Sebastian Mayr leads at kilometer 726 point 7, two thirds of the 1,100-kilometer route now behind him after 21 hours and 43 minutes of racing. Of the 236 starters, 222 remain on course, with the front projected somewhere around a day and eight hours total — an estimate, not a guarantee. As one rider put it after his second night, the last stretch was rainy, cold, and a real fight against sleepiness and pain in the soles.