DAY 11 <-> DAY 9
This Sunday, April 21, checkpoints along the Atlantic coast were the talk of the town! From the south of Portugal to Rabat and Oualidia, many adventurers had a view of the sea today!
At 9 a.m. (Moroccan time), Jack Butler got the ball rolling, passing the Kasbah des Oudayas, the 3rd stop on the adventure. 4 hours later, Jean-Marc Dubouloz passed through the Moroccan capital. The two leaders were back in the sunshine after a day of rain yesterday. Gradually, the wind picked up at their backs and the adventurers rode all day long! The gap fluctuated between 60 and 90 km. At the end of the 11th day’s driving, after 316 km, Jack Butler has a lead of around 92 km. Never before has he had such an advantage over Jean-Marc Dubouloz. The Frenchman is holding up well, with a few stops at garages to gradually repair his bike after the crash in southern Spain. No word yet on whether he’ll be repairing his solar panels, having material sent from France (which is authorized).
Tonight they’re already approaching Checkpoint 4, in Oualidia! Will they already be in Taroudant tomorrow? With the mountains to cross, it won’t be easy, but this Sun Trip 2024 goes from surprise to surprise!
Between 3rd and 5th place, the race was just as eventful. This morning, Germany’s Kilian & Jonas took the time to recover from a difficult night. At the end of the day, they took a tumble into the water as they passed a river… (video on Instagram). More fear than harm, but in two days they will have lost much of their lead over the competition. There are only 190 km between them and the 4th/5th place finishers!
Géry & Baudouin and Vivien Dettwiler had a giant chase to get to Checkpoint 2 (Portugal). In the end, they passed with a few minutes to spare, to the advantage of the Belgians. Then they called a truce to enjoy their evening on the Atlantic. Perhaps they’ll do a stretch of the road together. What an adventure!
Beyond 5th place, little has changed today. The group is making good progress, between Spain and Portugal. Note a broken suspension for Luciano Trumpler.
Among the participants who don’t take the race seriously is Vincent Lauga, pictured above in Salamanca, Spain. He’s taking part in the Sun Trip for the very first time, and supports the cause of the French League for the Protection of Birds. He also likes to compare suntrippers to migratory birds, and today posted an article on his Facebook page: “With spring, come the migratory birds! Among all the migratory birds equipped with GPS in 2023 for the MIGRATLANE program, the first to arrive is “Clément” the grey cuckoo carrying a light beacon (5 grams). The spring crossing of the Sahara was completed in a single flight, departing on the morning of March 28 from Mali, with flight heights reaching 6,500 meters over the desert!” Now that’s something to inspire more than one of our adventurers for the return of Sun Trip 2024!
Race positions on the evening of stage 11
1. Jack Butler
2. Jean-Marc Dubouloz
3. Kilian & Jonas
4. Géry & Baudouin
5. Vivien Dettwiller
Live Map : suntrip.sollow.live/maroc-2024
Anecdotes of the day
Luciano Trümpler: “We wanted to cover 70 km more, but my shock absorber broke. But it’s been an extraordinary three days, simply magnificent!”
Vincent Lauga: “At the hotel (near the center of Salamanca) the receptionist wanted me to take the bike down to the basement room, but as it wouldn’t fit in the elevator she said to do it by the stairs, and that she would help me (and yet she had seen the bike)! I had to say I’d leave early tomorrow to get her to agree to me leaving it in the yard.”
Michael Polák: “Frostbite on the tent in the morning, beautiful route ignored by the other participants (once again…)… no story to tell, just a good ride..”
Jean-Louis Mérelle: “I had 2 positive contacts with the police today… a lady policeman stopped while I was recharging in the sun, all smiles, and asked me if she could take a photo of my bike. “No problem” I replied, and after a chat she left, wishing me good luck! Another policeman on a motorcycle. I was riding along, and he came up to me and looked at my bike, raised his thumb to say “chouette” and continued on his way… they’re not all bad. Wasn’t there something on the news for us?”
Lucaci Arnold Vasile (disqualified before departure): “Just entry Spain. 150 km to Barcelona, I will wait there few days and try to go to Morocco by ferry. I don’t know exactly but that’s a kind of plan or I go home. First let’s go to barcelona”
Vivien Dettwiler : “Cook a meal like instant food with my electric pan takes arround 35 Watthours, thats arround 4 km of assistance. I wonder how much it takes for fried egs, pasta or a steak medium rare. I will try it soon! “ VIDEO BELLOW 😉
Images of the day
