How Sarah Bosslet Won Transcontinental No12

Sarah Bosslet reached Kalamata in the pale light of morning as the first winner of the Transcontinental Race’s new FLINTA category. But victory wasn’t the first thing on her mind.

“I couldn’t have done this without Mohit.”

Mohit Kohli wasn’t there to meet her, but he had been present throughout the race. In the photograph Sarah carried, in the belief he’d placed in her, and in the places across Europe that still belonged to the two of them.

This was Sarah’s third Transcontinental. The first brought Mohit into her life. The second helped her return to the bicycle after losing him. The third ended with the result he’d told her was possible before she could see it herself.

Sarah and Mohit met at the end of her first TCR. They had crossed Europe only a few hours and one finishing position apart, then began cycling home together. Somewhere on that journey, a race finish became the beginning of something much deeper.

Mohit saw a rider in Sarah that she hadn’t yet recognised in herself. He encouraged her to keep racing and told her she could finish on the TCR podium.

In February 2025, he was killed in a collision in Chile while attempting a record across South America. For a while, Sarah didn’t know whether she would ever want to ride again.

Six months later, she returned to the Transcontinental with Mohit’s photograph fixed to her top tube. After finishing fifth among the women, she said the race had given something back to her.

“I’ve found myself again. I know that I’m strong, I know that I’m a fighter.”

At the start of TCRNo12, Mohit’s brother, Mudit, was also in Trondheim, riding with the cap number Mohit had once worn.

Sarah arrived stronger and better prepared than before, but her reason for returning remained deeply tied to him.

Jana Kesenheimer began as the obvious favourite after finishing as the fastest woman in the previous two editions.

Her race changed in Norway. She and her partner, Christian Holweck, kept finding one another while riding separate solo races. In Flåm, they withdrew from the General Classification and chose to continue towards Kalamata together.

Love had changed the race Jana wanted to ride. It would shape Sarah’s too.