Matt Page is a UK based rider racing for Wiggle, and after coming 5th in Iron Bike, his first Stage Race, he has rolled straight into the GORE Bikewear TransWales.
Stage 3
Distance: 64km
Climbing: 1512m
During the results and prize giving last night I found out that I had finished 3rd on yesterdays special stage, with less than a second separating myself and 2nd place and only 6 seconds to the stage winner, Ajay who is a 2 time Yak-Attack winner. The guy climbs like a mountain goat, seriously fast! However I managed to extend my overall lead to 17 seconds, still nothing in it. 2nd position is now shared between 2 people, one of whom is Ajay.
Stage 4 starting under a cloudy and drizzly sky. With no special stage to worry about today it was just a case of getting the the finish at Llanidloes. I was keen not to stay wet for too long, so pushed the pace a little more than previous days and was soon out riding on my own. Perhaps a little anti-social, but I didn’t want to get cold. We rode alongside Offa’s Dyke for a while, which I’ve never seen before, then soon enough we were onto some moorland trails starting with a super steep grass climb. I made it to the top, but had to zig-zag a bit to get up the steeper section but it was a nice little challenge. The moorland trails lasted for a while and while they were fun to ride I was battling into a headwind the whole way and the grass track was slow going.
Eventually after almost 40km the moorland trails relented and changed to motorbike enduro trails through a forest. I’m used to riding these types of track from riding in Crychan forest near home, so I enjoyed them here too. It was along this section that I caught the outriders who leave before the bunch to check the course markings. I agreed with them that I would carry on at my own risk, if I took a wrong turn it was my fault. After another size-able climb and more excellent enduro trails there was a longer road section which took us almost back to camp, before shooting off along a farm track and down a brilliant, fast singletrack on the edge of a wood. Reaching the bottom and seeing no markers I realised that something was up, so after riding back up and down again and still not seeing anything I waited 10-15 minutes for the out riders to arrive and they pointed me on the right track and added a few extra markers that a local had obviously decided to remove. From there it was just a short fire road and road to the end of the stage, total time 4hrs 5min.
Stage 4
Distance: 80km
Climbing: 1600m
After the rain that fell yesterday it was a nice surprise to wake up to a clear blue sky and once the sun came out it warmed up nicely. Everyone headed off at 9am and had a little warm up on the road before heading into Hafren Forest. The first 25km was undulating but smooth and fast and a chance to chat to other riders along the way, which is what makes TransWales such a great event. After the first feed stop the trail headed over open moorland and I was soon joined by Matt Williams who is sitting 3rd overall and riding a singlespeed. We rode the rest of the route together and made good ground and rode a few excellent descents along the way. We were both keen to get to the start of the special stage at Climachx before too many others to avoid hold ups. Arriving at the start of the special stage, which is a run down the Climachx trail final descent I waited a few minutes before charging down. I’ve only ever ridden this trail a few times, so I don’t know it well at all but I did remember where the tricky sections were at least. The first 1/3 is easy and fast with lots of fast flowing turns, then it goes into a rocky climb that is really tricky to clean. I’ve managed it once before, but this time my HR was pretty high and I messed up on the very top rock slab. The mistake cost me about 10-15 seconds at the most probably. After the rocky section the downhill really gets going with plenty of rocky drops, step downs and fast rocky bermed turns and a few surprises along the way. I was really happy with the run down, I took extra risks over what I normally would, but it paid off and I was very happy with the run down in a time of 8 minutes 26 seconds. That time was enough to take the win on the stage, beating the nearest Solo Male by 8 seconds, but crucially extending my lead over Ajay to 1 minute. The fastest team rider was just 2 seconds slower than me, so I narrowly managed the fastest time of the day. The extra time will be vital, as Ajay is a faster climber than me and the Nant yr Arian timed section has a very long climb!
Stage 5
Distance: 70km
Climbing: 1741m
I knew today was going to be a big day, both in terms of the route and the outcome of the special stage. Starting at 9am as usual I made sure I pushed ahead towards the front of the pack to make sure I arrived at the start of the special stage near the front to avoid hold ups going down. After almost 30km we arrived at Nant yr Arian and I took a few moments to prepare before being the first person to set off onto the special stage. It followed the majority of the Summit route, missing out the first and last descents.
The first part was an uphill double track before heading down on a fast and rough double track with a few massive puddles that were taken at full speed, absolutely soaking me from head to toe. The course then went down a short road section before joining the singletrack which carried on for quite some time. I was fairly smooth and tried to be quick without taking silly risks along the way. Exiting the singletrack it was the super long and hard leg burner climb, which dragged on for at least 10 minutes. I was giving it everything and crossed the line totally spent. I knew I would lose time on todays stage, but it was a case of limited the damage. I finished the stage in 2nd position to Ajay who was 29 seconds quicker than me. That means I have a overall lead of 31 seconds with 2 special stages to go, it is going to go down to the wire!
The rest of the route was mostly straight forward, but had a fair amount of climbing and even though I was going easy I still had tired legs by the end. Today’s riding was probably the best of the week so far and the special stage was also a brilliant one. Tomorrow looks like it will be more great riding and there is everything to play for on the special stage!