Ingerreke, day 5

17/5/13

I’m mighty glad I chose to ride this last stage. Rapid Ascent had chosen to save some of the best trails for this last day.  The sweet single track certainly put a smile on my face and reminded me just why I love this sport so much! Today gave me a chance to ride with good friend, and pedalLab rider, Jane Ollerenshaw. It was also a chance to enjoy the scenery just a little more than I normally would!

The day started with a short road section, then onto some fast 4wd tracks until we headed into the twisty single trail.  We traversed across a ridgeline for quite a while with some great views off to both sides.  I had to be careful not to look too closely though, as the track had some sections that were really quite tricky. One section in particular included some big slabs of rock with drop-offs and tight uphills. At times a few trials skills will have come in handy.

It was great to see just how pleasant most of the riders were in this year’s ICME.  As a female rider, passing on the single-track can sometimes cause a little heart-ache. I certainly didn’t find this to be the case today, as Jane and I made our way through the trails.

I was enjoying the single track so much today that the km’s seemed to pass by very quickly. Before I knew it, we were onto the last few km’s which included a long sand patch and one last climb followed by a fast 4wd track to finish.  Well Jane did her coach proud as she powered to the finish line and capped off a great week of racing!  Another PedalLab rider, Kerry Ryan, also had a solid day to take 2^nd place in the masters as well as 2^nd place for the week!

On completion of this last stage, there were no changes to the GC at the pointy end. Andy Blair had capped off his week with yet another win and had taken out overall victory with Sean Lewis in 2^nd and Michael Crosbie 3^rd.  Rowena Fry continued to dominate with a stage win and also a convincing overall win.  Jenny Fay had a little more bad luck today, with a puncture in the last 3km.  She still hung onto 2^nd place overall though and Terri Rhodes raced consistently all week to take 3^rd.

So, while I had wanted to finish the Season with this race, my body hadn’t quite hung on long enough to fully complete.  It was nice to experience the racing from all angles this week though, both at the pointy end, a little further back in the field and also as a supporter on the sidelines. For me it is now time for a break and get on top of my health once again.  I am however already planning ahead for a bigger and better Summer Season next time round.  Hopefully winter doesn’t take too long!