08/09/2026
My very first multi-day ultra, finished in 16th place.
So what did those nine days really look like?
Swipe for the day-by-day recaps. 👉
Of course I’m really happy with the result, even though I never really focused on my position during the ride.
I only had one goal in mind: finish on 30/08/2026, so I could catch my flight home on 31/08.
Because September 1st was just around the corner.
I had promised Manon — and myself — that I would be home for the first day of school. ❤️
Before the start, I had divided the entire route into daily stages spread over nine days. If I could complete those day by day, I knew I would make it home in time.
In the end, I already built up some margin from day one, which meant I spent most of the ride feeling like: this is going to work.
Did everything go according to plan? Absolutely not. 😅
Small route mistakes, problems syncing GPX files… Coros, this really was the worst possible moment for an update. Luckily, that excellent battery life at least meant one less kind of charging stress. 😉
Did I make mistakes myself? Of course.
I could have studied the route in even more detail. My Tailfin bags could definitely have been one size bigger. And I’m sure there are plenty of other things I would approach differently next time.
My average riding speed was actually quite high compared with several riders ahead of me. The difference was that I chose to sleep for around five hours almost every night — usually in a hotel. Comfortable and good for recovery, but of course that also costs time.
I had everything with me to sleep outside, but I didn’t take that step this time.
Maybe that’s the next step in this kind of ultra:
less comfort, less stopping, and finding out what might be possible then.
But for a first multi-day ultra?
2,853 km.
40,700 metres of climbing.
8 days, 15 hours and 42 minutes.
16th place.
I can only look back on that with a lot of satisfaction.
And most of all: it definitely leaves me wanting more. 😏
DAY 1
Luckily, we don’t live too far from the start, because halfway through the drive I suddenly realised my cycling shoes were still at home.
Breathe. Stay calm. Turn around.
