Jack Butler, 29, from Osbaldwick, won The Sun Trip – Destination Sahara! on May 5 – a ‘free route’ journey involving 20 international competitors on bikes capable of storing the sun’s energy to power them, although not continuously.
The race started on April 12 in Lyon, France and taking in Spain, Portugal, reaching the desert in Morrocco, before returning to the finish in Chamberry in France.
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The winner, who works for a bicycle tourism company as a tour manager and guide, spoke to The Press on Monday, May 6, the day after his victory.
The presentation ceremony was delayed because of the magnitude of the distances involved and the choice of routes by which the athletes could cover the distance and terrain.
Jack said: “I did a lot of training but was the underdog, I knew I had to be strong and didn’t have the money for a streamlined, racing velomobile.
“The Sun Trip’s like any other sport in that there’s all these different aspects in play – some riders acquire more solar power than others, the weight difference plays a part, as well as weather and aerodynamics.
“It literally was a game of marginal gains for me.
“You’re only allowed to ride during a 14-hour daytime window and even on days with no sun I was managing 200 kilometres or so.”
Jack beat former winner Jean-Marc Dubouloz from France by a matter of a couple of hours, with third-placed rider still in Morrocco on the way back, according to the GPS boxes on the bikes mapping every rider’s position.
Jack said: “I was in second most of the time, we swapped position for the first place around five times, and I only saw him three times.”
With weather conditions really helping him on the home stretch, Jack said he was able to relax and savour the victory in the last two or three days.
His recumbent machine, complete with an overhead, adjustable solar panel to follow the sun’s position, weighed 49 kilogrammes, adding a further 10kgs for luggage needed for camping and other overnight stops.
Allied to strength acquired from a training programme of up to 20 hours per week, the winner said he was able to travel in a ‘straighter’ line than his competitors over the Pyrenees bordering France, Spain and then Morrocco’s Atlas range of peaks.
He said: “I estimated that I climbed 8,000 metres more than the next placed rider and he rode 500km further than I did to avoid the mountains I went over.”
Jack has experience in ultra events of this nature, having completed a 68-day journey of the same type from Lyon to Guangzhou in China in 2018.
The York man allowed himself a day’s rest before setting out for another 200 kilometres on the bike to where he left his van in Lyon.
He will then head off to complete the third week of the Giro d’Italia, one of the hilliest professional cycle races in the world, from May 21.
A highlight will be guiding paid guests on their bikes up the route of the famous Passo dello Stelvio, Europe’s second highest paved road at 2,757 metres, about an hour before the professionals come through.
