The Transcontinental Race 2013

[Aperitif]

"Rimas, come back here at once!"
Can't trust these youngsters nowadays. Looks like he's heading toward Leibnitz...maybe it's the first instance of a 't' being dunked in a biscuit?

 

[jugglingphil]

I think there's an arrest warrant out for him in Solvenia, so has to go round the top.

I was just wondering if he was deliberately avoiding Slovenia

 

[ianrauk]

I was just wondering if he was deliberately avoiding Slovenia

He's in Slovenia now.

 

[StuartG]

Rimas has a curious set up. As said it's a single chainring and then iirc an 8 speed block with cogs of his own choosing. It looks a little strange but with Rimas on it, it goes very quickly for a very long way!

Travelling a long way in countries you don't know well and often far from any population centre ... isn't mechanical simplicity and robustness something to go for? Avoiding mechanicals has to be a major part of the strategy. Shedding some extreme gearing may be a price worth paying - even in the Alps.

Be interesting at the end to review the winning bikes as well as the riders and routes.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

He's in Slovenia now.

But is he? It really looks like he's vetoed Slovenia and has just headed north east from Leibnitz.

 

[ianrauk]

But is he? It really looks like he's vetoed Slovenia and has just headed north east from Leibnitz.

Depends which tracker you are looking at

Edit: Yes, he has gone north east.

 

[frank9755]

Wierd: I have him no-where near there, on either tracker. Can you give a link to that one, Ian?
If he is going North East, what on earth is he doing?

Wherever precisely he is, I fear he is starting to tire! Others are going relatively better than him, with longer breaks and higher average riding speeds. The three he has been with the past few days have now got ahead. I expect the lack of any measurable amount of body fat is hampering him: he simply has no reserves to draw on!

Meanwhile, Ed Pickup has been overtaken by James Jordan, but I expect EP will pass him again shortly. He's been going so well all along.

 

[rich p]

This shows Rimas in Austria I think!
http://trackleaders.com/transconrace13i.php?name=Rimas_Grigenas

so does this
http://trackleaders.com/transconrace13

 

[HaloJ]

Yup Austria for me as well and always has been. I think he's avoiding the former Yugoslav countries in their entirety opting to go through Hungary and Romania. Percentage wise I actually think the route he's heading is the flatter one.

 

[ianrauk]

Wierd: I have him no-where near there, on either tracker. Can you give a link to that one, Ian?
If he is going North East, what on earth is he doing?

Wherever precisely he is, I fear he is starting to tire! Others are going relatively better than him, with longer breaks and higher average riding speeds. The three he has been with the past few days have now got ahead. I expect the lack of any measurable amount of body fat is hampering him: he simply has no reserves to draw on!

Meanwhile, Ed Pickup has been overtaken by James Jordan, but I expect EP will pass him again shortly. He's been going so well all along.

It's the leaderboard Frank.
This one

 

[rich p]

I think he's heading for Vienna!

 

[frank9755]

He

Yup Austria for me as well and always has been. I think he's avoiding the former Yugoslav countries in their entirety opting to go through Hungary and Romania. Percentage wise I actually think the route he's heading is the flatter one.

He said on the first page of this thread that he was going through Croatia + Serbia. Im on my blackberry now so cant check back to see if he gave any clues on slovenia!

I've been getting austria on leaderboard too

EDIT He did say he'd go through Slovenia

the route will take me through france, belgium, switzerland, italy, austria, slovenia, croatia, serbia, bulgaria and turkey (about 3260km total)

 

[frank9755]

It's the leaderboard Frank.
This one

It's showing Austria now

 

[frank9755]

If he carries on in the same direction as the last 50km he'll hit Lithuania. Maybe he's had enough and is going home?

 

[StuartG]

It is instructive to checkout the speed & time plots at the bottom of these pages:
http://trackleaders.com/transconrace13i.php?name=Kristof_Allegaert
http://trackleaders.com/transconrace13i.php?name=Rimas_Grigenas

Kristof is just a machine ploughing on with regular short breaks at approaching 30 kph, In the last day or so it has only slightly declined but the guy is still going so strong only an incident is going to stop him. He is a tank!

Rimas, by contrast shows a steady decline in performance and spasmodic breaks. It might seem he has changed his regime and is now taking longer breaks with a consequent improvement in speed. It could that he suffering some mechanicals which are overiding his physical performance however. There is not the same rhythm as Kristof.