ANDALUSIA BIKE RACE 2018 - STAGE 3

Share on Facebook  Share on Twitter

BY: Melanie Alexander

Published: 27th February, 2018

Stage 3 was the Andujar one, an area I remembered as being particularly fun. An earlier than normal start was needed as we had to pack our bikes in bags, load the car, drive to Andujar and then reassemble bikes before he stage start. All went perfectly to plan though the rain on the drive over had us uncertain of what to wear. Would a gilet be enough or was a waterproof needed too? In the end Mark and I stuffed our lightweight rain jackets in back pockets and raced in jersey and arm warmers, a good choice as it turned out.

Out of Andujar the pace was furious with groups splitting early on. Heading off road the trails had become slick and the first short descent saw lots of riders walking. I got down it OK but once down was met with a steep climb that was unrideable in these conditions.

Whilst the profile map suggested a gentle gradient for the first 20km there were in fact lots of short sharp climbs, many of which became tests of hike a bike. I’m pretty good at this, maybe longer legs help, and I was able to make up time, overtaking several of the faster women. After the first feed station a long climb saw most of them go back past me and with a fast gravel road descent after the top, a type of descent I struggle with, the gaps opened up.

I was having a good day, however, enjoying the more technical climbs and the next descent was fantastic, very narrow in places, very rocky but with a generally smooth line available. If you were precise you could ride it fast and this was what I’d enjoyed about Andujar previously.

More climbing followed but my 46t cassette made this bearable and the final descent was again a fun single track weaving through rocks.

The final few kms were brutal, pedalling into a headwind before a final few turns around the streets of Andujar. I finished the stage in 14th place, another improvement over previous days so headed in the right direction.

Mark and Crispin had started the day in pen 4, one up from the previous day and both improved their standings, Mark finishing 12th in M40 and Crispin 28th, so two happy boys there.

We’re now in Córdoba ready for stage 4. There is rain and possible thunder storms forecast so the stage has been shortened from 91km to 61km. I think I’m relieved, it would have been a long hard day - hopefully now it will just be hard.