Well, what an awesome start to Day 3. Mark and I missed the first real turn in the course as we were talking, and by the time we noticed we were off course had smoked down about a 2 km downhill.
Turn around and plod our way back up the hill.
The descent we had on the other side of this climb was really neat. I believe it was a Roman cobble road that switched back and forth down the hill with a rock wall for protection on the side. Really trick riding!
The overall day was quite similar to a day in the TransAlp with 2 relatively long climbs of a consistent gradient. Find your happy place and spin your way up. After yesterday’s explosion, I felt pretty good. Mark…. not so much. When I reached the top of the first big climb somehow I had lost Mark on the way. I waited a couple of minutes at the top and then thought that I would cruise on and he would eventually bridge up. I never saw him again.
The wind was blowing pretty strong on the ridge lines directly in our faces so the energy expenditure was really up there. I eventually reached the top and had a wicked descent down the other side back to the bottom of the valley before the last 1000m climb up to the finish.
When I was almost to the top, for the first time in about 3 hours I finally saw a rider grinding their way up behind me.
He eventually caught me almost at the summit. It turned out to be Graham who decided part way through the day that he was tired of “riding with the group” and put the hammer down to catch me. He really rode hard, and looked pretty spent as he rolled through. He was also complaining of significant butt issues which would haunt him for the rest of the week.
The finish was at a hotel that in the winter includes some skiing as a pastime. We understand that they have some temporary lifts that the install when the snow is prime. This past winter was one of those prime winters, as there were still signs of snow around. It was very cold with the wind howling. If it had been raining, I am sure it would have been almost snow.
The finish was at a hotel that in the winter includes some skiing as a pastime. We understand that they have some temporary lifts that the install when the snow is prime. This past winter was one of those prime winters, as there were still signs of snow around. It was very cold with the wind howling. If it had been raining, I am sure it would have been almost snow.
Calindy pulled the plug today at the third check point just before the last big climb. Discretion is the better part of valour and she has plans to tour Italy and Greece after the race. No point in spending a potential once in a lifetime trip hobbling around. She is pretty stoked for tomorrow which starts with a really big downhill, her favorite part of riding.
Today seemed like a blur. Our start was super cold with the wind howling. We began with a descent of the mountain we climbed yesterday afternoon. What a great way to burn off the first 20 km. The descent was on loose rocky roads that should you crash might result in some serious injury but we do not think about those things do we? Check out the video here.
The rest just went on and on. I once again found myself riding alone, and about the only thing that sticks out in my mind was riding what seemed like interminable paths between rock walls.
The wind always seemed to be funneling straight down the lanes right in our face.At about km 88 we climbed up a narrow cobbled road to the walled town of Monsanto.
We weaved our way through very narrow alleys that always seemed to confuse your GPS, or maybe I should say confused your mind. Once again we were treated to a neat descent out of the town down a Roman cobbled road.
It was quite overgrown in places and required total commitment your GPS track to find your way.The day ended with about 20 km of paved riding. The whole way in I was by myself and “Thank God” the wind pushing me along rather that blowing in my face. What a difference a 15 knot breeze as you cruise along.
All in all, it was a really solid day. Calindy came in quite soon after I did and also had a stellar day, probably the best so far. She seemed pretty psyched after pulling the plug yesterday.
Once again thanks to Carlos Dias for the great photos.
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