PBP - Who won?

[arvid]

That route was over 1240, don't care what the card was saying. All three riders i finished with had clocked 1240+

I did 1270.0km according to my speedometer. But that includes riding from my camping spot to the start and back(18.0km one way). I also did a 2.0km detour in Sizun to a camping place. I think that up to Loudeac the kms on the card and on my speedometer were exactly the same.

[vorsprung]

Seeing as John Warnock was DNF, who was the fastest Brit?

[jo]

Ultan Coyle (team Rapha) did a pretty speedy 54h05. Don't know if that was bettered though.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I think John Barkman was the fastest Brit, just over 51 hrs.

[zigzag]

John Barkman did a very fast 51h02 time. when i was riding with him he was wearing swedish jersey, so not sure if he rode for britain or sweden.

edit: sorry, duplicate with LWaB

[Wowbagger]

On Robert Gray's advice, next time I think I'll take a musette and bung in comestibles from the controls and eat them on the move. Won't go down the 100% supported route.

S'funny - every time I see that I think of this and wonder, "What good would that do?".

I think along the same lines. I'm pretty sure that when I was learning form Schumann's "Album for the Young" or some such, there were small piano pieces known as "Musettes".

[Andy Cox]

The rules clearly state that PBP is not a race so there cannot be a winner ...

I thought that too, but they clearly used the word 'race' in the post-departure safety announcements.  Semantic I konw, but I've stopped correcting people this time when they ask 'how was your race?'.

Andy

[zigzag]

i've talked to quite a few guys in 80hr group and many considered it a race.. i know it's not, but it's up to each individual how they see it. the german guy i rode with said "i want to finish as fast as i can".

[Cudzoziemiec]

On Robert Gray's advice, next time I think I'll take a musette and bung in comestibles from the controls and eat them on the move. Won't go down the 100% supported route.

S'funny - every time I see that I think of this and wonder, "What good would that do?".

I think along the same lines. I'm pretty sure that when I was learning form Schumann's "Album for the Young" or some such, there were small piano pieces known as "Musettes".

And there's this.

[Salvatore]

This blog gives an idea of what it's like at the pointy end of the peloton. A very different PBP to the one I rode. Neither is right or wrong - PBP obviously means very different things to (very) different people.

Cries of ’10 minutes! 10 minutes!’ went up. It was clear most riders wanted to stop for longer at this control, wanting the chance to change kit, grab more than just a few hurried mouthfuls of food, and in some cases benefit from a brief leg massage. Chris however had been warned to be wary of such truces – agreements would be made, only for a few to slip away early and unnoticed to build a sly lead. To be safe Chris kept his stop as brief as possible, and was back on the road first. 

[mattc]

A german rider (DNF) at my hotel was proudly telling me of a compatriot in a recumbent that blitzed round before most controls opened. Anyone have the details?

[Salvatore]

A german rider (DNF) at my hotel was proudly telling me of a compatriot in a recumbent that blitzed round before most controls opened. Anyone have the details?

There was a German on the campsite on a yellow fully enclosed recumbent like this (Christain Ascheberg?) who last year did 1200 km in 24 hours. He started in the 'free' 84-hour group, so had the whole field ahead of him. I jokingly asked him if was going to overtake the whole field, but he took it as a serious question and said he'd done the sums, and it wasn't quite possible. But he had looked into the possibility. I read a brief writeup by him on a German forum, and it didn't quite go to plan, but I see from the results he still finished in 47:42.

[MattH]

This blog gives an idea of what it's like at the pointy end of the peloton. A very different PBP to the one I rode. Neither is right or wrong - PBP obviously means very different things to (very) different people.

I looked at the second main picture in that blog (the B&W photo of the back of the rider)


And thought "Crikey, someones shot arrows into that poor guy's head and neck!".

[mattc]

I read a brief writeup by him on a German forum, and it didn't quite go to plan, but I see from the results he still finished in 47:42.

Hmmm. Sounds like the story grew in the telling somewhere...

[Von Broad]

I jokingly asked him if was going to overtake the whole field, but he took it as a serious question and said he'd done the sums, and it wasn't quite possible. But he had looked into the possibility. I read a brief writeup by him on a German forum, and it didn't quite go to plan, but I see from the results he still finished in 47:42.

Aerodynamics. Amazing. One shot past me on the flat between Loudeac and Tinteniac during a night section. It was like being over taken by a cruise missle. You could hear the noise of the air as it was being literally brushed aside. In the hands of a decent rider [certainly doesn't happen by itself], whatever they may lose in the hills, boy they compensate everywhere else.
I also see Hans Wessels was up his normal tricks of 55.30 hrs again.

[Frank9755]

There was a German on the campsite on a yellow fully enclosed recumbent like this (Christain Ascheberg?) who last year did 1200 km in 24 hours. He started in the 'free' 84-hour group, so had the whole field ahead of him. I jokingly asked him if was going to overtake the whole field, but he took it as a serious question and said he'd done the sums, and it wasn't quite possible. But he had looked into the possibility. I read a brief writeup by him on a German forum, and it didn't quite go to plan, but I see from the results he still finished in 47:42.

His tent was near to ours and we chatted to him a bit and had a good look at his machine.  His single chainring was 72T, with an 11-34 cassette and 26" wheels, giving him a 170" top gear.  He reckons that is not high enough and is intending to put an 84T on his next one.

I asked him how long he would take for a 40km (ie 25 miles) TT and he said about 35 minutes.  Also he breaks 100km/h most times he goes out for a ride. 

The machine is one thing but the skill and courage of the rider are amazing

[Salvatore]

Whatever you do don't say "Doesn't it get a little warm in there?". When a simple 'ja' or 'nein' would have sufficed, I was treated to a 15-minute lecture on the machine's aerodynamic and related ventilational properties. In German. All very interesting, but it was almost dark and I had to be up at 3 the next morning to ride a 1200.

He doesn't like twisty roads, preferring the Bundesstrassen back home. He said he'd also taken it on the Autobahn, and as someone pointed out, he could get away with it because no-one would imagine that it's really a push bike.

[MattH]

So, does it get hot in there?

[Salvatore]

So, does it get hot in there?

Nein.

[zigzag]

He doesn't like twisty roads, preferring the Bundesstassen back home. He said he'd also taken it on the Autobahn, and as someone pointed out, he could get away with it because no-one would imagine that it's really a push bike.

i wonder how they managed to get to controls which had long and twisty fenced entrance/exit with couple of short steep ramps on the way (e.g. loudiac). left their machines further out and walked?

[Oranj]

This blog gives an idea of what it's like at the pointy end of the peloton.

"A car overtaking the peloton had crossed back across to the right side of the road too early – the trailer it was pulling clipped the front of the peloton with one rider taking the full brunt of the impact (I later learned that the rider was able to remount and fix-up his bike to finish the ride in a still impressive 59 hours. This despite being almost entirely unable to walk due to his injuries by the finish)."

That's a reference to Flatlander's accident.

[Ian gaggiaport]

Slightly unrelated.
On my return from Brest at around 7pm while climbing the "Roc", I spotted two 80 hour riders (pink numbers) descending into Suzun.
What were they doing and how could they finish in time?
Any thoughts folks. 

[arvid]

Aerodynamics. Amazing. One shot past me on the flat between Loudeac and Tinteniac during a night section. It was like being over taken by a cruise missle. You could hear the noise of the air as it was being literally brushed aside. In the hands of a decent rider [certainly doesn't happen by itself], whatever they may lose in the hills, boy they compensate everywhere else.
I also see Hans Wessels was up his normal tricks of 55.30 hrs again.

Hans was sick at Brest and slept for 11 hours or so at Sizun. From what I understand he left at 6am on the way back on tuesday and finished 19 hours after that. His aim was a sub 48 hour time. Ymte had problems with his tendons. This didn't stop him from being off to home only 2 hours after he had finished and packed his tent though.

My camping had a couple of Dutch velomobiles... it looked like a saturday in a car wash the day before the registration.

[Simonb]

John Barkman did a very fast 51h02 time. when i was riding with him he was wearing swedish jersey, so not sure if he rode for britain or sweden.

He's down as riding for the UK. Cracking ride with an organised group.