The last two mornings dawned with flashes of lightning and tropical rain ‘showers’. I now understand why the stages are not started until 1000 as by then the rain is clearing and the day has begun a fresh. The downside of the rain is perpetuating the ever present mud.
Stages two and three were 45km and 40km respectively but for most riders their time did not differ significantly from the 65km stage one. My time each day has been around the three hour mark which may shed some light on the difficulty of the terrain. Yesterday we had a hill climb that many say approximated 45 minutes, other say 90 minutes. The hill was unridable, similarly today we had a 20km x two lap course and on each lap a hike of similar nature but shorter in stature. Do not be fooled into thinking the course is a three hour ‘stroll’, the terrain is so raw and demanding on both riders and bikes that this race is becoming a race of attrition. I am in awe of the local Indonesian and Malaysian women, the fearless manner in which they can attack the steep muddy descents that I am only game to run down.
Maja Wloszczowska picks her way down a muddy descent
To add fuel to the fire there are several individual reports of riders taking wrong turns and having to double back or apparently ‘missing ‘ bits of the course. This is one tough mother of a race and being here I can appreciate that Langkawi is not an easy location to hold a mountain bike race, credit the LIMBC organization team for doing a great job at containing the forces of nature. Plus I heard a rumor that the buffalo have been known to eat the marking tape.
The results from today and the overall standings to date are yet to be published and tomorrow is an early start with only two shorter days remaining. Today claimed many riders with Craig Peacock DNF (stomach bug) and at least two of the womens field unable to finish for crash or mechanical reasons. The team mechanics are working hard on the bikes every day to keep them running with a constant call for grips, brake pads, cables and chains.
Tomorrow is another day with a 4.5km XC style event.