Sitting in the shadow of the towering Peak Lenin, Checkpoint One at Topol Camp feels like a real refuge. At 3,600 meters, the yellow tents stand against the wind, the alpine lakes reflect the mountains above, and riders arrive carrying stories from the road. It’s just over 300 kilometers into the route, but already they’ve faced long hike-a-bikes, icy river crossings, and the reality of altitude. Some pressed on through the night, others chose to wait for safer water levels in the morning. For a few, sickness and fatigue turned CP1 into the natural end of their race. For most, it was a welcome pause — a place to eat, rest, and carry on. From Robin Gemperle, first to arrive, to Camila Guaritá rolling in with just minutes before the cut-off, the voices in this episode capture the contrasts of those first days. Relief, doubt, joy, exhaustion, and the little things that keep you moving forward. A Simon & Garfunkel song hummed on the trail, a pocket full of condensed milk, the warmth of a yurt, the simple pleasure of a hot shower. The road from here stretches into the unknown: several hundred kilometers of tarmac before the next major hike-a-bike, and the decisions riders make now will shape the days ahead. Riders featured in this episode: Andy Peterson - Cap 14Dennis Stegemann - Cap 55Leanne Bentley - Cap 116Tori Riemersma - Cap 200Thomas Quirk - Cap 194Robin Gemperle - Cap 165Alex McCormack - Cap 8Anatole Naimi - Cap 10Chris Burkard - Cap 69James & Kirsty - Caps 315 A&BSimon Petley - Cap 177Roz Osborne - Cap 171Anne Hutmacher - Cap 303AIgnacio Pellejero - Cap 86Johannes Santen - Cap 98Marius & Wililam - Caps 317 A&BMarlin Peterson - Cap 126Nat Anderson - Cap 319AKaren Jennings - Cap 107Guillaume Lallement - Cap 78Sami Sauri - Cap 174Camila Guaritá - Cap 30 Click here to Dotwatch the race Follow us on Instagram for daily visual updates Production and hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Music by Batyrkan Cover image by Stephen Shelesky Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex, Tailfin, Styrkr and Julbo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
