Final results and classifications can be viewed from our results section
LIVETRACKING OF THE RACE
1000 kms – 12 000m – 120h
Relive the race thanks to our livetracking, click here
RACE JOURNAL – UPDATED 05/05/22 – 05h00
CHECKIN (Saturday April 30th and Sunday May 1st)
The city of Faro welcomes on Manuel Bivar place, for the 4th consecutive year, the Portuguese stage of BikingMan Origine. The weekend is dedicated to meetings, equipment checks with the Race Angels, interviews on the Radio Cyclo set and pre-race briefing so that the adventurers set off on Monday in the best conditions.
Only a few hours left before the start of the 22nd BikingMan, the 4th organized in Portugal by Axel and his team. The reception of participants began yesterday morning. For the participants, arriving at the race village is always a special moment: after sometimes months of waiting since the decision to embark on an event of 1,000 km and 12,000 m of elevation gain, after hours of training, the inevitable questions about equipment, what to take on your bike (or not), doubts (am I capable of it or not?), and all the questions inherent in mental preparation for such an event, after a sometimes long trip to join Faro, the time has finally come for the first “real” exchanges with the staff and the Race Angels. We made it this time !
This is the time for reunions or first encounters. We discover the arch and all the decor specific to the event. The smiles, the advice, the little BikingManesque hive in a black T-shirt in full swing, always ready to help, inform, reassure.
For 72 of the 107 competitors at the start, it will be the first time. And this moment of discovery and sharing will undoubtedly remain etched in their memory.
The bike checks started yesterday will continue this morning. In the beginning of the afternoon, the adventurers will religiously listen to Axel for the pre-race briefing.
The tension, already present, will gradually rise as he speaks. Inevitably we will ask ourselves questions: weather, food, water, management of effort over time, first night on the bike or not?
The whole pre-race is made up of this delicious mix of motivation and fears. We want to leave because we’ve been waiting for this moment for so long… but we can’t help but ask ourselves questions because it’s a real physical and mental ordeal that awaits us.
Then it will be time to rest or chat again with the other competitors. Tomorrow, at 5:00 a.m., it will be the big start.
There will therefore be 107 participants of 14 different nationalities. The French will constitute the majority of the peloton with 59 representatives. Eleven Portuguese will play at home. Eight Brazilians crossed the Atlantic to reach Faro. 7 Belgians, 7 British, 3 Dutch, 3 Italians, 2 Irish, 2 Slovaks, a Spaniard, an Australian, a Swiss, a Norwegian and a Salvadoran will complete the line-up.
71 competitors will start solo. Among them, two women: Josien Vergroesen, a 33-year-old Dutchwoman who will participate in her first BikingMan Origine and the Frenchwoman Bérengère Staelens 13th and first female last year in the BikingMan AURA.
There will be 18 pairs at the start, including 5 mixed.
Solo, Marc Lalande will be the dean of the event with his 72 years, while Clément Clisson will once again be the youngest of the event with his 23 years.
The Brazilian pair made up of Felipe Leser and Federico Antelo (23 and 24 years old), will be the youngest in the event. The French Alain Giblaine and Claude Jegu (67 and 60) who are taking up the BikingMan Origine challenge for the first time will be the oldest.
If there is no age to get started, we can still take our hats off to our veterans. You have to dare to face these 1,000 kms. Don’t forget, as Jacques Barge would say: You have to manage!
After Romain Wartel in 2019, Laurent Boursette in 2020 then Benoît Merchez in 2021, who will get his name on the list of winners for the event?
Many new comers, we have seen it, and therefore necessarily a part of unknown as to a prognosis.
However, Clément Clisson, already twice winner (Corsica and Euskadi 2021) will logically be the favorite.
The experienced Cristian Auriemma (winner of the mythical BikingMan ”X” and 5th in France 2021 will undoubtedly be, for his 7th BikingMan, at the forefront.
Nico Faure, after a year 2021 full of joys (3rd in Corsica, 5th on the ”X”) and pain (scratch in France following knee pain and AURA) will also certainly be among the leaders of the race.
Finally, note the presence of Christophe Gingins, the swiss of the event, 8th in Corsica last year, which makes him a de facto candidate for a top 5.
It should also be noted that Marc Lalande and Cristian Auriemma will celebrate their 7th participation in Axel’s events while Nico Faure and Urbain Bernardo will compete in their 6th BikingMan.
Let us briefly recall that the race will include two checkpoints:
The first in Vila Viçosa after 341 km and nearly 4,700m of elevation gain.
Then head west to join and follow the Atlantic for 389 km and 3,300m of elevation gain. Direction the second CP in Sagres, the city from which the first Portuguese navigators left in the 15th century under the reign of Henry the navigator.
Finally, the third section will take competitors on a loop in the hinterland over 281 km and 4,000 m of elevation gain to reach Faro and the finishline.
The BikingMan Origin Portugal is 1,010 km of a course where you are generally always in gear. All former participants will tell you: we only go up and down. Numerous climbs dot the course, many of which are greater than 10%.
To this difficulty will be added the always essential parameter in cycling: the weather.
Even if we cannot yet really speak of heat in the summer sense of the term, we will no longer be in the winter temperatures that the participants have faced for a few months and the transition could be surprising. Watch out for heatstroke!
We expect around 15 degrees at the start tomorrow morning and the temperature should rise to 22/23 degrees between 3 and 5 pm.
The most important parameter will nevertheless remain the wind, generally oriented North-West and therefore unfavorable until CP1.
According to the sources at our disposal, the wind is given between 20 and 50 km/h. If we cannot be more precise, one thing is nevertheless certain, and that is that the competitors will have to fight against the wind.
We will try to come back tomorrow to give more details once the race has started and the information from the field has come back to us.
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Day 1
5:00 am in Faro, 103 athletes set off to cross the mountain range of the Algarve towards the fortified cities of the Alentejo.
From the start, the pace is set by Bertrand Berger who will lead a train to CP1 at almost 28 km/h on average over 341 km!
The wind at the start announces the extent of the effort of all the participants. A major race event of the morning, Justin (n°53) in a rogue curve, went off the road which cost him a collarbone and two ribs!
A breakaway is formed with a dozen riders including team Louis and Germain (n°88), the 2021 podium from Portugal Dimitri (n°52), Nicolas (n°40) and Denis (n°72).
During this time, the mechanics are put to the test on the dented route (derailleur, weakened cassette, body, etc.).
At mealtime, the breakaway slowly disintegrates as everyone enters their own rhythm to hold on against the invisible hill: the Portuguese wind.
3:16 p.m., Derek (n°43) is hit by a car trying to overtake him. No more fear of harm, the race marshal draws up a situation report in the presence of the Race Angels and the authorities who let him go again after having been able to repair his rear wheel.
In the center and at the back of the peloton, the wind is doing damage with early stops around 5:00 pm. to rest and above all bet on a calmer night wind.
Approaching checkpoint 1, the gaps narrowed at the head of the race to catch up with Bertrand (n°10) who arrived at CP1 at 5:35 pm. He is closely followed by Nico, Dimitri and Clément. This group of runners plan to fight tonight to reach the coast at dawn. The sunset is approaching and the temperatures are beginning to drop.
Some rain fell on the course but overall the participants passed between the drops. Make way for the night and the second part of the day!
The night at checkpoint 1 is calm. The rain arrives around 12:30 a.m. / 1:00 a.m. Derek #43 arrives in the rain to rest on a checkpoint mattress. Josien (#98) and Oliver (#54) who had taken a room for a few hours got back on the road around 3:30. Emmanuel (#34) arrives at CP1 without any break since the start, soaked and tired after 10:30 p.m. of effort.
“After what I just went through, it’s a sign from God,” describes Emanuel. The arrivals and departures of those who have made a stopover intersect. In the morning, dawn rises, the sun seems to want to break through. The race angels team is always on deck, with a smile on their face and a good mood always at the meeting!
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Day 2
The first participants join CP2 (km724) on the Pousada de Sagres at 9:00 am with Bertrand #10, still fresh despite the length of the cumulative effort and his intense pace. The short gravel section to access the checkpoint didn’t seem to scare him, quite the contrary.
In the middle of the race between the cities of Comporta and Evora as well as at the back of the pack in the Vila Viçosa sector, the cool temperatures surprised many participants. Everyone enters their race rhythm, it’s specific to the second day. No sleep, micro-sleep phase in bus shelters or comfortably installed in a guest house/hotel, the choice of strategy remains specific to each person.
Bertrand the leader is closely followed by his pursuers who maintain the pressure on the race leader. The sun has returned to the coast of Sagres and the powerful wind that characterizes this area is blowing again. As the race leader enters the last section of the course towards Monchique, behind the progress is made “all in management” despite the challenges specific to the course.
CP1 closes at 10:00 p.m. and there are still a few competitors trying to reach Vila Viçosa on time, including the team/couple of David and Laurence #1 and #2.
During this time at CP2, the first arrivals have significant signs of fatigue: hands and feet are put to the test. The heat that is coming in the afternoon in the heart of Eucalyptus fields and water reservoirs announces the color of the last challenges to face. The weather is supposed to change in the late afternoon.
A major race event, a storm broke out at km 910 and paralyzed Bertrand, who suffered from hypothermia. He was forced to take shelter for long minutes to warm up as Clément Clisson passed him and took the lead!
At 10:54 p.m., Clément Clisson won this stage by crossing the finish line in Faro! At 1:10 a.m. on May 4th, Bertrand Bergé. crosses the finish line, followed closely (only 8 minutes difference) by Florent Dumas!
Day 3
The red lantern of the race: the Laurence and David ABRAHAM team (bibs #1 and #2) is forced to retire at its arrival at CP1 due to unbearable knee pain. At the same time, Cristian Auriemma, serial finisher of the BikingMan, joins the finish line to finish his 7th with his own smile at each event. He is followed in the morning by the first team: Germain and Louis (#75 and 88) completes the course in 53h15m, that’s 17 hours less than the first team in 2021!
The challenges of ultra-distance accumulate among the participants with in particular digestion problems, sunstroke due to the heat and the management of sleep, which is always difficult to plan with the mandatory stops at the hotel or in the bus shelters to rest. All the participants have already traveled nearly 500 kilometers at the start of the day and have therefore all reached the Atlantic coast near the town of Comporta.
When the leaders cross certain sections of the course at night, the finishers pass by day and take advantage of the many atmospheres offered by Portugal with its isolated villages, its green colors and its hidden hills.
On the participants’ WhatsApp group, some share the morning tears from the effort and the difficulty of leaving every morning. The body and the bikes are put to the test, the fasteners of the bikepacking bags sometimes break following the vibrations caused by the degraded asphalt of Portugal. Both bikes and riders are suffering from the kilometers ridden.
At the end of the day, the tail of the peloton discovers the southwestern tip of Europe with the town of Sagres and its stunning sunsets. The joy and warmth of the #raceAngels, Néri, Amandio and Sophie, helps to close this third day for the participants who decide to stay at CP2 for the night.
At the same time, the middle of the peloton crosses the formidable last third of the route with the exploration of the Monchique park, its vertical percentages and its terrible asphalt.
The first female SOLO, Josien VERGROESEN, arrives in Faro, completing the loop in 61h43 and ranking 16th overall.
The finish line will take a break late into the night with increasingly emotional finishes as people gather to welcome their family/friends/favorites to Faro.
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