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

I absolutely refuse to do any work until I've seen skinny though CP3 :-)

Quite interesting to see the top four all taking different routes to CP3 - didn't pay off for Ian methinks,,

live feed for skinny on now

Live of skinny's arrival

https://www.facebook.com/KinesisUK/videos/1678109815541812/

made ittttt..exciteddd

Skinny seems fresher than Bjorn, good sign!

yes skinny

Bam... He looks so fresh! Asking about food.

Apparently Skinny and Bjorn took a photo together :-)

Skinny looked way better than Bjorn. Bjorn could barely climb off the bike and then hobbled off for a coke.

Coke - wtf anyway?

Loving the ability to dot watch and then watch them arrive in real-time at CP thanks to Facebook live broadcast!

"...he's got a power meter on there, that'll make a huge difference for monitoring power"

I can't help but think, luck allowing, skinny has fucking got this.

^ Does anyone know if Björn Lenhard has any experience with distances like this?

From @frank9755 earlier in the thread:

"Bjorn Lenhard is 3rd, we all know about him since he not only finished first on PBP but broke the record time, riding unsupported against supported riders, and was close to Kristof at Cp2 last year before getting ill."

I know he was fastest at pbp and that's an incredible achievement.
But that's 1200km which isn't even a third of what he's riding know.
And I can't help but think that skinnys experience with TCR will come into play soon.

Thank you Mike and all who continue to make TCR happen for such EPIC entertainment.
This is far more exciting than any pro competition.

While it hots up at the front of the race, there are some interesting things going on further back.

Laterne Rouge appears to be Chris Davies #102. He is about to arrive at CP1 just south of Stutgart.

His daily breakdown is of particular interest:
Day 1
130.2 km
Climbing: 1630.0 m
Moving: 7.9 hours, 16.5 km/h
Day 2
117.6 km
Climbing: 1587.2 m
Moving: 7.1 hours, 16.6 km/h
Day 3
96.8 km
Climbing: 1107.8 m
Moving: 6.1 hours, 15.9 km/h
Day 4
164.4 km
Climbing: 1811.8 m
Moving: 8.9 hours, 18.5 km/h
Day 5 Still riding
107.8 km
Climbing: 1602.0 m
Moving: 7.1 hours, 15.2 km/h

He seems to be doing a steady 7-9 hours a day and covering between 100 - 160km a day. He has not yet to hit the mountains. At this rate he will take more than four weeks.

The great David Coulon, in comparison is a few places about Chris and nearing Vaduz.

Day 1
325.3 km
Climbing: 2127.6 m
Moving: 17.6 hours, 18.5 km/h
Day 2
152.9 km
Climbing: 1268.7 m
Moving: 10.2 hours, 15.0 km/h
Day 3
189.6 km
Climbing: 2014.8 m
Moving: 10.8 hours, 17.6 km/h
Day 4
124.4 km
Climbing: 1612.0 m
Moving: 8.6 hours, 14.5 km/h
Day 5
86.1 km
Climbing: 674.9 m
Moving: 5.1 hours, 16.9 km/h

Averaging closer to 160km per day but now in more mountainous terraine, David is making stronger progress, once again based on a schedule of ride; rest; recover; repeat.

I suspect that we shall see more of the slower riders scratching over the next few days as the terraine becomes more difficult and as injuries or mechanicals that have caused delay take their toll. I suspect, however, that David and Chris are riding to a pre ordained tempo and that, accordingly, we may be following them for quite some time.

He just won TransAtlanticWay in June too, that was 2500km. And he completed TCR last year last year after the aforementioned illness, albeit at a slower pace.

I think Bjorn is fierce competition, which will make skinny's eventual victory even more sweet!

Evidently, without Björn this would be significantly less interesting.

True, but let's not forget the unsung heroes of TCR5. I've just demolished pie'n'mash with a pint of Castle Rock Pilsner dotwatching and hitting F5 here. Sore fingers but a price worth paying for #doingmybit

#theyalsoserve #funemployment

somethingsomething @pastry_bot

Loving this, get in from work, read through 5 pages of news and then get onto frrt. much respect!

Both them having dinner together?!

Ha, yeah looks like it. Dots right on top of each other

I'm imagining skinny pulling alongside, having a 10 minute chat then giving it 'Anyway, must get a move on' and disappearing off up the road.

Yeah 19th from 14th. Now stuck waiting out storm.

Skinny and Bjorn have interesting route choice to get to Kosice. Longer valley route or cut the corner over the mountains...