Stage 1, Langkawi

16/10/12

Wow, today was a tough one!  The humidity here just hit’s as soon as you set foot outside. I reckon I must have lost a good litre of fluid even before race start. I’m glad to have finished day 2 in one piece after a few clumsy crashes in the last 20km…some of those puddles are a tad deeper than they look! Needless to say, racing in the jungles of Langkawi is an adventure and a half and I am quite nervous about the remaining days ahead. 

Today started with a neutralised section of 3km, with all of the riders rolling out along one of the main streets.  There were plenty of locals lining the road to cheer us on.  We then re-started in our race categories with the elite men off first and then I lined up alongside the other elite women 5min later.  There are 22 elite women racing (although now down to 19 after a few crashes yesterday) and 13 different countries represented. Such diversity makes the bunch chatter all the more interesting!

Bunch rolling out at the start

Pre-race, with Elisabeth Sveum from Norway

The start wasn’t too crazy as I’m sure no-one wanted to spend their bickies early on given the conditions.  We cruised up the road for around 1km and then it was into the single tracks of the jungle and the first of many mud sections.  The front runners started to up the pace fairly early on, and I got caught out behind one of the Malaysian riders through a river crossing losing contact with the bunch.  Not wanting to exert too much energy at this stage, I decided to just find my own rhythm.  Over the next couple of climbs I was surprised to have caught back up to the bunch and the top 10-12 of us continued on.  I probably made the mistake of not trying a little harder to get back toward the front, and again got caught out behind a crash at the back.  This came at a crucial time as there was a longer road section up next, and I watched as the bunch gradually pulled away up ahead.

Over the course of the next 20km I picked up a couple of the girls who had dropped off the bunch, including the current marathon champ from south Africa Cherise Stander, or otherwise known as the wife of world cup winner Burry Stander. Cherise struggled a little on the more technical sections but was a real power house on the climbs, so overall we were similar in pace.  The terrain was certainly varied, with slippery mud sections, grass fields and there was even around 10km of sandy fire-roads.  The climbs, while not too lengthy, were quite steep and on a number of occasions we were forced off the bikes to run up. We also rode through some interesting little villages that seemed to pop up out of no-where. I often think as mtbikers, we really get a good insight on the places we visit with the ability to explore areas we probably wouldn’t otherwise. This is one reason I’m so glad I chose this sport!

Looking quite muddy as I enter the jungle once again

I had a good patch of energy through the middle section of today’s stage and managed to get ahead of Cherise by a good few minutes. This section was probably a little more like the Australian terrain with some dryer, rockier trails.  I had probably underestimated the length of the stage a little though and in the last 20km I struggled. By this time the gears were not in great working order due to the amount of mud and I was forced to run quite a few climbs. Fair to say, running is not one of my strong points! I had quite a few clumsy crashes in those last 20km, making me think I was a little sugar-low. Cherise rode past me on the major climb of the day with 15km to go and in the end finished a couple of minutes ahead.

So it was 9^th place for me today with a fair ride but probably not my greatest.  Tomorrow’s stage is around 45km with a long steep climb half way through. I shall make sure to pack some extra gels and hopefully I have some good climbing legs!