“The difficulty in today’s stage is the long distance. With 130km, Stage 4 is the longest stage of the MBC. No tourists visit this area so the trails are used only by locals and even then, infrequently. BTW this will be a really fast stage. ”
Stage 4: Tuul River to Steppe Nomad Ger Camp
“130km with 1600m climbing faced the riders today as they set off on Stage 4 of the 2016 Mongolia Bike Challenge by Selle SMP. The first 30 kilometers saw a heavy fog covering the land as the riders made their way from the beautiful Edelweiss Camp out to the eventual finish line at the Steppe Nomad camp”, the official media crew reported from today.
Stage 4 of the Mongolia Bike Challenge was a glorious stage we were told, taking the riders through a mist-filled morning up to the first KOM point and then down a long descent into a wide open valley that went on for 40km.
Says Martin, “Day 4 was redemption day for us. I attack at km zero. Clayton and I go back and forth. Very fast and a great day. At the end I led him out in a hectic sprint for 2nd in M2 for Clayton!”
The individual results after Stage 4 are:
- #47 Clayton Locke, 3rd in M2 in 05:25:20, 13th overall
- #14 Mick Klemens, 4th in M2 in 05:57:15, 23rd overall
- #71 Martin Wisata, 5th M1 in 05:25:20, 14th overall
After 4 Stages, the overall classification is as follows:
- #71 Martin Wisata, still 15th overall in 23:56:43 (+4:30:33)
- #47 Clayton Locke, still 16th overall in 23:56:47 (+4:30:37)
- #14 Michael Klemens, 25th overall in 25:33:15 (+6:07:05)
In the team classification, the team still sits in 2nd position with a gap of 7:21:09 to the leading Team Japan, but the good news is that the time gap to 3rd has increased again to 1:19:15.
In the Khan classification, after a beautiful day of racing, it was McElveen (USA) who edged the sprint from Wallace (CAN), with Ikeda (JPN) in third. The overall standings and gaps remain the same.
According to the event website, the fifth stage “is relatively short but should not be taken lightly”. The race will finish in the XIII Century National Park.
Full stage 4 and overall coverage can be found on the event website.
Elevation profile Stage 4:
Photos by Rocky Trail
Photos courtesy of Mongolia Bike Challenge
You must be logged in to post a comment.