Welcome to our live blog of the fifth edition of the Transcontinental Race, which began in Geraardsbergen, Belgium on Friday 28 July with the riders heading across Europe to the finish at Meteora in Greece. Riders are free to choose their own route, but must pass through four checkpoints on the way. These are at the Schloss Lichtenstein in Germany, Montegrappa in Italy, the High Tatras mountains in Slovakia and the Transfagarasan Highway in Romania.
We will be providing rolling updates on the race over the next couple of weeks, including on-the-spot dispatches from our man on the inside, road.cc blogger VecchioJo aka Jo Burt who is riding the race as a pair with Gavin Peacock. You can follow Jo on Instagram here, and Gavin here
> See VecchioJo's bike and kit for the TCR
Simon has been news editor at road.cc since 2009, reporting on 10 editions and counting of pro cycling’s biggest races such as the Tour de France, stories on issues including infrastructure and campaigning, and interviewing some of the biggest names in cycling. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, his background has proved invaluable in reporting on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, and the bike industry. He splits his time between London and Cambridge, and loves taking his miniature schnauzer Elodie on adventures in the basket of her Elephant Bike.