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Inspiring riders

About the Dolci

Overnight report Sunday

Podium Action

Women's update 23:00 Friday night

Who is Guido?

And they're off

Pairs' field

Men's field

Guido Toscanelli Franklin

Justinas Leveika

Alexander Kopp

Manuel Truccolo

Sebastian Sarx

Loic Marin Lamellet

Hannes Meyle

Christian Holweck

Axel Brenner

David Geraci

Adrien Liechti

Simon Geiser

Rémy Girardin

Lukas Franciszkiewicz

Nathalie Schneitter

Sébastien Glauser

Jana Kesenheimer

Nathalie Baillon

Pascal Röhm

Linda Farczadi

Jona Riechmann

Matthew Clarke

Nathanael Zweifel

Sophie Jail

Simone Eder

Adam Palin

Max Riese

Pascal Mayor

Jean-Martin Wiederseiner

Beat Hausmann

Raphael Ottiger

Chiara Herbener

Denise Vorberg

Pablo Wünsch Blanco

Christopher Hirtz

Nicolai Morawitz

Robert Natau

Nicole Scheidegger

Nelia Puhze

Michele Miani

Grischa Flaving

Luke Bertolini

Debora Seger

Manuel Näf

Anastasia Stiel

Eva Parascandolo

Benjamin Langgut

Kristoffer Ringler

Karin Weyermann

Emma Jones

Sabina Müller

Thomas Quirk

Caroline Roehrl

Adrien Thuillard

Alain Freddi

Michal Fok

Daniele Fonelli

Adriano Spiccia

Auri Teinilä

Patrick Doupe

Laurie Charron-Lozeau

Rebecca Loaiza

Eric Weber

Robert Strom

Jenny Troxler

Helen Bindels

Jule Caya Gläser

Pamela Schartau

Audrey Senn

Pascal Glauser

Rachel Mortimer

Alejandro Tristan

Melina Metzing

Wendy Ellis

Liz Zimmer

Melissa Gewiese

Nicole Mendoza

Emma Pooley

Leona Kringe

Helen Rendich

Henriette Lauridsen

Roger Stalder

Katharina Seidel

Annet Baken

Matteo Steiner

Juliane Bötel

Nick Becker

Andy Buchs

Julie Harster

Jean Gringet

Media Jonas /Andrea

Media Tobias / Andrea

Ben Lerch & Daniel Hofstetter

Chris Thomas & Sam Thomas

Hannah Fehrle & Martin Moritz

Loïc Tosco & Ludovic Vienne

Simi Ernst & Denise Morf

Marc Egger & Remo Wild

Ellen Martin & Nicole Albrecher

Charlotte Brandt & Mathias Jäger

Lea Hamberger & Caroline Pommerening

Madeleine Bähr & Christian Zeman

Gabriele Larghi & Roberto Forni

Marco Billstein & Stephan Deininger

Fernando Sanchez & Laura Nicolini

Anita Gehrig & Caro Gehrig

Leona Knüsel & Eleonora Balbi

Anouk van den Bielerd & Gijs Derksen

Christine Pietsch & Urs Pietsch

Laura Nagel & Samuel Rade

Yves Wyckmans & Laura Delnevo

Dominik Süsstrunk & Justine Burkhalter

Andreas Signer & Verena Hoppe

Chloé Epinat & Eva Günther

Melina Borgmann & Roxy Derr

Camille Rahier & Sophie Rahier

Sara Bukies & Ursina Bentele

Nicola Stäubli & Manuel Kress

Lillie Rumpf & Alain Rumpf

Thomas Martinus & Noémie Hattich

Chiara Donauer & Raphael Gassmann

Dimitrij Itten & Robin Füglistaller

As the last riders make their way to the castle with the party getting underway at 3pm, this will be my last post for the event. It's been a blast.

Serious Dotwatchers, or perhaps we should call them DotScrutinisers are drilling down into the tracks of various riders. Weeding out those who are avoiding doing the Deadends and pushing through, sometimes, unridable terrain.

It was a trend started by __Pablo Wünsch Blanco__ of Auslandria - a local riding group in Basel, know for hardcore rides through the dead of winter and fast paced Wednesday rides which cause the eyeballs to bleed. Looking for the less obvious ways to tackle the ride, their routes are often a challenge.

The Race Heatmap shows some very interesting tracks and one couple are making a serious attempt at not riding of the same piece of road or path twice. In my rough analysis of the ride, I thought it would not be possible to do this at this time of the year,  it turns out I was wrong. There is a Swiss Topo map available online, offering a variety of options for finding trails - cycling, mountain biking, snowshoeing, hiking -  it seems different folk have selected every option from the topo map to complete the Dolci.

The Party starts at 3pm today, so those riders still out on the course will be making their way back to HQ to get their last slice of Dolci before the Risotto party starts. It’s a slick operation here and when you have the right people behind the scenes then it all runs smoothly complete unnoticeable by the riders.

In addition to Domi, there is Stefano and Marco. - I should have give Domi a proper introduction before - [Dominik Bokstaller](https://www.instagram.com/denk_an_den_kuchen/). Dominik works for the Tour de Swiss Rad AG, manufacturers of bikes and eBikes. He founded a music festival 20 years ago which he volunteers at currently and many of the volunteers at Dolci come from this network. But without Fran, this would no be possible, with a day job plus the Cake and Dolci events, time is limited for Domi. Fran is a one in a million. 

Stefano and Marco run BikePort Ticino, offering a bike renting enterprise for corporate team building events, bike guiding which requires certifcation in Switzerland along with consulting on trail building. Their expertise shows in the choice of check points, permissions for the race and the closed road start.  

But most importantly,  if you want the best Pizza, ask Stefano, the same for coffee. A discarded pizza box becomes the next order list for another round of pizzas. The order is place and 30 minutes later a large stack of pizzas are delivered up to the castle. Riders pay individually and the process starts again as the next batch of riders arrive. To accompany the pizza, fridges in two marquees host a range of non- and alcoholic drinks. Don’t forget the much needed coffee. I took an espresso yesterday afternoon, the flavour rocked me - it had this charming fruit flavour without a single bitter note. In addition to bringing Pizza joy to riders, Stefano is a geography teacher. For his students’ lesson on Friday, they were given the map of the check points and got to watch the film from Deadends and Cake. 

The charm of an organised event with volunteers rings loudly through the stories brought back to race HQ. Relaxing in deck chairs, old and new friends hang around chatting, swapping stories, while commenting on other races happening at the same time. You can feel the community, I’m not taking about the riders,  but the volunteers  - they’ve been doing this for a number of years and their passion for making a check point run smoothly and with a large dash of fun, may not be so obvious to a weary cyclist, but sitting on the sidelines and watching all the messages in the WhatsApp group - they are the soul behind the ride and I can see why Domi needed to filter through over 700 applications to select the 150 who were able to come and experience not just the Ticino but the Swiss ability to make things run like clockwork. Ah come on, you should expect me to throw this phrase in at least once when commentating on a Swiss race. 

In addition to clocks, one other thing the Swiss are amazing at - obviously chocolate and cheese are a given here - is the ability to tunnel through rocks. Getting to the Ticino form the north requires at least one tunnel journey in the winter months where the passes are closed to snow, with the Gottard taking the record for the longest and deepest tunnel in the world, it spans 57km. But the reason I’m talking tunnels is because this is how the pizza is delivered to the castle - naturally it sits on a rocky outcrop, overlooking the valley, with the town of Bellinzona skirting its majestic heights.

I don’t envy any organiser who is tasked with the job of telling a rider their name wasn’t drawn from the hat. As word gets out about Dolci, it might be more than 700 for next time and if you’re paying your well earning bikepacking dollars for a race, this one is worth the investment.

It’s easy for the eye to be drawn to the names we know in the sport. But the heart of bikepacking is about new people joining and doing something beyond what seemed possible. Be that riding through the night for the first time, bivving or sometimes just riding alone. Many come to the sport for different reasons, but one thing is for sure, the welcome is always enormous and I’m always delights to find someone so new to the sport.

Jenny Troxler is just this person. A Mountaineer who found herself on the bike again in autumn last year after a mountaineering injury kept her off the rock faces. She pulled out her old mountain bike to keep active and at a 100km Brevet on the mountain bike - she was on the MTB - the person in the parking space next to her help her find second hand road bike. Hearing about Dolci via a friend, she signed up and starting using the road bike in late autumn.

Dolci was her first bikepacking event, the bags on her bike were acquired last week and riding a 31 tooth cassette at the back, she headed up to the check points. Planning a sleep the first night in an AirBnB was meant to offer a good night sleep, however sleep escaped her, so the following night the bikeparking shelter at a local train station provided some overnight shelter for a short spell of sleep. 

The only rain on the ride proved a perfect time for a large nail to embed itself in her tyre and without shelter she was fixing the puncture in the rain. Despite all of this, she arrived at the finish line as the first rider on Sunday morning. When you think of the challenges we face on a bikepacking race, they are nothing compared to mountaineering trip, so bringing this past experience to the race is a valuable tool for a bikepacker.

The make up of the field was a combination of experience riders, but also many novice riders, for whom this was their longest distance ridden and this also included the women’s winner Nathalie Schneitter.

Long may the new riders keep joining. It’s inspiring.

I was also happy to chat to Jenny, she gave me the perfect visual Dolci review, which I've nicked off her Instagram.

![all the dolci](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6ygLbsqJbbUJUEu76riIZn/c786922733245b978fec08be5894bb40/image.png)

Plus the missing one from the above collage...

One additional rider to mention is Leone, she started late in the race, in the rain and is making her way back from the most southern check point. 


Cake at 5 check points and the finish line for 150 is no mean feat. But outsourcing the baking is a great idea and it supports local businesses. All the cakes were baked by the small businesses at the check points and the variety of styles kept riders happy, perhaps the most talked about were the ones you need to self-fill from a choice of ‘creme pumps’.

![Dolci](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2pd2OvxN8SFavLdVGtUxRa/7fc51f7d09a68ca88fbc0a9439654c2b/image.png)

Wild ideas come from this check point, riders were hoping to take away some of this tasty ‘creme’. Filling bladders and water bottles were an option or perhaps a spare inner tube where you could pump it to 30psi.

The vegan cakes were loving baked by the volunteers.

If you were around HQ first thing this morning, more cake was on offer.  One cake lover was first in the queue.

![cake lover](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/LJRzPIy47cj4DjKEkxsrL/ef2722387845f448ae589d0ff93d0e1a/image.png)

Charlie Chaplin holds nothing on an onsite DotReporter trying to follow 150 riders in the span of 3 days. With the film running at double speed, I feel like that black and white character who’s speed is controlled by someone winding the projector handle as full speed. Dots on the map look like a crazy bunch of ants racing from one check point to another to get their sugar fix. 

Riders form a non-stop flow into the finish-line, cheers and clapping great every one. Elation at finishing beams on the riders faces and in some instances the emotion of the moment brings on unexpected tears.

## Saturday Rush
The bulk of riders make it to the finish on Saturday, a constant stream of claps, hugs and rounds of pizzas greeted them. Even well into the night, you could hear the clapping. Those riders still out on the course are mostly the ones who ticked the ‘hotel accommodation’ as their option, so a natural lull in arrivals is happening as daylight breaks over the rough stones of the castle. However this didn’t put the volunteers at ease out at the check point because, who knows what a rider will do. A volunteer was asking if someone could wake them up and when asked why, words were not needed. A few riders were headed in their direction and the riders could come at them from any angle.

![Finish](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/0VnuK4RlviQJwSzTclOZy/1d1f9952b11d2acc2f49617e64decb88/image.png)

62 solo riders are over the finish-line, as at 06:30 Sunday 30 April, while 16 solo riders are still out on course. 22 pairs are finished (44 riders in total) with 8 pairs still out on course (16 riders in total)
- Finished: 116
- Out on course: 32
- DNF: 2

17 solo riders made it in under 24 hours, this included the first two women, with __Nathalie Baillon__ missing it by 39 minutes - the same amount of time she lost on a wrong turn, without this she would have been in under 24 hours showing just how strong the women's field is this year. Only the winning pair made it in under 24 hours, with __Chris and Sam Thomas__ missing out by a mere 6 minutes. These are strong riders, who no doubt would have cruised in under 24 hours solo, it shows how much tougher it is to ride as a pair, with stopping times and energy lows happening at different times, adding to a higher percentage stopping time for a pair versus solo. But Chris and Sam are well experienced at these races and they were disciplined at keeping their stops fairly brief.

Winner __Guido__ is out on doing a recovery ride. He came across __Lillie and Alain Rumpf__, spotting their bags, he asked if they’re doing the Dolci, they were really excited someone spotted them. 

Those out on the road will want to make it in by 3pm, that’s when the party starts and at 7pm the Risotto Party starts. If the cake and pizza are anything to go by, then this will be worth making it on time. Wendy Ellis is planning to do just that, she's on the full value ticket.

![wendy](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/Ng7fWNSqCoSKllWBajh5I/eb1332b261ebf44bf255bd0336507fc4/image.png)

## #DotReporter
Your DotReporter is __Peta Mc Sharry__, I’ll be posting updates via [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) Stories which will notify you when I post a new article.

## Photographs
All photos are provided the organiser: the volunteers at the check points (too many to list) as well as the photographers [Jonas](https://www.instagram.com/tronasphotos/) and [Tobias](https://www.instagram.com/tobiasschurer/).


If, like me, you took the night to get some shuteye, the podium action took place in the dark hours and you missed the arrivals of most of the podium riders. Plus so many stories, not enough time to write them all.

## Men’s podium
- 1st __Guido Toscanelli Franklin__ 18 hrs 11 mins
- 2nd __Justinas Leveika__ 19 hrs 37 mins
- 3rd __Alexander Kopp__ 19 hrs 48 mins

__Guido__ come with a plan to win and his low stopping time reflected a strategy of Deadends and No Dolci, as he literally ran in grabbed a stamp and headed back out again. Justinas stopped and took cake at every check point, with his clear favourite being the Torta di Pane at Valle di Muggio check point.

Justinas' pace was closely matched by [Alexander Kopp](http://instagram.com/ali___popp) and on the return leg towards the finish, Justinas noticed a bright light ahead. After realising it was another rider he started to chase back on. But the pace of the rider was high, at this point he realised it would be a sprint to the finish. Alexander gave him a good run for his money and he worked hard to get that second spot on the podium. Coming to the race with the goal of enjoying the Dolci and keeping it fun - Justinas certainly made this apparent. He’s been at the finish camp, looking bright eyed and bushy tailed. 

![Justinas](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5p4hIxCzwCt22nHLU8IOUP/d5715b85e2e8f32d4fac41ae6b2fb437/image.png)

## Women’s podium
- 1st __Nathalie Schneitter__ 23 hrs 24 mins
- 2nd __Jana Kesenheimer__ 23 hrs 53 mins
- 3rd __Nathalie Baillon__ 24 hrs 39 mins

This race looked like it would come down to the wire, only a half hour separated 1st and 2nd. It was hard to compare the women’s field due to the varied routes taken and at 1am when I needed to sleep, it was hard to call who would arrive first.  Chatting to __Nathalie Schneitter__ over some coffee, I could see where the 30 minutes came from. Nathalie-S (as opposed to the other Nathalie, referred to as Nathalie-B) comes from a mountain biking background and if you didn’t read the race favourites write-up for the women’s field, then I’ll just do a quick recap. She won the first World Championships in eMTB. Curious what this entails and how it differs from regular mountain biking, such as the Olympic distance she’s participated in and how much easier is should be to have some motor assistance, the answer was surprising to me. The courses for eMTB are way more technical, climbing over obstacles one couldn’t do on a regular MTB. Technical skill, good core control and upper body strength coupled with nerves of steel make it a much harder discipline and, of course, what goes up must come down and the down is the same as the up - seriously technical. So the cobbled descent most riders took with care, Nathalie-S took at full gas. This was her first bikepacking race and the furtherest she’s ridden. 

![Nathalie-S](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5FkzJrqdFLjtwlsRmi47cN/5b538bffa9ead28712466b8d55b225f8/image.png)

As a training ride she joined the Orbit-360 across Switzerland, in the awful storm. Suffering a light failure, she was dropped by the group and spent a half hour chasing back on. The rain and stiff headwind and the lure of Vertical Coffee saw her quit this key training ride. But it appears this didn’t hamper her ability to dig deep and take the top spot on the podium.

## Pairs podium
## Overall
- 1st __Ben Lerch & Daniel Hofstetter__ 22 hrs 16 mins
- 2nd __Chris Thomas & Sam Thomas__ 24 hrs 9 mins
- 3rd __Hannah Fehrle & Martin Moritz__ 24 hrs 58 mins

I missed chatting to __Ben__ and __Daniel__, but as ever __Chris__ and __Sam Thomas__ were happy to share their race experience. They are not related, I’m still trying to understand how they got together as a riding pair, but humour appears to get in the way of an honest story. It’s the over-riding feeling you get with these two. It looks like they share banter the whole way round. Chris commented that the race was fast and full-gas from start to finish. So perhaps on the ride there was less banter and more Dolci fuelled chasing. They pedalled over from Chamonix so were well warmed up and ready to race.

3rd place riders and the 1st mixed pair, rolled in looking fresh. It was their first race together but perhaps not their last. They had a blast all the way around and despite a crash into some rocks and grass and needing to plaster up her finger, Hannah joked about lighting her race weight by shedding some skin.  

__Mens’ pairs__
- 1st Ben Lerch & Daniel Hofstetter 22 hrs 16 mins
- 2nd Chris Thomas & Sam Thomas 24 hrs 9 mins

__Mixed pairs__
- 1st Hannah Fehrle & Martin Moritz 24 hrs 58 mins

__Womens’ pairs__
- 1st Simi Ernst & Denise Morf 29 hrs 15 mins

The first women’s pair just arrived while most others are still out on the road and judging from the video of Sara Bukies and Ursina Bentele (still out on the route), they are where the party is at. Not just their outrageously matching kit. A boom box strapped to the handlebar bag is providing tunes to rock along at a fun pace. 

![Vertical](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5i625z1LCFS2o2ljCXuolT/5362e48f5fc99174e621cb1a78b195d3/image.png)

The Vertical Coffee Roaster pair - __Simi__ and __Denise__ arrived to a fanfare greeting and not just because they are back to set up the Coffee van. A quick dash to the hotel for a shower and possible nap will see them back serving up coffe. Local favourites and very strong riders, they hail from the same valley as organiser Domi. It’s a fabulous community and the spirit is infectious. Don’t forget they served up coffee to 150 sleepy riders before the race start, once the gun went they stayed behind to pack up, departing around 30 minutes after all the other riders. So I think it’s fair we knock off 30 minutes from their finish time. 

## Paris Dakar Category
- 1st __Adrien Liechti__ 22 hrs 39 mins 11th overall

“It rides really fast on the flat and descends like a dream” and weighing in at a mere 11kg, it’s no wonder __Adrien__ came in 11th on the race. But to be fair, perhaps in anyone else's hands, this may not be the case. As a bike courier, a cargo bike is part of the day job, so a prior understanding of the how the bike handles would certainly come in handy. It also takes a very strong rider to power such a machine. 

![Adrien](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7yElHIS7y1oNr0WXQjtyY/43c0572094f99217f352dc512b233321/image.png)

Taking time to rest a little at the southern most check point - Valle di Muggio - Adrien leant on the balcony rail, looked down the V-shaped valley and said “This must be the most beautiful valley I’ve seen” and he’s seen a fair share of incredible valleys on his travels. If you had that slight Hercule Poirot moment - the French accent and curled moustache would be the reason why. But Poirot’s moustache has nothing on Adrien’s.

## #DotReporter
Your DotReporter is __Peta Mc Sharry__, I’ll be posting updates via [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) Stories which will notify you when I post a new article.

## Photographs
All photos are provided the organiser: the volunteers at the check points (too many to list) as well as the photographers [Jonas](https://www.instagram.com/tronasphotos/) and [Tobias](https://www.instagram.com/tobiasschurer/).


Despite taking a wrong turn and losing 40 minutes at the start of the day, __Nathalie Baillon__ is showing up at the front of the field with __Linda Farczadi__. Nathalie did the south first and is busy descending the Somprei check point. She needs to complete the Blenio Parcour and then do the Val Calanca check point before returning to Bellinzona. 

__Simone Eder__ and __Linda Farczadi__ are following a similar order of check points, completing the northern ones first, with the southern ones  of Valle di Muggio and Malcantone to still check off. They’re heading to the most southern one - Valle di Muggio - first before returning the Malcantone. Linda is just ahead of Simone, both are good climbers and it’s going to be a chase to the end for both these riders as neither are inclined to back down and will go as hard as they can until the end. 

The big question is: will the time needed to complete Blenio and Val Calanca be faster than Valle di Muggio and Malcantone? And how much will the two southern riders challenge each other to go harder and ride faster. 

__Sophie Jail__ is holding onto 4th place, descending Valle di Muggio she needs to complete Malcantone and Valle di Vergeletto before heading back to Bellinzona. 

These check points are surely keeping us on our toes and while we square out our eyes and chew the fat at Race HQ, we should not forget Emma Pooley, who tracker is currently hanging out near Aarau while she’s off trail running. Her plan is to catch the last train back and hop on her bike to complete the course. 

The experience sitting here at HQ is one of overwhelming information from the organisers of the race, the film crew and volunteers. It’s hard to impart all this information on Day 1 of the race, but I hope to bring some real gems of information only gain by sitting face to face with those behind the scenes.

While we await the arrival of the first riders, I may curl up in my sleeping bag and do a bit of light snoring until them.

## #DotReporter
Your DotReporter is __Peta Mc Sharry__, I’ll be posting updates via [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) Stories which will notify you when I post a new article.

## Photographs
All photos are provided the organiser: the volunteers at the check points (too many to list) as well as the photographers [Jonas](https://www.instagram.com/tronasphotos/) and [Tobias](https://www.instagram.com/tobiasschurer/).


The leaderboard prediction is not 100% reliable for the race, mostly due to the varying checkpoints, where some may be easier to ride than others, for instance the southern check points are at a lower elevation, while the northern ones are a little tougher. So distance covered may not always be an indicator of who is ahead in the race.

But as the check points get ticked off, one thing is starting to become evident. __Guido Toscanelli Franklin__ is looking very likely to be on the podium and is in serious contention for the win. 

![Guido photo](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4uTaHRxpzcDXSdSQIbu7SO/b9ff51230c18751e452a52f46093b421/image.png)

This is home turf, living just north of Lugano. He’ll know these roads very well, understand the traffic flow and certainly have a very good handle on the way the winds blow in this region.

He blasted off from the start, barely able to contain himself behind the neutral start car. He headed directly south, against much of the field who headed north including many of the race favourites. His stopping time is 2%, versus that of Justinas at 4%. His average moving speed is 26.2kph, while Justinas is 26.4kph. Guido held an accelerated pace compared to the rest of the favourites at the start of the day, indicating the less steep aspect of the southern check points. As he heads to the northern parts his pace is slowing, while Justinas is increasing his pace. But this could change at any time. 

As at 19:30pm, Guido is just finishing the Blenio parcour, with just the Leventina - Somprei check point left. 

100km remain to the finish - more or less. That leaves around 4 hours until the finishers could be crossing the line - giving them a finish time around 1:30am. The pre-race prediction from Domi was an arrival of 2am. 

__Justinas__ took 3:15 to ascend and descend the Somprei. The southern section of the route took Guido around 4:15. From rough calculations it took Guido around 5:15 to cover the section Justinas has left to ride. 

Justinas is about 30 minutes into this section of the ride. The analysis is a little harder to do with the tracking system and with dinner thrown into the mix, the timings above are from a hour or two ago. 

Leaving the Somprei climb for last would be seen as a risk, however, Guido knows this climb like the back of his hand and descending it in the dark won’t be an issue. It leaves the long descent down the valley into Bellinzona.

Time will tell if my calculations are correct. This is the first bikepacking event of this nature for Guido and the longest event, after coming 6th in a Chasing Cancellara event.

Find [Guido](https://www.instagram.com/dontwalk.fly/) on Instagram

## #DotReporter
Your DotReporter is __Peta Mc Sharry__, I’ll be posting updates via [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) Stories which will notify you when I post a new article.

## Photographs
All photos are provided the organiser: the volunteers at the check points (too many to list) as well as the photographers [Jonas](https://www.instagram.com/tronasphotos/) and [Tobias](https://www.instagram.com/tobiasschurer/).

Photo of Guido from his Instagram account.


__And they’re off__

But not before they get some coffee and who better to serve up the pre-race caffeine fix than Pair’s riders [Simone Ernst](https://www.instagram.com/simonedernst/) and [Denise Morf](https://www.instagram.com/denisecmorf/) with their neat [Vertical Coffee Roasters](https://www.instagram.com/vertical_coffee/) Van. 

![Vertical coffee](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1I619glMwy79iLWWQfGZur/baffc6d988e641fdd0d2f74f117cb5aa/image.png)

Yes they are riding the event as well as providing coffee. Leaving a little after the start, it didn't take them long to catch the field again.
![coffee](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/50nUnRkaehzhtyuF0IHjOL/c17c130c81e6e1aca5c430b23c0af29d/image.png)

Leaving from the Castle, a neutral service led riders out under police escort. From the go, an immediate north / south split formed, with 2/3rds of the field heading north and most of the ‘one’s to watch’ heading to the Val Calanca check point first. Sitting close to 2,000m and with some patches of snow still on the ground, it’s a climb best handled in the day time with temperatures plummeting in the night, those racing light will want to tackle the highest climbs in the daytime. It looks like the contenders for the podium all thought the same and are headed in the same direction. 

![Castle](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/rBv6J5etBY0wRQLi44XFZ/1c36140b7e961859f5467ddec7cc4815/image.png)

## Men’s race
1st. 67 __Justinas Leveika__  1 hr 47 mins  Val Calanca - Braggio
2nd. 86 __Roger Stalder__     1 hr 52 mins. Val Calanca - Braggio
3rd. 61 __Jona Riechmann__    1 hr 55 mins. Val Calanca - Braggio
4th. 59 __Hannes Meyle__      1 hr 55 mins. Val Calanca - Braggio
(Note the leaderboard may not be accurate as there were tracking issues - but this is how it's listed on the tracking page).

Justina’s made Val Calanca first, he took time for some coffee before descending.

![Justinas](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2wHLp6skcCBv3REQyiBzvL/f6f62a06ec2f853c20ab19e3b77eb6dd/6d8d1741-887c-4af9-b033-2e574eed0be7_2.JPG)

## Women’s race
1st. 08 __Jana Kesenheimer__     2 hrs 7 mins  Val Calanca - Braggio
2nd. 24 __Nathalie Schneitter__  2 hrs 9 mins. Val Calanca - Braggio
3rd. 25  __Emma Pooley__         2 hrs 9 mins. Val Calanca - Braggio
4th. 05 __Linda Farczadi__       2 hrs 10 mins Val Calanca - Braggio

The women are not far apart, where to next is the question. Will they follow each other the whole way round?

![womens](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4EZwwJOeIS1DgZvmxllpJ3/ee5b45fc6652ce91f94112219fe35250/image.png)

## Pair’s Race
I promise to get to them, I just need to find them first.

Predictions for Deadends and Dolci suggest riders will finish in around 20 hours, so set your alarm clocks.

If you’re finding it hard to follow, you’re not alone. The early stages of the race, where check points can be ridden in any order, are hard to follow. Finding a specific rider can be a challenge. The Leaderboard page will give you a rough guide of how the race is unfolding and where your favourite rider is, given the check point they've reached. 

Each rider brings their own experience to the race. Be it previous races or having the ‘local’ advantage to jump on a train and scout or train in the Ticino. When the weather is bad north of the Alps, it’s easy to hop south and vice versa. But mostly the weather is worse north of the Alps, so many of those living in the north will take a spontaneous weekend to ride in better weather. This gives them the distinct advantage of knowing the climbs and thus choosing a different route to someone who may not know the area.

Prior to the race start, riders are requested to provide their routes to the organisers so they can plan the media coverage, but also check for any routes that may put riders in danger. A mountain on a map looks very different than a mountain in real life, for those who don’t live near the mountains may not understand this until they’re face with an impassable wall. Needless to say a few routes were sent back for revision and I imagine one or two riders may be rerouting on the fly.

Don’t forget to follow [Deadends and Dolci ](https://www.instagram.com/dead_ends_e_dolci/)on Instagram and I’ll be posting up interesting riders to follow as the race progresses. But I can’t dilly dally because this is a short race and there are many interesting riders out there. I also have very cold hands and brain, so writing and thinking are currently hindered.

## #DotReporter
Your DotReporter is __Peta Mc Sharry__, I’ll be posting updates via [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) Stories which will notify you when I post a new article.

## Photographs
All photos are provided the organiser: the volunteers at the check points (too many to list) as well as the photographers [Jonas](https://www.instagram.com/tronasphotos/) and [Tobias](https://www.instagram.com/tobiasschurer/).


We’re used to a stacked field on the men’s side and Dolci is no exception. 

The most logical place to start would be with __Justinas Leveika__. Once he came to the fore of our consciousness in Bikepacking, he’s been a regular, smiling face, feature who definitely loves Bikepacking races. I type these names so often in my reports that I forget I’ve not met many of the racers. To be onsite and not racing is a real treat. To mingle, hug and get info from a rider directly is a real treat. 

On the list of those to watch are:
__Sébastian Glauser 
Kristoffer Ringler
Roger Stalder
Axel Brenner
Guido Franklin
David Geraci
Simon Geiser
Justinas Leveika
Manuela Truccolo
Alexander Kopp
Lukas Franciszkiewcz
Loic Marin Lamellet
Max Riese__

It’s a big list, so as the race progresses I’ll touch on these riders in more detail. 

One rider not currently on the list and a last minute addition to the race is the Unknown Race winner, __Sebastian Sarx__. The savvy among you may be onto this already. It was a tough race and the recovery time between the two events may not be enough to put him in contention for the win. But you knew know, so it’s worth keeping an eye on him.

![Ticino](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5nCXsaMijsCsYBXMJ27xOI/056254f373d0256c1d5403abdd995516/image.png)

As lunch came and went, the leading riders have munching through the checkpoints and mid-afternoon saw Justinas - who went north first - cross paths with Guido - who went south first. Waving to each other in Bellinzona they’re off to tackle the other ‘half’ of the race. But is it really a race of two halves. It may seem to from the time they passed each other at the start/finish-line. But a surprise awaits some in the race. 

Sitting at Race HQ in Bellinzone, __Domi__ (the organiser) just took off his last layer and is sunning his arms in the hazy sun. The film-makers just returned from the Sempere Check Point - this photo sums it up. The temperature is 20°C lower at the Sempere. The news gets a little more grim, it’s starting to sleet and it’s only mid-afternoon. The rain is light at the moment, but by 2am Saturday, it will get a little heavier. Those taking the southern check points first could run into some fresh snow up at the northern check points. 

![Film crew](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/70NvT7jhmjQ86UHgC9N5V7/5145a206a7f66da9e36d0cb6511dbec9/image.png)

As at 16:23 the northern riders are all tracking each other closely and a rough leaders list looks like this:
1st __Justina Leveika__
2nd __Alexander Kopp__
3rd __Sebastian Sarx__
4th __Christopher Hritz__
5th __Max Riese__
6th __Simon Geiser*__

The top 5 are tracking each other and heading up to Valle di Vergeletto, while __Simon__ has skipped this check point and is heading south first and will pick it up on the way back.

![image](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/FQ0gWkGUMMRu1jIX03KUj/9922b9e64d9ddb8bb5b306a7576c03dc/image.png)

## #DotReporter
Your DotReporter is __Peta Mc Sharry__, I’ll be posting updates via [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/) Stories which will notify you when I post a new article.

## Photographs
All photos are provided the organiser: the volunteers at the check points (too many to list) as well as the photographers [Jonas](https://www.instagram.com/tronasphotos/) and [Tobias](https://www.instagram.com/tobiasschurer/).


Peta McSharry

DEAD ENDS & dolci 2023 Tracking and Commentary. The five checkpoints are situated in very remote, beautiful areas of Ticino, Switzerland, each at the end of a dead end road. This is certainly one for the grimpeurs with a sweet tooth!

DEAD ENDS & dolci 2023 Tracking

The five checkpoints are situated in very remote, beautiful areas of Ticino, Switzerland, each at the end of a dead end road. This is certainly one for the grimpeurs with a sweet tooth!

DEAD ENDS & dolci 2023

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DEAD ENDS & dolci 2023

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