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• #902
Why isn't he taking the D100 just parallel south of the O3?
1 Attachment
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• #903
Who's @banana_skid then?
Joseph Todd rider 89
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• #904
172km to go!
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• #905
Why isn't he taking the D100 just parallel south of the O3?
Because he's read the race manual?
"
Road Warnings...
2: E80 Towards Istanbul. From the Bulgarian border cycling is tolerated on this highway by
the authorities. Being wide and quiet with a good shoulder, it is actually a preferred alternative by many riders to the narrow D100. However as it approaches Istanbul it becomes a different story and the city traffic fills all lanes and attempts to overtake on the shoulder. In the city the road is also definitely a motorway with large concrete retaining walls, no shoulders and long fast slip-lanes and merging lanes and definitely illegal to ride on. Please do not ride any closer to Istanbul on this road than Lake Buyukcekmece. After this point, please see below.3: D100 in Turkey especially in the area of Silivri. Narrow and busy with large trucks that wish to avoid the highway tolls. Poor edges to road and high passing speeds. If you are routing into Istanbul from Greece in the west then make sure to leave this road and head North earlier rather than later.
Prohibited Roads
The Transcontinental uses only routes where cycling is legal. However on certain routes cycling is tolerated on some roads in some areas and not on roads in other areas, sometimes the same road, rather than being legal or illegal as such. The E80 from the Turkish / Bulgarian border into Istanbul is one such road and at the North West end near the border right up until one approaches the metropolitan area surrounding Istanbul cycling is tolerated. In fact for some the E80 is preferable to other roads for cycling on with its wide shoulder and relatively quiet traffic. In contrast however, by the time this road reaches the Bosphorus it is busy, fast and dangerous with high concrete wall sides and multiple lane traffic merging at high speeds. Here it is very dangerous to ride and most definitely illegal and not tolerated by local Police. The transition of where this road becomes too much to ride on is somewhat ambiguous so we are defining a point of tolerance after which it is prohibited in the race.
Riders must leave the E80 before or at the Mahmutbey Gişeleri toll plaza. Pedestrian exit routes are available here and it is an obvious landmark. This is a very strictly defined rule and any ride riding past this point will be disqualified without question.
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• #906
Speaking of prohibited roads, amazing the number of people that took the N56 between Lessines and Ath where bicycles are prohibited despite the race manual making a big note about this. Not sure if those riders were disqualified for riding on it, doesn't look that way. Bit harsh to DQ people within the first 15 miles.
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• #907
it all sounds a bit terrifying...
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• #908
For some, it might have been a kindness that would have saved them from the torture that was to come.
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• #909
Josh has quit the motorway at Gocerler.
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• #910
anyone not already following - Leo's got a great instagram https://instagram.com/leotong/
he's hoping to make Vukovar tonight -
• #911
Rider 124 crossed from Kosovo to Serbia.
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• #912
Total respect to him for doing #selfies4dimi3 in the middle of a bike race.
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• #913
It was pointed out at briefing too, in very certain loud terms. They deserved to be DQ'd.
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• #915
Just compared your Strava with my own puny efforts this past week. Could only console myself by the fact that I am probably twice your weight and more than twice your age.
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• #916
Yes flew here late yesterday. At my little flat. Wanted to go to the finish but I cannot move, my bodies shut down and I'm broken. My neck hurts a fair bit and I fell I went 12 rounds with tyson.
And ha thanks!
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• #917
So barring major disasters it seems safe to say Josh has it in the bag. Who do we think will be second though?
Alexandre Bourgeonnier seems the obvious choice, but Ultan is only about 100km from him and Jonas Goy and Robert Carlier seem like contenders too, although in this interview Alexandre says he's opted for a steeper but shorter and faster route instead of going through Greece, which is what they're doing:
http://www.velocoop.com/rencontre-avec-alexandre-bourgeonnier/#Hmm.
(Edit: forgot the link)
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• #918
The race for third is going to be pretty intense. Six riders are within 700 kms of Istanbul and all have some hilly terrain to navigate.
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• #919
I can only imagine :o
Amazing effort, I think you did the right thing, necks don't seem like something to be fucked about with. Hope you feel more human soon!
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• #920
Yeah it's wide open tbh, anything can happen, expecially given how broken they'll all be. Key is to keep eating and keep fuelled, fail to do that and it'll fall apart fast now.
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• #921
Ooof, sounds horrific. Heal the fuck up, and hope you can enjoy a bit of rest after all you've put yourself through!
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• #923
No idea why, but I find myself rooting for no.59 Ultan Coyle. I doubt he'll catch no.17 Alexandre Bourgeonnier, but he had a rough time early on and I'm impressed that he's still up there.
I'm also excited to see how our ferry folk get on after doing CP4 before CP3.
How many other forumers are left in the race? What are their user names and numbers?
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• #924
yeah it is!
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• #925
He's smashing it on a TT bike, he's my favourite too.
I'm used to riding TT bikes up and down A roads so..
gravel >>>