Linking Stage Two
Cilycwm, Llandovery to Brechfa
Total distance: 67km
Climbing: 1985m
Followed by:
Special Stage Two
Time-trial, Brechfa Forest (Abergorlech Trail)
Total distance: 7.5km
Yesterday was a let off. The weather gods were teasing the riders; toying with them as a cat does a mouse by allowing them a hint of optimism that the fair weather may hold. Today, however, there were no such half measures of restraint. The gods unleashed their all with volley after volley of soul draining rains; drowning both the trail and the riders' spirits and turning the 67km linking stage into a non-stop battle of attrition, guts, and reserve.
Out of Cilycwm the riders headed west along the black top before diving into the woods to grind upwards on firetrack. It wasn't long before the rains began beating down hard making climbing even more mentally tough - not many folks revel in hard climbing, but throw in a maelstrom and the number drops to even fewer, particularly when the trail just keeps on pointing up. Eventually the riders zipped up and dropped back down to the Tarmac: yet even this wasn't easy. If riders didn't want to freeze to the bone soaked through by both rain and road spray, there was no option but to stick it into the big ring and keep the legs turning hard. And so it went on for a large proportion of the stage: grinding upwards, cold descents, and the no-man's land of flat stretches battling both the elements and the will to remain mentally buoyant knowing that they were still a very long way from the end.
Finally riders clawed and scraped their grateful way to Brechfa Forest and its rich vaults of new school singletrack. Built by UK downhiller Rowan Sorrell, the Abergorlech trail is stuffed to bursting with berms, table tops, rollable doubles and high speed lines that will give any rider a lesson in flow. Merida Bikes TransWales course designer John Lloyd made good use of all the available buff singletrack to bring a high octane end to the very long, very sapping and very, very wet second linking stage. But despite that the day was not yet fully done.
Due to the rains and the physical pummeling that riders had endured just to make it to the linking stage's end, the special stage was shortened to 7.5km. But for many riders this was still a bridge too far: sitting it out meant that a rider would be automatically allocated the time of the slowest racer in their category from the special stage, plus two minutes. For riders here for the challenge and the experience, such penalties are purely hypothetical and an easy price to pay for rest and recuperation. But for those revved up for the title race, this would be a pivotal stage to lay down their claims or see their chances begin to slip through their muddy fingers.
The course was fast and non technical, but taken at racing pace the undulating singletrack weaved its way through the trees over compression rises like the speeder bike scene in Return of the Jedi. On this course there would be nothing to separate riders save for out and out speed; it promised tight racing and it didn't disappoint.
In the USE Men's Solo category competition intensified as the favourites were joined in the fray by new faces who were determined that things wouldn't go to script. TransWales' 2006 pairs winner, Ryan Bevis (RAM Bikes) was again the early pace maker, followed closely by last year's TransScotland Solo Men's winner Andy Barlow (Whyte Bikes); but pipping both riders to the top spot of the podium in a blisteringly fast time of 16:59 was Belgian Frans Claes (Connection Granville). Frans' time was a clear 32 seconds up on Bevis' second place time, with Barlow 6 seconds slower in 17:37. The only other rider to go sub-18 minutes was fourth placed Ewan Thorburn (Fat Tread Bikes) with a time of 17:52.
Elsewhere in the Niner Bikes Singlespeed category TransWales and TransScotland veteran Matt Carr (69er Collective) had a proper race on his hands with Henry Richard Lansdown (Bike Shed Wales) taking 17 seconds out of him on the special stage to snatch the category lead in the general classification (GC) by just one second.
In the USE Veteran Women's Solo category Mary-Rose Cross convincingly beat Anne Dickins (Cloud 9 Trails) into second to take both the Brechfa special stage win and the overall GC. However, USE Solo Female leader Fi Spotswood (Iron Horse/Extreme) stretched her lead in the GC by simply starting the special stage as Angela Carpenter - her nearest rival - sat the stage out. Fi then went on to win the stage by just under five minutes from second placed Amy Baron-Hall (trio25.blogspot.com).
Similarly, in the USE Solo Veteran Male category enduro stalwart Steve Heading (Whyte Bikes) began to creep clear of second placed Kerry Graham (BAD CC) in the GC with over a minutes cushion. Bryan Singleton (Ride On/Buff) came in third to keep the GC unchanged.
Tomorrow sees the riders saddling up for the biggest linking stage yet: all 75km and 1950m of climbing of it. Taking riders from Brechfa to Tregaron it will see riders get into the Welsh wilderness proper as the course strikes into the wild heart of Mynydd Mallaen. It'll be a long day and undoubtedly tough, but with the weather forecast hinting at an optimistic turn, the worst of the weather could be about so say its final adieu. 288 Merida Bikes TransWales riders are certainly hoping and praying for it to be so.
Coming up on Day 3
Linking Stage 3: Abergorlech to Tregaron (71km, 1856m of climbing).
Full results at www.mtbtransuk.co.uk
