Transiberica Bike Race (Spain)

Not sure about where his tracker is. Hotel?

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.606313,0.6223442,3a,75y,219.99h,88.99t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sJWdBykO_60pMdDULMh1HLw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

No hotels there - food/drink places, hall of residence and a closed cinema. His tracker isn't updating and may be switched off. If he has decided to scratch, Lleida is an easy place for him to get home from (he's from Vic).

It looks like Josep has scratched.

Surprisingly the inland route seems to have been faster, while it has more climbing. Or it might just be Carlos. Anyway, he's slightly further than Omar now. They are soon at Pico del Veleta, Europe's highest road.

Some of the same roads we rode in NCT, but around where those two are now, our route went just between them, on a rather hilarious gravel track. Hope someone rides that now :D

Someone more experienced than me might shoot down this theory but the coastal route passes through a lot more towns and cities which can quickly slow down progress.
Personally I would be tempted inland as even the coastal roads wouldn't be the speediest if narrow and full of traffic.

Yeah, a lot more traffic and towns, but i would've expected it to be faster. The inland roads are very quiet and good, at least some of them, but slowish because hilly.

Omar seems a bit in trouble with his body/mind (source):

UPDATE: last hours was some of the worst I had to face. After the usual rest to eat something and rest, I felt sick and I had high fever. Maybe something I ate, or the big warm conditions faced during last days. Now I’m back on the road trying to go forward but I’m feeling really bad and without energies.
During last years I learned to fight in every condition but, at the same time, to respect my body. ..

But the problem seems to have started a day or so before, because neither at his tracker https://frrt.org/tibr2018/r/8-omar or his gps from strava https://www.strava.com/activities/1824601122 shows him reaching Pico Veleta... it stops and backtracks way before de last zig-zags 😕 (neither he has uploaded a photo from the summit like Carlos or Clinton has done)

But also, after struggling with a gravel road on the side of a highway, both his tracker and gps where disconnected and reappear at Guadix... 🤔

He says he did reach the top:

Omar Di Felice
Roger Coll Eroles is a GPS issue, I did 1.8 km on the sterrato but I completely lost signal and if you see my gps on the map is still on the top . Yesterday I lost signal a lot of times :-/

Does the official tracker show routes? Can't figure it out... And he doesn't have a time on CP2. Weird.

Most races work in a way that if your tracker data doesn't show you completing parcours/route you have to supply alt. evidence like a Garmin track or you're a DQ.

@CarlosBI on the home straight now.

Surprising how similar the routes have been. Maybe there aren't as many roads in Spain as, say, in France, Germany, England or Ireland?

He's mentally fixed to complete it under 10 days! If he doesn't blow his knees... I'll see him just before dawn (I'm in central Asturias).

About the roads... I don't have much experience riding in the south (of Cordillera Cantábrica) but you'll usually find a Highway and a "national" (bidirectional road well maintained) linking two major cities, and everything else is just poorly maintained/without curb or is just zigzagging across the map to link small towns.

Carlos has only about 200km left now.

Omar has had some troubles but is still second, but Clinton might pass him.

Sami is taking a different route to the coast.

What time did it start? He's on track for his 10 day goal then?

22:30 Sunday 02/09. If he finishes before 10:30 tonight - 10 days!

10pm on the 2nd, so yeah, 9 hours for the last 194km along the coast.

He'll do it in 10 days without problems 🙌 I said goodbye at Ribadesella and although he was struggling a bit with sleep depravation he was getting to known roads and that always gets you and extra boost.

Because of the tracker delay I missed which road he was taking towards me and we crossed paths... I had to sustain 36km/h to catch him!! (and because he stopped at Pola de Siero to have breakfast 😱) https://www.strava.com/activities/1836598915, on the aerobars he's really efficient (Omar doesn't have them 🤔... is this guy for real?)

No aerobars for 000s of km. No thanks.

He finished at 21:23 so presume that was either 7 mins or 67 mins early, depending on time zones.

Although @CarlosBI did sub-10 days, it took 9 stages:

Stage 1: 498km 4856m climbed https://www.strava.com/activities/1817274482
Stage 2: 392km 4828m climbed https://www.strava.com/activities/1820061983
Stage 3: 407km 2661m climbed https://www.strava.com/activities/1822404614
Stage 4: 250km 5042m climbed https://www.strava.com/activities/1824364117
Stage 5: 361km 2844m climbed https://www.strava.com/activities/1826426002
Stage 6: 327km 3907m climbed https://www.strava.com/activities/1828893531
Stage 7: 211km 2720m climbed https://www.strava.com/activities/1831479992
Stage 8: 312km 4040m climbed https://www.strava.com/activities/1833573928
Stage 9: 700km 7601m climbed https://www.strava.com/activities/1837635868

I'll try to see Omar passing today

Under 10 days anyway.

3.398km | +46.014m | 09d//23h//10m

According to the race's instagram

1200km without aerobars... sounds like PBP 😬

Omar just passed, he seemed with good legs but tired mentally, did only 10km with him as I had done more than enough endurance yesterday. Hope all the others also pass during daylight!

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Nice colour co-ordination. If only other ultra-racers were as thoughtful. :)

It's a lot further than PBP though isn't it?

wow, big numbers there.