According to the Transcontinental Race Report, early this morning, Bjorn Lenhard “broke free from the chasers with a stinging attack on the gravel track on the hills above Driankovets, utilising his background in mountain biking to escape across the rough dirt roads.”

Shortly after, Lenhard reached Control Point one at the Buzludzha Monument. 30 minutes behind him came Jonathan Rankin (cap #15)

“It was telling that all the first riders to reach CP1 were riding on narrower, fully-slick road tyres. While those mandatory gravel parcours around the race start in Burgas certainly seemed to have tested the riders, so far it seems that committing to the fastest setup on the tarmac has paid dividends.

“While many of the leading riders have already had their brevet cards stamped at CP1, tonight there is no lull to the racing. In the Transcontinental Race, the clock never stops – while some riders will bed down in hotels and bivvy bags for the night, many more will still be on the bike. Meanwhile, the most determined will push right through into Race Day 2, looking to take a lead that they can defend until Brest," Transcontinental Race Report. 

If you want to follow the dots as they inch their way across the continent you can do so on the TCR website(link is external). 

We will give regular updates on the riders progress as they suffer through country after country, over hill after hill, and probably get puncture after puncture.