Looking for a competitive outlet after his rowing career, Phil Horton (Blue, 2020) found perhaps the ultimate contest of mind and body, ultra-long-distance cycle racing. After completing a number of races including Ireland’s Atlantic Challenge, Horton singed up to race the Transcontinental Cycle Race, a 4000km unsupported epic, where racers plot their own route from Belgium to Greece, passing through 4 mandatory checkpoints on their way to the finish.
Racers have 14 days to finish the course,, which was completed first by Austria’s Christoph Strasser. Dealing with punctures, wild animals, and some fairly epic weather, Phil’s first TcR saw him finish 19th in the men’s category in a race of attrition where well over 1/3 of the field did not complete the course due to conditions, mechanicals, or simply not making the time cutoffs.