Prologue: Open expectations….
I can’t say the prologue is my favourite section of Wulong.
Plenty of frantic chaos combined with typically average weather doesn’t exactly
appeal. I’m much more at home once the main stages begin and there’s less
chaos.
This year the prologue had been lengthened by about
30minutes and was a different course. Following a lengthy opening ceremony in
heavy rain the racing kicked off with a 7km run. It was a tough welcome to
racing in China with several teams hot off the gun and the pace frantic. We
chose to do our own thing and soon settled into position in about 5th
spot.
Next up was the bamboo chair carry. A must have component of
the prologue and a great way to quickly tire us out. Rich took the brunt at the
front while Stu & I took a side each at the back (Elina on top). Sucking up
the awkwardness we made good ground and overtook a fast running Chinese team
into 3rd. A quick run saw us at the biathlon where the 4 of us
shared 2 bikes for 3.2km. Two run and two bike, swapping over until the
allotted distance is covered.
I paired with Elina running initially while the boys took
the bikes. Tactics make a big difference in the biathlon and slowly but surely
ours paid dividends. By the end of the section we had levelled with Thule (with
Sam Clark, Jacob Roberts of NZ) overtaking them in transition. 8km of mountain
biking remained. Mud, puddles, and slippery rocks made for a challenging time
especially given our choice to ride with running shoes. Thule having chosen to
change shoes quickly overtook us and established a small lead but didn’t extend
it.
Torpedo 7 however (Sam Manson, Marcel Hagener, Hamish
Flemming & Simone Maer) were making good ground behind us and pushed us
right to the line.
So good close racing without incident. Can’t ask for
anything more really. We were 2nd by 12secs and a handful of seconds
in front of Torpedo 7. With such a strong field I was stoked to find that we
could keep up!
Stage 1: Climb, climb, and climb…
Course (roughly by memory): 2km run, 9km paddle, 4km
run, 8km biathlon, 32km Mtb, 6km run, 11km orienteering.
On paper this stage looked brutal. In practice it was
brutal. The result was a good one for us but I definitely burnt a few matches I
couldn’t replace on stage 2.
From a mass start in Wulong town the course took us down to
the river and a busy transition into the boats. Despite recent rain the river
was low with plenty of waves and the usual boils trying to throw you off
course. Unscathed and in the lead pack we headed off on a testing uphill 4km
hill slog to the start of the biathlon. Slippery steps and no respite in the
terrain kept us on the limit until we topped out some 700m vertical later
hanging in there with Torpedo 7 who were setting the early pace.
I again teamed with Elina on the Biathlon which took us
undulating for 8km high above the river finishing with an uphill grunt into the
Mtb transition. We’d lost some spots on the biathlon this time but weren’t too
far behind. Thule had shot off up the road closely followed by Torpedo 7. We
got onto the bikes and quickly set about business as usual. I’m not 100% on the
details of the ride but there was plenty of action and team shuffling going on
making for good racing. I know we were caught and overtaken by team NZ
adventure (Dougal Allan, Jess Simpson, Glen Currie & Jared Kohlar) but soon
passed them with a puncture. We were also caught by Raw adventure
(French-Aussie combo) but managed to latch onto the back of them. At one point
I remember just hanging on the back of Raw adventure and being concerned at how
hard I was working (towing at the time). Luckily that passed and I had what for
me was a really good ride helping Stu who was having a tough day and keeping us
in touch.
In a quick chain of events late in the ride we not only
caught and passed a slowing Torpedo 7 but found Thule at an intersection
confused after some ambiguous trail marking. We were back in touch and remained
just behind Thule into a very timely transition.
After such a tough ride I suffered like a dog for sections of
the next 6km run to the orienteering but as a team we suffered intrinsically
each vowing to stay with Thule. The orienteering was 5 check points with GPS
coordinates. All bar 1 were pretty straight forward but between Rich & Stu
at the helm we made some ground on Thule and crossed the line First. I never
saw that coming!
It had been a day of relentless climbing and I was spent.
Knackered and feeling the effects of climbing from 300 to 2100m we thought
about how we’d all fair up tomorrow. Great day though and a very satisfying
result.
Stage 2: Hanging in there
Course: 1km swim, 31km Mountain bike, 15km Gorge
run?, 16km paddle, 4km run with cave.
I know swimming isn’t my strongest discipline by any stretch
but it didn’t really sink in until after about 200m. I looked up and
disappointingly the flag we needed to swim around didn’t look any closer. Mild
panic ensued. I yelled at Stu several times trying to alert him that I was
falling behind but he was off in the zone. It wasn’t until I looked left that I
laid eyes on Elina being towed by Rich. With Elina a non-swimmer this was the
best way of getting her through and seeing that I could comfortably keep up
with them was a welcome wave of calm.
Exiting the swim was a combination of relief and a harsh
feeling that today was going to involve lots of suffering. There’s suffering
when you’re strong and there’s suffering when you’re weak. I had a feeling this
was going to be the latter. But what can you do? So the optimist in me
self-talked that better times were ahead. Unfortunately that would be a while
away. I knew this ride. Like most rides in Wulong it would have over 1000m of
climbing with little respite. After not feeling 100% on stage 1 Stu was going
great and took the reins towing Elina for much of the climb. Knowing I wasn’t on
form Rich sat behind me for much of the climb. It’s a great way to ensure I
don’t drop off behind and slow the team down even if it sucks at the time!
Initially we made good time up the hill but a combination of
tiredness & Stu’s free hub seizing up caused a slight drop in pace allowing
Thule, Torpedo 7, Raw Adventure & Team NZ Adventure to extend the 3min gap
they had from the swim. Torpedo 7 went into the canyon run 7 mins ahead and
going strong.
Into the canyon ourselves it was quickly apparent the there
was significantly more water than normal making for pushy flow and murky water.
With several 2-4m rock jumps it’s ideal to see where you are jumping, but not
today. In faith we leapt. The canyon was an exciting part of the day and I
certainly improved as we went through but my legs simply had no energy
requiring more concentration than usual to run the rocks.
So if our day wasn’t already challenging enough 2 x 6-8m
abseils in the canyon created a bottleneck backing up 2-3 teams at a time. By
the time we got through we’d been waiting at the top idle for 10 mins.
Advantage definitely favours the leaders. That said we were moving consistently
and kept Raw adventure in sight catching them as the gorge concluded.
Now for a paddle. With legs like mine I was actually looking
forward to getting into the boat….or could I? Raw adventures presence added a
hint of frantic to the transition. Having launched Rich & Elina Stu & I
had to swim to a boat that wasn’t full of water, scramble onto a slippery rock
then get into our boat. To make it a little harder Raw adventure had launched
just in front making a turbulent few minutes as we paddled up to Rich &
Elina. Raw Adventure initially sat on our wash and I thought we may drag them
through the whole 16km but we were paddling well, dropping them after 20
minutes. Ah, now we can concentrate on our own race again!
We all felt pretty good in the boats so the paddle went by
without too much suffering. Finishing the day we completed a trademark Wulong finish.
150-200m vertical of steps then a loop of a tourist cave. For me and my empty
legs it was again time to hang tough. Rich & Stu did a great job keeping
Elina moving well.
Finishing the stage was a mixture of relief and
disappointment. Significant time had been lost to Torpedo 7 (the days winners)
and Thule (20mins + to Torpedo7) most of it in the gorge but steadily all day.
Now out of the running for top spot overall tomorrow would be about defending 3rd
overall. 13 minutes behind overall was Raw adventure and they would be laying
down the challenge.
Stage 3, defending 3rd
Course: 31km Mtb, 14km run, 7km paddle, 6km run
Day 3 is always greeted with mixed emotions. Battle weary
bodies look forward to the end of a tough few days but generally there’s
unfinished business to deal with. Either you’re defending a position from a
fighting opponent or you’re attacking to gain the spot above. I’d love to have
a steady final stage but the reality is it’ll never happen!
So I don’t think anyone was particularly disappointed when
today’s initial cave section was cancelled due to high water. It was just more
climbing on mashed legs. Instead we had a staggered start on the bikes. Being 3rd
overall we set off in that order 30secs behind Thule who were 2nd.
The plan today? Don’t lose more than 13minutes to Raw Adventure. So when they
passed us after 10 minutes going like the clappers I was a little concerned.
They were riding strong and soon were out of sight. All we could do was race as
fast as possible. If it wasn’t enough then that’s disappointing but the reality
of racing.
The upside was that I was feeling much stronger than
yesterday and was able to share towing duties with Rich & Stu to get Elina
up yet another 1000+m of climbing as quick as possible.
Starting the run we’d lost 5minutes on Raw adventure who
were leading the stage. Thule were within sight but had no influence on the final
result so I ignored what they were up to. Feeling pretty good on the run we all
shared the role of helping Elina through what was a pretty brutal 90 minute
run. Adding to the challenge, Elina had bruised ribs after yesterday and
couldn’t breath properly. Good times!
Time to paddle. Brilliant. An out & back course gave
good feedback that we’d conceded 9mins to Raw adventure and only had 4 up our
sleeve. Nothing changed on the paddle but they were going hard and we needed a
solid final run to hold 3rd overall.
The final run was slippery & technical in places making
progress seem slower than it was. Ah well, its only pressure. Yet again the day
finished with 150m of vertical steps out of a limestone gorge. The Chinese love
to make these races tough – and right to the end. We did well on the stairs and
crossed the line 10 minutes behind Raw Adventure, who also won the stage. 3rd
overall but only just!
It had been a turbulent race. There was a different winner
for every stage including the prologue and a new team had been on the podium
for every stage showing the depth of the field. It would have been great to
back up our first two days and win overall but Wulong is a tough nut to crack.
You can’t have any weaknesses.
That said it was great to take 3rd and as always
we raced well as a cohesive unit.
A big thanks to Toread for sponsoring our team and to my personal
sponsors who help it all happen. Torpedo 7, Legend Paddles, Rasdex, Thermatech.
