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Japanese Odyssey 11.5 days of 13: Yusuke Ochiai reached the finish yesterday, covering 2,981km in 11 days and reaching each segment. Ryoji Nemoto, Sogon Yoon and Andrej Zaman are around 100km off the finish. Ryoji Nemoto hit every segment apart from number 2, the other two riders covered more Km's than Nemoto while missing out segments 5 and 6. Ochiai is being called the 'sleepless man' due to the fact that he didn't sleep much for two around 100 hour stints.
Yusuke Ochiai's sleep pattern:
Skinny's sleep pattern from TCR:
Ochiai was moving at a much lower average speed than skinny (17km/h vs 26km/h) and the conditions are obviously very different.
Yusuke Ochiai:
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If the weather is dry and >10c- bikepacking and/or gravel.
If the weather is wet or cold - road cycling with a base.
Mountains - yes please.I'll need to rent a bike and gear which is easier for road cycling I guess.
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Yes, not a race. His sleep pattern looked pretty full-on though, congratulations to him for finishing. How has the weather been during the last week? Same as you previously said? Can't have made riding those areas easy.
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Not that nice to bring things like this up, but wtf, Redbull Trans Siberia seems to be quite ridiculous, here's what Peter Sandholt has to say.
Not in English but use the translator. In short: “This is not a real race. This is a media race”. -
Thanks for the reminder I need to finish reading Adrian's race report.
Google Translate result:
It's been a week since I pulled out RBTSE. The thoughts have been a lot, and I am still very ambivalent about it. On the one hand, I am extremely annoyed that it should go as it did. On the other hand, I still think it was the right decision we made. I do Because of the many expressions and the support we have received from people who think we did the right thing. Especially people who know me have said that it could not be different. I'm still leaning up when the annoyance grows up. And that happens often. Over time, however, I am sure that the annoyance will be less. Forgive does not make it completely.First of all, I would like to briefly describe the events that led to the decision.
First of all let me start by saying that it's hardly ever been enough to know that I and the team from the start of the race had a hard time identifying us with the values of the race. We repeatedly pointed out to the leadership of the race that discrimination was taking place in terms of rule circumvention. Be it from hanging in its fence, lying in the back of follow-up and media cars, and not staying on a racecourse for example long queues. In the first case, the advantage is obvious, in the latter two it gives a clear advantage, as it is easier to break out in these ways. Similarly, the media's constant search for good pictures has compromised the safety of the riders. In many cases the media cars were only a few meters ahead of us on downhill runs, and with the poor roads of Russian roads with many deep holes, we would not have a terrible chance if we drove in one of them at 50 km / h. Likewise, the media cars did not pay attention to the other traffic when they drove on our often-busy roads right next to us to film us for long periods of time. Every time we have mentioned this to the race team, they have weighted the face of the race and either overheard our objections or told us that it was what we could expect from such an event. No warning has been given to riders or media people for these actions at any time.
When it came to such an extent that I felt obliged to withdraw from the race, it was due to an event where it simply became too much. An event among many previous ones, but where this would be the last nail in the coffin.
At the 12th stage of the race, the Russian rider, Shchebelin, sticks after approx. 6-700 kilometers away from our four-man group like a rocket from a cannon. We have three other chases, but Marcello quickly stops contributing. My thought is that he will hang on to the next foodstop and then continue while Pierre Bischoff and I will sleep. I will prevent and put an attack. Marcello can not follow, and I hope Bischoff will come up. He does. Then we start a cooperation and over the next few hours we set Marcello by 13 kilometers. Suddenly, Bischoff gets it bad and must take a break. I choose to wait just as he has been waiting for me. After half an hour, Marcello is one mile from us. I yell at Bischoff that there is a departure since I want to maintain the distance to Marcello and thus defend my third place over the course. We get on the bikes, but Marcello pick us up. He moves on in an attack and over the next three to four kilometers he is 200 meters ahead, obviously tired. We can not fail to approach him, and when we are 50 meters away, I tell Bischoff that either we will be behind or move now. He answers that he thinks we should take Marcello to the next food station about 20 kilometers ahead. "OK, nobelt," I think. "There are also 500 kilometers to reach yet." Nevertheless, I am amazed. At a break after a short break, we talk to the team that it was strangely run by Bischoff. I then drive over and confront him with the question of whether him and the running director have signed an agreement that Pierre will ensure that all riders come to Vladivostok. "Yes, little," he says, smiling. I can feel the fury rolling over in me. "Why should we wait half an hour at Marcello?" I ask without hearing the answer. I have already taken my bike and started to drive myself to the foodstop. Here we are met by a smiling running director who says "Great guys, did you bring Marcello too?". Here the film breaks completely for me, and I let my anger go beyond a few bottles that make trips to the ground. I feel robbed, like a doll in a staged race that is for commercial purposes.
I then choose to move on from the foodstation myself. Marcello tries to follow, but I quickly distance him. Pierre comes up to me after half an hour. We have a brief but heated debate. He believes he helps give the race a good reputation and spread the ultra-cycling sport. I think he helps to strike the race after the race management's interest and runs its commercial
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And it continues:
I think he helps to stage the race after the race management's interest and drives its commercial errand. He gets angry and gets up. I continue in my rhythm. I feel strong but also sad. Not over my exchange with Pierre, but I've invested so much in a run, which to me is a huge disappointment. As time goes by, the strength disappears and sadness fills more and more. I am disillusioned and the meaninglessness becomes slowly overriding. The same does it on the rest of the team.
Before the final decision to stop during the race, we discussed it thoroughly in our little tremand team. We had previously considered For the same reasons, for example, when two riders with a media car's help in the 9th stage caused an outburst and ended up reaching a goal almost an hour before Pierre and I. With the incident on this 12th stage, the cup was overflowing. It was all through a hard physical race, of course, of course, I turned back on myself again and again. Nevertheless, it was frustration and mental stress to be included in an event where the sporting aspect was overridden for commercial interests that fought the most. I did not feel anymore, with dignity I could stand as a finisher in a race that so contradictory represented the values that I think are important for sports; Fairness and equality. Likewise, I did not think I would invite my sponsors to be associated with an event that does not represent the values they represent.
Total summaries made a number of conditions difficult to be over. A Russian rider as a favorite in a Russian race with a Russian organization proved like a bad cocktail. And saw the fact that the three remaining riders in the remaining field were sponsored by the same sponsor, Hilton hotels, which also accounted for a huge sponsorship for the race. And in addition to the fact that Pierre Bischoff was drawn as a full-length drawstring with the same sponsor in the back. It has been difficult that many riders should provide under these conditions.
And what does it tell me about the race? Participants and organizers. Compared to the riders who repeatedly interfered with the rules, I am anxious. Because there is a weak running management, you do not have to take advantage of this. Am I mad at Pierre? No, neither. In fact, I consider him a close friend. He fulfilled a role of earning the run as best as possible. He played a game, a game I was not prepared for and I was not willing to join. After the race, I have been called "naive" by the team responsible; That I should have known that such an event would occur as it did. Firstly, I see the opinion as an admission; That the running board has compromised a fair run of the race to weigh the part. To me it is of the utmost importance that a race is conducted sportally correctly and not with commercial or commercial interests as the primary. And then I am aware that there is a difference between the spirit of sport (fairness, equality, etc.) and the creativity of sport (you are governed by the rules wherever you can), but the responsibility of each race management and management must be at all times possible To maintain the conditions for fair settlement. It did not happen. Either the blind eye turned or the weight of the race was weighted outwards.
Two events after the race have meant a lot to me. Suddenly, they involved the same man; A key person from film production. During the course of the race, I have had a strained relationship with him, as I mentioned, that the media goes too close to the riders and compromises security and pushes them unnecessarily hard mentally.
As I at one time drive myself and am most frustrated, a media car comes up on my side for an interview. In the car, this person and movies are sitting me while an interviewer asks me questions. I honestly say I do not like the race and the concept about it that it's not a clean run and that it's all too staged. After not saying anything but just filmed, the person finally puts the camera off, looking up at me with a crooked compassionate smile and saying, "I think you're right, Peter. This is not a real race. This is a media race ". Compassion was strange, the confirmation was not.
Later that evening, Mads talked out of my team with the person again. He comes to Mads and asks if I'm okay. Mads replies, that's me, but I'm out of the race. The person answers: "It's a pity, he was a real racer - the only one here". The statement is not to be understood as being the only "pure" breed, but that I was the only one who was back in the race, who was not there for commercial reasons. And that comment is worth me more than a third place in a race whose values I do not want to represent.
I talked to Pierre later. We did not agree with what best serves a competition like this one; His commercially oriented approach or my more "clean race" approach. However, it does not change that I still think he's a good guy, a friend and a great cyclist, definitely one of the best I've ever driven. But in this case he might be just professional enough to my taste ...
It has been very difficult for me to write this update. I'm still anxious, but I'm not bitter, and so I do not want to sound like that. I understand that RBTSE is a different event and a different bicycle race than I would normally participate in. That way, it can be said that there has simply been a bad match between what the race stands for and what I want To stand for. However, it has still been a great experience to participate in the course. Among the annoying experiences, I have also had many good. I always go to see new places and meet new people. I have seen a new continent, but most importantly I have met a lot of exciting and weird people, Russians as well as other foreigners. I will always take that as a great experience.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all who have supported me. It has meant the alien to me and the team. Also, thank you very much to the sponsors. Sometimes things do not go as expected. But it may also be in the cases you learn the most. I could write a lot about it, but it must be another good time.
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Why do they do the Trans Siberian in stages? From what I read it started out as one long race a few years ago. Kristof Allegaert didn't seem to think so highly of it in that recent IPWR film, or maybe I got the wrong end of the stick.
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A new race starting next year across Europe, north to south, Northcape to Tarifa.
About 7195km, 3398m Pico del Veleta, 2764m Col d'Iseran...
My first reaction was, that this is too similar to TCR, no point in organizing a race that already exists and is that good. But then again, this has its differences, it has a set route and it's longer. Really long and huge mountains. Andi Buchs is organizing it, he has participated in the TCR, TABR and IPWR. No entry fee. Doesn't seem to have that much organization or sponsors around it.
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Indeed, though probably most only want to do one race per year. And this race leaves so far north that there would be snow if it wasn't in the middle of summer. And if you travel further, Race to the rock starts in a few days I think, IPWR is (or at least was) in March and Trans Africa is in September 2018.
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You've seen this one?
https://www.terraustralisbikepic.com/ -
@CarlosBI is preparing another one on Spain for 15th of June https://www.facebook.com/laibericabikerace that is ~3500km
Checkpoints: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1F8yITK_w-MNr6O75pYAwxdQeH6A&ll=40.233023903625465%2C-3.926034999999956&z=7
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Yeah, there's always a close-up on his bike. His bumbag setup is quite quirky.