Transcontinental Race No. 5 - TCR5 - #TCRN05 - 2017

The leaders are doing a bit that was on my route last year, brings back memories.
In particular, as my ex comes from one of the towns where Geoffroy is about now, and I hallucinated that I saw her crossing the road in front of me.

https://twitter.com/JamesMarkHayden/status/892042911252086784

James Hayden‏
@JamesMarkHayden

Looks like I'm the only one going Slovenia. Wonder who'll arrive at @transconrace cp3 first!? 😆💪🏼🚴🏼 #tcrno5 #tcrcapno75

Yeah, that's what I wondered.

Edit: ^missed that, thanks.

I assume he wants to cut out the mountainous bits of Austria by going through Hungary.

Maybe, but skinny is such a strong climber he usually takes the direct route. It looks surprising, the road the others are on is a fast one.

Its flatish past Trieste and gently undulating to Maribor where you can swing up to Austria or pan flat across to Hungary, driven various ways across that region many times. Could even swing up past bled to Austria and its good roads along mountain valleys.

Hope he likes it hot if going through eastern Slovenia and Hungary, had some miserable, still, airless, sweltering days on the plains

Interestingly, if you put monte grappa to poprad (near cp3) into Google maps, the walking route takes you through Slovenia and Hungary.

This is about to get really interesting (even more so)

I think Skinny is going through Slovenia as it covers a lot of his TCRno3 route where he went along the Danube to checkpoint 3.

Yep, @skinny deviating from the others' routes. Am sure he knows what he's doing.

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Interesting.
But it's surprising that he has gone so far south, off a fast road, even if he's heading for Slovenia. Last year, when heading for the southern tip of Slovenia neat Trieste, it was a no-brainer to stay on the road the others are on!
EDIT but that was starting from slightly further east, so maybe not relevant, I'm sure he has researched his route!

This is Skinny's 2015 route. He could be aiming to follow this.

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Fucking bike paths in Germany and Austria. They just love taking you miles along the tarmac then BOOM, gravel.

#MAKEGRAVELGREATAGAIN

I wonder if modan and co. are determined to take the hilliest route possible. They haven't even got to CP1 yet and are currently in the hills somewhere above Pforzheim. They went straight through the Pfälzer Wald, too, like Geoffroy.

A German guy at CP1 said that of course the German gravel was superior to other gravel

Karen Tostee is now quite far behind Melissa Pritchard (hippy's not far behind MP). She seems to have lost ground by not taking the Brenner (obviously perhaps because of the storm, too).

No, after Brenner took bike path out of banned road paranoia and shot down hill away from my route. Spent ages trying to punch Garmin into life

Björn gone to bed at last?

Cap 23 Dalgas seems to be following skinny's lead.

Don't think so... my tracker updated 6 mins ago and he still looks to be on the move (arriving in Pontebba)

Hmm, when I last checked it had faded and was saying last updated 46 minutes ago. Microsleep?

I think that means that the tracker just hasn't updated in a while... sometimes it goes grey (presumably because of low signal) and then suddenly jumps forwards a bunch when it reconnects.

People questioning Slovenia has got me 🔥🔥🔥 up. Time to race 🚴🏼💪🏼💪🏼

@skinny just now

Good shout, he's on the same stretch of road currently.

Ian To hitting up the same southern route?

Liam seems to be hunting out and enjoying the gravel https://www.instagram.com/liamtglen/