“Another challenging stage set within the characteristic Siberian tundra landscape of this area. You are now racing in the Khan Khentii National Park where the valleys are full of nomadic families and their herds…… The third stage of the 2016 Mongolia Bike Challenge took the orders over 117km and two KOM points, with 2240 meters of climbing through a dramatic landscape of sweeping mountains, lush valleys and rocky outcrops, under a sky that promised rain but finally bore blue skies.”
Stage 3: Geo Mandal Ger Camp to Tuul River
Day 3 was a bit of a rough one for our team, Martin reports from Steppe Nomad Ger Camp, the finish of Stage 4 – there was no reception yesterday at Tuul River. “After a good day in the hills Clayton and I took a wrong turn and lost 20-30 minutes. Mick took 3rd in his age category and therefore saved the team”, he said.
Congratulations to the podium position, Mick – awesome result!
That’s stage racing for you, not only do you have to be physically fit to endure what the stage plan throws at you each day, but also perform mentally and be on your game all the time.
It was a bit of a wet one too, by the looks of the pics coming through from the MBC team. It seems the riders are enjoying the experience and are bonding out in the Mongolian wilderness.
Here are the individual results after Stage 3 for our warriors:
- #14 Mick Klemens, 3rd in M2 in 6:21:12, 16th overall
- #71 Martin Wisata, 8th M1 in 6:24:43, 22nd overall
- #47 Clayton Locke, 6th in M2 in 6:24:44, 23rd overall
After 3 Stages, the overall classification is as follows:
- #71 Martin Wisata, still 14th overall in 18:31:23 (+3:45:53)
- #47 Clayton Locke, still 15th overall in 18:31:27 (+3:45:57)
- #14 Michael Klemens, 25th overall in 19:36:00 (+4:50:30)
In the team classification, the team still sits in 2nd position with a gap of 6:01:57, about 20 minutes ahead of 3rd.
A bit of a shake-up in the Khan classification also, with M2 racer Hans Planckaert taking the stage win by 8 seconds ahead of the Japanese Yuki Ikeda. Overall, the US racer Payson McElveen still leads ahead of Nicholas Pettina (+0:04:56) and Cory Wallace (+0:06:05).
Full stage 3 and overall coverage can be found on the event website.
Elevation profile Stage 3:
Photos courtesy of Mongolia Bike Challenge
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