I think it’s probably time I admitted publicly that I completely underestimated how tough Appenninica MTB would be, but after 5 stages and an average elevation gain of 2500m per day so far, this ranks among the toughest stage races I’ve done.
It also has some of the best trails.
Let’s pause a moment to appreciate how wonderful it is to be able to race our bikes on public lands, on ancient roads and trails that evolved far before bicycles were invented, but somehow offer mountain bikers endless flow, rocks, roots, and general points of interest that combine to make riding seriously rewarding. Machine-built flow trails are great – they’re fun – but there’s something about finding your own berms, jumps and flow on trails of pilgrimage, of livelihood, and centuries of labour that is endlessly rewarding and totally humbling. And that’s what you get in the Apennines.
On the dirt at Appennica MTB Stage Five
Today’s stage, on paper, presented the simplest profile of them all: A long climb gaining 1300m of elevation, punctuated by one major descent, then a 20-kilometre section trending downhill before a final climb and descent. What we’ve learnt this week, however, is that the trails are never as simple as the profile seems.
Some descents are punctuated by ridiculous pinch climbs, and some climbs that appear to be smooth and even gradients on our profiles, when zoomed in on the ride, become a nightmarish mixup of steep pinches and unwelcome, elevation-robbing descents.
So we’re all developing trust issues and many racers are choosing to start conservatively and build into each stage, holding back some zest in the legs for the inevitable challenges to come.
Tiago Ferreira won the stage as did his team mate Kristina Ilina.
My day at Appenninica MTB stage 5
Having discarded my warmup days ago, I was surprised that our neutral start behind the moto (i.e. race the moto up a climb) didn’t kill me, but I discovered that I had good legs and managed to surf through the bunches into a decent position for the climb. We tapped up on the bitumen for quite some time, maybe nearly an hour, then turned onto forest trails where the steeper gradients saw me slow and the fabulous climber, Swiss Nina Brenn passed me, smiling as always. We descended an absolutely raw, truly steep rocky forest trail coated in early-autumn leaves that left me hooting with joy, then got back to work.
Mike, who has a cold, decided to ride behind me and take photos, so I had a little company, although the fact that he was nose-breathing while I was drooling on my top tube was a little disheartening. Right when I was starting to tire we emerged from the forest in a beautiful alpine meadow, with views to the tops of the Apennines all around us. Awed by the view, the gusts of cold wind, and that feeling of having ridden to the top of the world, I picked up and managed to clean nearly every one of the hiker’s steps to the summit of our first climb at 1790m. We’d probably done over 1700m vert in less than 30kms. Phew!
We dropped into a hugely rutted descent where several lines (presumably made by sheep centuries ago) criss-crossed one another. It was hard to choose which way to go. You could pick a line only to find it ended in a ditch filled with tombstone rocks, or choose one that looked rocky and actually turned to be a winning piece of flow. Derailleur-busting rocks proliferated, and it was super steep, so I slowed a little to give myself more time to make decisions and made good time, cleaning the descent with a tripod here or there until things got very rocky indeed and we were off the bikes, climbing again with the bikes on our backs.
I lost my rhythm quite a bit on a few hike-a-bike climbs and those forest sections where steep pinches seem to really mess with my legs. It took a while to come good after this, and despite a pocket full of cake stolen from the breakfast buffet, I struggled to get enough food in to fuel me properly for the 25 remaining kilometres. The next 10 kilometres took us through some very, very raw sections of trail which, while reasonably flat, didn’t seem to offer any momentum. I told myself to get to the bottom of the final climb, that I’d done enough to keep my fourth place on GC, and that then I could have a holiday.
Right on queue, I was caught by Naima in sixth on GC there at the bottom and was happy to let her pass, watching her muscle her way up the incredibly nasty, steep, rocky trail ahead of me. ‘Don’t worry,’ I thought, ‘there can’t be much of this’. Ohohohohohoho how wrong I was. This treachery continued for a good five kilometres, before riders were tricked by a brief road descent, only to discover more loose, rocky and oh-so-steep climbing was in store. Many, many letters of complaint addressed to Beppe, our race organiser, were dictated internally on this last section. Many swear-jar debts were racked up, and many, many hearts were broken.
Unable to convince my inner two-year-old, who seemed to have taken over, to eat any more gels, and with my congealed cake far up the back of my jersey, I gasped and swore my way up this thing, eventually giving up and walking for the sheer reason that I had categorically quit bike riding for ever more and was ready to begin my career in a new and exciting sport like archery, which involves standing in one spot and breathing slowly.
Eventually, the 1km to go sign appeared on the side of the road, and I dropped my seatpost, prepared to freewheel down to the finish (because that’s what it looked like on the profile, right?). Three or four climbs later, and not before getting stuck at the bottom of a flight of stairs, I did eventually cross the finish line in fifth.
We’re in the glorious town of Vidiciatico, and the windows of our hotel look out on the endless mountains of the Apennines, which have given us all so much this week. While I’m looking forward to tomorrow (and signing off my last race blog for this event, as Mike Blewitt will report on stage 6), I’m sad it’s almost over. I don’t want to think about how many stage races I’ve done, but this is one of the most beautiful and definitely the friendliest.
Now to sign off and finish my letter to Beppe.
