Tuul Ovoot to Elsen Tasarkhai
135km for 1700m climbing
Hamish: 6hrs for 4th equal overall
Leah: 8 hrs for 2nd women and solidly in 2nd women in the GC
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/2626236715
Well today was the queen stage of the race, and for good reason. We were not given much information about the stage before hand, besides the Strava profile. Today we faced a thunderstorm on the start line, and 5km later the sun was out, but not before we were caked head to toe in mud. A few hills, but nothing too steep, but the real kicker came in the form of 30-40km of flat, then a long climb up a valley. It should have been easy, but we had a block head wind or cross wind, that even the Dutch would have been proud of. It is never good when you look down and see 15-17km/hr, and we were at the front of the race. The final kicker for today came in the form of 23 km of sand tracks to the Ger camp. Having made the summit of the last climb, I thought it would be downhill, and a quick 23km into camp. I could not have been more wrong, as we battled 23km of sandy tracks all the way into the camp!
Today’s racing was similar to the other days. One of the Mongolian National Team got away, and his two team mates attacked us to try and get away to him as well. Richard, Nico (the same two riders from yesterday) and I covered attacks for 50km. Flat attacks using the cross wind, down hill attacks and uphill surge attacks. Eventually I crack at about 50km, and Nico cracked slightly there after. Richard held on for a little longer until the next climb, then he also cracked, and today the three of us rode together to the finish. We all suffered today, and we were the lucky ones finishing in 6 hrs. At the end I was as exhausted as I have been for some time. I cannot remember been that stuffed for some time, although I do forget these things. Our friend Paolo, who is the official photography took some pics of me at the end, and I look exhausted.
The time cut is 11hrs and it has been 10.5hrs and people are still coming in. Some will miss the time cut today.
Although I suffered a lot, and did not manage to take any photos, the scenery again was vast and spectacular. It is hard to convey there vastness of the landscape, as everything is big! The valleys are 15-20km wide, and the hills do not look big, but they are. That combined with topping out over the last climb and seeing the edge of the sand dunes, and shitty sandy track, also added to todays experience.
Leah had a long day but good day coming in 2nd women in a time of 8hrs. She is solidly in the middle of the overall field, and is 2nd women GC stitched up! She had a better ride by the sounds of it across the headwinds flats, as she rode with others, although she also as not happy with the 23km of sand tracks into the camp.
On the very positive side, we have a Ger with an en-suite bathroom, and I had my 3rd hot shower in the row. The en-suite Ger is bling, as far as Gers go, and three hot showers in a row is three more than we had two years ago at this event. Two years ago, the route was quite different.
Tomorrow, is 90km ramp. To start with we have 2km of sand to push our bikes though, then one long continuous climb from 1100m to 1900m, then we drop 200m into our camp for the night. I am not sure if I have it in my legs for another chase the Mongolian National Team tomorrow, but you never know until you are on the start line. Tomorrow night we are camping, which no doubt will be “interesting”. Let’s see.....
Photos
Hamish stuffed at the finish line. Thanks Paolo for the pic
Leah and Pedro. Pedro and company adopted Leah today and helped her across the nasty headwind flats and hills.
The grasslands with Hamish in second wheel.
Stage 3 route and profile. Very deceiving…
