I swapped around position with the same few guys the whole race. I would be leading through the singletrack and dab, and then a few guys would get in front of me and then after a few minutes ask if I wanted to come through again. We swapped places again and again but in the end we were all in the same kinda position that we started in.
Halfway through, the legs started to burn, even though I was trying to ride 'conservatively' for the first half of the race. eating and drinking were less than ideal, but I managed to push through the dead legs and maintain a lead. 50km is a long way when you're race distance is generally about 25km (XC), and when you have suffered through pneumonia the past month and are just coming good.
In the men's field, Jinglish took the sprint ahead of my sweetpea, and then Andy Blairy in third.
Fingers crossed for good legs tomorrow!
So, a sneaky win and stage one is down, now to try and have the legs come good for the next six stages of hurt fest!
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| Although the singletrack was pimping, I was so relieved to finish this hurt-fest! |