Saturday, March 16, 2013

Race Report: Stage 3 Tour of Northland

Stage 3's 88km route ran from Opononi to Paihia on the east coast. We faced fresh head and sidewinds on a mainly flat and undulating course.



As usual, an attack was launched within 30 seconds of the gun. Four guys stayed away for approx 40km before they were reeled back in. The lack of big climbs and the winds meant that most of the group stayed together.



With about 25km to go, we were smacked with strong sidewinds. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and 10 of us got dropped by the group. We worked hard to catch the peloton, and we were within about 10 meters, but they accelerated over an undulation. 

We limited our losses and I crossed the finish line in 47th place, 2 minutes and 53 seconds behind the stage winner.

On GC, I am in 48th place and 29 minutes and 24 seconds down.

The forecast is for heavy rain tomorrow. The route has a lot of twisting, winding descents. I don't want to risk opening my wounds from two weeks ago. We'll see how the weather looks in the morning.





1 comment:

  1. Nice going. You are gaining race experience and mixing it up — congrats! The photos you've posted of the venue are gorgeous.

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