Thread by @TheSunTrip

Today is the 24th day since Start Proper in Chamonix. Here's an update thread on every participant, this time starting from the head of the pack as leader Raf Van Hulle will reach #Almaty #Kazakhstan.

Raf Van Hulle - Team Hyunday Elevator with Unikuu suffered from strong winds and fatigue in the last days as he couldn't rest so well. He'll be crossing into China within the next 2-3 days. His Instagram: instagram.com/rafvanhulle/

Stéphane Bertrand with Déclic-Eco % @Photowatt follows roughly 400km behind and had scorching hot temperatures (over 40°C) Which slowed him down to 200km yesterday, breaking his streak of 3 days clocking in at 398km!
FB Page: facebook.com/stephanebertra…

On the 3rd step of the podium rides Eric Morel - Team @MndGroup with @DouzeCycles who broke yesterday the ultimate #solarbike distance record with 427km in one day! He should be crossing #Shymkent today.
FB page: facebook.com/ericsuntrip/

@MndGroup @DouzeCycles We remind you that unlike other great cycling adventures, Suntrippers are only allowed to ride by day, from 7am to 9pm local time, which means 14 hours/day when there is no time zone change, in which case they can only ride 13 hours.

Mickaël Joguet is in 4th position less than 100km away.
His last #Video camping near a river in order to cool down. facebook.com/leptitvelo/vid…
Unbelievably, he rode over 300km for a few days in a row.
Fb page: facebook.com/leptitvelo/

👬 The Colle Brothers with @KU_Leuven are now in 5th position not so far but well behind him.
📦They received a care package with even more tires (!!!) in #Kyzylorda and want you to guess how many they now have with them 😂😂

Jack Butler Team @NewQuest_WAA will soon be passing #Baikonour
His last #vlog was in #Kiev
He was stopped by the police for emergency selfies, but also by the same fans who met with Raf and other participants thanks to our tracking system.

Also near the Aral Sea is Belgian participant Herman Segers. His #recumbent bike suffered from a rupture on the left rear aluminum support bar. He repaired with a steel splint, tape and wire. Our last video with him:

In #Aktobe we have Laurent @JmeRecycle Team @EDF_AuRhAlpes @_BelAirCamp_ who rode with various participants so far and more recently with Romain and the Cauquils. Today, he faced camels and horses on the highway
Videos on his FB Page: facebook.com/Jmerecycle/pos…

Romain Team @O2FeelBelgium
Was slowed down by a visa situation that stopped him ad the #Russia Kazakhstan border. He took advantage of the forced time off to make a pit stop and wait for his fellow adventurers.
FB Page: facebook.com/Team.O2feel.Ro…
Insta: instagram.com/roman.suntrip/

As for the Cauquils with @SunPower their recumbent solar trike has huge issues with the back wheel. Its hub is disintegrating and they repaired 37 times so far. They are hoping for a new wheel to arrive in #Aktobe which they will reach today.
FB Page: facebook.com/Ecosunriders/

In #Uralsk, Peter Helsen & Dirk Huyghe are still riding together. The last stretches of RU-KZ roads were intense and they rode a bit slower than the ones ahead. Peter's Insta: instagram.com/peter_helsen/
Dirk's FB: facebook.com/dirk.huyghe.9

The next participant entering Kazakhstan is Daniel Jenni. He was showcased in a few #Russian TV reports & newspapers from #Saratov and was impressed with Russian 4w drive busses (marshrutka)
video.sarbc.ru/video/7363.html
FB: facebook.com/tscheni

Thierry Rassat went silent for a few days but remerged in Saratov and updated his #thesuntrip2018 blog with some photos. For a while he rode with Daniel but they now parted. He camps quietly under clouded skies in the Russian steppes thesuntrip.com/author/thierry…

After being escorted and meeting the Minister for sports in #Ukraine, Lionel Serra Team @ines_solaire CEA parted with Paul & Greg. He had technical issues with his freewheel.
#Video of his trip facebook.com/SerraSunTrip/v…
His FB: facebook.com/SerraSunTrip/

Gregory Lewyllie Team @GLevents decided to head towards #volgograd and will presumably enter Kazakhstan via #Astrakhan & #Atyrau near the Caspian Sea. He will be heading towards Uzbekistan!
His FB: facebook.com/gregorylewyllie
And his site in #Dutch
solarbiketour.com

@GLevents Also riding together are the Pozzobons & Gilles and François, all from South-West France. They were part of a #solarbikes caravan with Jürgen and @ArachneLabs for a while, but are now ahead of them between #Voronej and #Saratov
#video #Russian 46tv.ru/pro/other/0004…

Same with Medalle & Coural onThe Pozzobons seem to be doing fine, although we don't have many news from them. They say the vodka is now fueling them and they seem to have fixed Didier's freewheel.
FB page: facebook.com/pozzofamillysu…
Blog: didierpozzobon.wixsite.com/pozzofamilysun…

Courale & Medalle are soon headed South towards #Uzbekistan and were quite sad to leave Jürgen behind with his failing engine.
Medalle's FB: facebook.com/francois.medal…
Blog: solar-occitan.fr

Paul Baudry - Team @oscaro Power also had his hour of fame in #Ukraine, meeting doctors and heart #transplant patients just like him. He is now in #Saratov, #Russia resting and pondering when to leave towards Uralsk

@oscaro Michael Polak @ArachneLabs is only100km before #Saratov. He repaired a broken spoke in Borisoglebsk but received also free cold beer from locals. His recent adventures include being hosted by a horseriding cossack familly...

That means that Françoise Denel only needs to catch him up on a humbling 100km :) Last news, our 67-yo participant was under the rain eating raspberries and slowly healing from her last fall.
Her FB: facebook.com/francoise.dela…

Corinne Courvalin Team France Passion w @azubrecumbents is currently experiencing major difficulties. Her trailer got stuck in the mud and its wheel fixation seems to be broken. She's been rescued by local farmers to at least shelter from the rain.
Blog: petitprinceandcocycletour.blog

Jürgen Burkholz is still in #Voronej still awaiting a new engine that should be shipped from Germany. The caravan members were really upset to leave him behind,but he seemed to keep up with the good mood.
#video in Ukrainian media:

Now near #Kursk, Eymeric Thuliez was glad to enter #Russia at last, with visa dates that shouldn't handicap him. We're a bit worried about his electronics (controller) who seem unstable, but he now has an extra engine.
His FB: facebook.com/Un-Aventhuliez…

Michel Bamps called it quits on our team's recommendation. Late, breaking his trailer on fairly good roads already, it seemed dangerous for him to carry on. He is therefore headed back to Belgium via Poland. To us, he is a #TheSunTrip2018 ambassador now.

It takes a lot of strength and courage to quit and turn around when it's the most reasonable thing to do. We salute his determination, his stubbornness and his wisdom. We will keep on following him on the map and provide him with Team support until he reaches home safely.

PEOPLE'S CHOICE - REMINDER
You may vote every day for the best blogger/communicator on #thesuntrip2018
thesuntrip.com/communication-…

Finally, let's have a look at the Southern Route. There we have Justin & An'So, the Viguiers Brothers, Moroccan Team Youssef & Mohamed Said, Patrice Plozner and disqualified participant Waiwon Ching.

Justin Lemire-Elmore & Anne-Sophie Rodet have successfully crossed the #Turkey - #Iran border last night. They are taking an unusual route because they will be flying back to Canada from #Teheran - They have a wedding to attend, their own! #grintechnologies #honeymoon

The Viguiers Brothers have crossed into Georgia and are now 20 km north of Batumi. We sadly don't have many pics from them, but you can read their blog on G+ plus.google.com/u/0/collection…

@youssef86813736 & Mohamed Said are beyond Rize. On the Black Sea coast for a few days, they had a chance to go swimming but today was spent under the rain. Youssef's FB: facebook.com/youssef.elhaou…
Mohamed Said's in #Arabic facebook.com/canarias.said

At last, near the rice fields of Osmancik is Patrice Plozner, our beloved poet.
He was joined today on the way by Ramazan Caliskan. He dropped and broke his phone in Çerkes and failed to meet our big fan T. Necmettin Bey. He progresses slowly but safely now.