Beyond the gaze: Rhythms of surveillance, care, and recognition in the transcontinental race
Date Issued
2025-09
Author(s)
Van Hout Tom
Abstract
This paper examines the Transcontinental Race (TCR), a self-supported ultra-distance cycling event across Europe, as a site where surveillance, care, and recognition intersect in complex ways. Drawing on two autoethnographic reflections from the 2023 (TCRNo9) and 2025 (TCRNo11) editions of the race, the paper traces a shift in how mediated practices shape riders’ experiences and relationships. I analyze race tracking technologies and online reporting as forms of participatory, benign surveillance: GPS traces, digital narratives, and spectators’ affective investments create a shared rhythm of visibility that connects riders, organizers, volunteers, and audiences. At the same time, the race experience inevitably exceeds surveillant gazes, foregrounding embodied rhythms, sensory intensities, and affective encounters that cannot be fully captured by digital traces. By integrating both perspectives, the paper conceptualizes the TCR as a communicative figuration that continuously reorganizes visibility, agency, and care. In doing so, it contributes to broader debates on mediatization, mobility, and the relational dynamics of surveillance.
Subjects
mediatization
;
communicative figurations
;
surveillance
;
care
;
recognition
;
mobility
;
ultracycling
;
digital infrastructures
Institution
Type
book
Serie(s)
Band
50
Secondary publication
No
License
Alle Rechte vorbehalten
Language
English
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Loading...
Name
ZeMKI_EWP_50_Van-Hout (1).pdf
Size
2.47 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum
(MD5):aae7ee4834bfd38f84b36e775cb31fba