keep the gap the smallest possible. I knew that I will not be able to race against Urlich or Adam to the first CP, but I also knew that I could be close enough, to keep the pressure on them. And that was the small general plan.

When I arrived at the start line I quickly moved to the front. The atmosphere was awesome, and it was an amazing feeling. When I first was here in 2017, I knew nobody. Now, 5 years later, I could see friendly and well-known faces all around me. Such an incredible community that is.

We started our neutralized loop around town, where I was holding with the front. I wanted to make the Muur climb fast, not in the crowd of other riders all around me, and so I did and we were off. I couldn’t wait for when I’m finally alone on the road. It happened quite fast, long before Brussels and this was the sign for the Transcontinental no8 to start for good.

The first night was all about leaving Belgium, the Netherlands, and all the places where there were cycle lanes. I generally don’t like them and drivers don’t like it when I don’t use them, so they create an obvious conflict. I rode through Brussels crossing some roadworks along the way. Wasn’t happy with my progress but I was trying to not think about it at all yet. I only repeated to myself: this is a pretty long race, just take your time, and find your rhythm.

Setting myself into a mood like that I went through the first night all right. Few closed bridges, one express road, and some roadworks that I had to detour, but generally it wasn’t that bad. I was happy to be in Germany in the morning and after 330 kilometers I had my first planned petrol station stop. I did resupply with snickers, drinks, and sandwiches, ate a few doughnuts for breakfast, and after less than 15 minutes continued towards central Germany.

Lower Saxony was beautiful. I took a lot of small local roads, where I probably did some more climbing than the others, but the traffic was nearly none, which I enjoyed after a morning busy time around Dortmund and Dusseldorf. The heat did strike hard after midday. It was my bet to not take care of water in that area, and I paid for it feeling super tired and dehydrated in the afternoon. When I got to Gottingen, the weather changed, but I was already a little broken there and had to stop for a short break at McDonald’s. I was pretty lucky anyway, as, by the time when I was enjoying ice and milkshakes, the huge storm passed by with hail, tuner, and lightning. The same fast as it came it disappeared, but from that moment I had to be extra careful because I could see thunderclouds all around the horizon. I had three more storms above me that evening. Each time had to stop and wait for it to clear because the lightning was real, and I didn’t want it to get me while I’m on my steel bike. It was frustrating but when I looked around from the Ohm hills that I was crossing there, I could see the little stormy clouds everywhere around and I was sure, that this thing didn’t happen to me only, but also to lots of other riders.

Controlling the lightning situation, and checking where it is happening and where is it going gave me some entertainment while I was entering the second night of the race. Instead of getting upset about it, I was having fun chasing the weather. The night came and the sky cleared. On km 700 I had my second planned resupply petrol station stop from where the plan was to shoot straight to CP1.

Riding through Saxony was another different part of Germany and also the best part of it so far. In the morning I felt super sleepy so just before Chemnitz, I took a 5 minutes power nap on the side of the road. It helped, and after this last bigger German city, the real mountains finally started. That was what I was waiting for since the start, the Ore Mountains to cross, then downhill into Litvinov and the long-awaited Chech Republic. It was super nice to be there, as it felt nearly like home and I was also happy with my time and progress.

I stopped quickly just before the parcour and refilled my water bottle with Kofola. The initial plan was to have a big meal at the control point, and then continue to Litoměřice, but when I arrive at CP1, around 12:00 PM (1D, 14H, 22M), the restaurant there was super busy, and I would have to wait too long for food. I pleased myself with two more big Kofola jars and Horalky.

CP1 was a great place to have a short break. A few of my friends were there which was a real surprise. Paul from Dresden (RTPL veteran), Kosma (strong Polish ultra cyclist who I was racing a lot at TCRno7), and Tadzio (an RTPL photographer). It was great to meet them and get a good shoulder tap on the way. I also exchanged a few words with Anna (race director) and was ready to go. I arrived there as sixed and was happy to have only one and a half hours lost to the leader. My „small general plan” worked, and now it was time for another one. But before it would happen, I had to finish the second, more difficult part of the parcour. I was riding for nearly 40 hours already with only one 5 minutes nap, and I was sure that what I needed now was to have some sleep before the third night’s sleeping monster will get me.

I rode through all the parcour without any additional brakes. Wasn’t fast, but wanted to have it done before the dark. On the way, while climbing all the 15-18% slopes one after another I booked a room in Litoměřice, Czech city at the end of the parcour. I got there just before 6PM and went straight to the hotel. It was a nice place looking like a little manor with a restaurant. The owners were super nice. I ordered a big food that was brought to my room while I was having a quick shower. I did put my Di2 into charge, ate food, set my alarm for 8:45 PM, and fall asleep naked, like a baby. Such a great feeling that was after 975 kilometers. At 9PM I was already back on the road, and that felt even better.

To be continued…

Check my TCRNo8 ride on RwGPS > here <

Cover Photo: Charlotte Gamus, The Transcontinental Race