Stage 7,
deva-station. The last one, the last stage, and when you are holding a podium
position overall or category by a slim margin, this is where the racing gets
real.
The local police
lead out the peloton for a lap of the town, they drive off and the pain train
kicks in. Groups form early, riders attempting to hold that wheel, get on board
for a tow. Miss it and your spirally back to another group.
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| Photo: CHLOE GERAGHTY |
The pace can be
brutal, every undulation testing, succumb to the pace and watch those other
riders pull away. Find a friend, work together. The sections of trail flow but
it is super loose single-track. There are more casulties, offs, endos,
scratches, bruises. You power on hoping you’re not the next victim. How far to
go? How much energy? You dig deeper, pain in temporary. You fly pass riders
with mechanicals, a quick “you-right?” for their “yes thanks”. More rocks and a
river crossing, there isn’t to far to the end. A sprint across the grass and
you’ve made it!
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