We made our way through this part of the
stage in awe of the spectacular gorge to our
left, but careful not to take an unplanned
detour to the bottom off the slippery slope.
Some more stunning views awaited us on
the edges of lakes Moke and Dispute before
we hit the flowing singletrack through the
Seven Mile trail network. It was a beautiful
stage with loads of singletrack and stunning
views, even if we only saw most of it
afterwards in the official race pictures.
With less than 5km to go, we were
pushing our bikes up the final steep pitch
when Yolandi’s foot slipped on some tree
roots, causing an awkward fall that resulted
in her dislocating her shoulder. “Matt
the Marshall” was on scene in minutes
and “Wayne the Medic” arrived shortly
afterwards on his e-bike. Some painkillers
and fancy trailside medical technique
saw Yolandi’s shoulder popped back in
place right on the spot. Being as tough
(read: stubborn!) as she is, she insisted we
complete the stage on foot to give ourselves
a chance to start the next day.
That afternoon we had a one-hour bus
transfer to Alexandra. It was a stunning
drive and brought about a complete
change in landscape, going from damp
forests to open and dry veld. A beautiful
race village greeted us on the thick grass at
Molyneux Sports Park, which would be our
home for the next two days.
stage 2
Alexandra to Alexandra
(101km, 1 800m ascent)
At 101km, Stage 2 was the longest of the
event and everyone was talking it up. We
had some added apprehension having
no idea how Yolandi’s freshly dislocated
shoulder would hold up. The plan was
just to finish so we started conservatively
and kept it that way for the whole day.
As expected it was a really long day but
the diverse course, scenery and some
interesting and fun trails around Alexandra,
Flat Top Hill Reserve and Clyde made the
miles fly by. We were relieved to make it
through the day and enjoyed the afternoon
basically inhaling food from the onsite
vendors in the chill zone, where live local
music added to the colourful atmosphere.
This would become a theme for the week
as the remote race villages encouraged
competitors to enjoy each other’s company
along with the local fare.
stage 3
Alexandra to Bannockburn
(78km, 2 000m ascent)
Stage 3 started with the “cruisy” Clyde River
Trail to wake up the legs before leading into
a brutally steep 5km climb with inclines
never relenting under 15°. What goes up
must come down and we swooped down
into NZ wine country via the stunningly
beautiful Cairnmuir mountain range and
its fruit farms. In keeping with our strategy,
it was another steady day for us, but by
finishing fourth we knew the legs were
coming good!
bucket list busting | MTB | 91