Transcontinental Race (London - Istanbul) - #TCRNo4

I completely get it with twitter/instagram interactions. The whole race is about self sufficiency and doing it on your own. Having people point out potentially game-changing hints, tips and information you couldn't have even guessed at otherwise is going to diminish the sense of individual, personal achievement. And tbh, if a rider has access to twitter they've also got access to Sheldon and the rest of the internet. Any mechanical/routing/resupply problems are googleable.

@hippy from 3:19 on multiple takes https://youtu.be/9gdi0EpmocM?t=199

Neil philips is doing really, currently climbing on albulapass, such a lovely pass with the train line hovering over the road

So the leader yesterday did just the 15000m of climbing........

FFS!

He's an unrelenting cycling machine! He's stopped for a total of 3:35 since Friday night and looks like he'll easily make CP3 today.

And just noticed Carlos is now in second on the map! Super strong performance so far from forumers!

What. The. Fuck.

Clearly a robot.

That is an eye-watering figure. I can not imagine it in a single day - about the highest climbing/distance figure I have ever done in the big mountains is 6700m in 190km and that was a hard day.

Amazing and utterly inspiring.

So the UCI check for engines in bikes but no one has thought of checking for an engine in a rider.

I'd need an IV bag of liquid modafinil to stay awake and functional that long, and even then...

Terrifyingly strong riding.

Jesper Sorensen is almost back to the start.

David Coulon has topped the Puy de Dome.

He's going to be pissed off when he realises his Garmin's upside down.

Hippy on the Furka Pass. That road looks awesome, hope he's recovered enough from yesterday to enjoy it. Also good to see Skinny back up and flying, hope he is enjoying suburban Berne.

I don't think his stopped time is reflecting accurately, if you have a look at the Speed vs Time graph lower on the page, he's had 3x 4-5hr breaks...

Furka Pass is where Goldfinger was filmed, looks superb. It's a shame Switzerland is so expensive.

That makes much more sense. Thanks. He'd be hallucinating like there was no tomorrow if he'd only had 3 hours sleep in as many days.

And populated by wankers.

Team 210 are down to one man. George will continue solo after Duffy had to scratch with Achillies injury...

There is that aspect. I once spent 3 months working in Zurich.

Hats off to these riders. Bonkers.

I spent a year there. Was told by one of my Swiss colleagues that the Swiss never made any effort to be friends with foreigners as they'd be leaving at some point.

^ That's hat my Austrian grandad said about the Swiss when he lived there in the 60s.

Luckily I'm a wanker too and that's why I'm probably moving there.

@hippy is over the Furka and descending towards Andermatt now.

No news on his gooch.

#goochwatch

Just watched that with my 3 year old daughter. Her comment was "Why is that man eating a banana really slowly?".