Stage 6 was the same as stage 5 just ran at night with a mass start. We all knew that it was important to get to the first hill in a good position so it was on from the start. I found myself in about mid field but we soon thinned out after the first climb.
I managed to get past a couple of riders before I found myself on the back of a pack of 6 people so I sat in behind them for a while and used them to pace and keep out of the wind. We hit our second real hill and our little pack broke up. I got stuck behind one of the girls that took a little while to get past but once past I was in clean air for the first time all stage.
I managed to catch up to another two riders so sat behind them for a while. I was only planning on staying behind them long enough to have a quick rest, while I waited for a good spot to overtake. Unfortunately I was right behind one of the riders when we hit a big sandy section, I lost my line for a spilt second, the front wheel dug in and over the handle bars I went at about 30kms/hr. I quickly got up and jumped on the bike but my chain had come off. I looked up to see a heap of riders coming around the corner so I quickly got out off the track and put the chain back. I had a quick walk, due to the sand I couldn’t get going again. I lost a couple of spot here.
Once back on the bike I tried to find a rhythm again, this took a couple of minutes. I caught up to another rider and sat there for a couple of minutes while I settled back down. Once settled I got past this rider and put the hammer down just prior to us hitting the open section on the dirt road. Once again I shifted to the big chain ring and I was off.
I managed to finish two minutes slower than my day stage and I finished about 3 minutes ahead of Tim and Woz.
I managed to get past a couple of riders before I found myself on the back of a pack of 6 people so I sat in behind them for a while and used them to pace and keep out of the wind. We hit our second real hill and our little pack broke up. I got stuck behind one of the girls that took a little while to get past but once past I was in clean air for the first time all stage.
I managed to catch up to another two riders so sat behind them for a while. I was only planning on staying behind them long enough to have a quick rest, while I waited for a good spot to overtake. Unfortunately I was right behind one of the riders when we hit a big sandy section, I lost my line for a spilt second, the front wheel dug in and over the handle bars I went at about 30kms/hr. I quickly got up and jumped on the bike but my chain had come off. I looked up to see a heap of riders coming around the corner so I quickly got out off the track and put the chain back. I had a quick walk, due to the sand I couldn’t get going again. I lost a couple of spot here.
Once back on the bike I tried to find a rhythm again, this took a couple of minutes. I caught up to another rider and sat there for a couple of minutes while I settled back down. Once settled I got past this rider and put the hammer down just prior to us hitting the open section on the dirt road. Once again I shifted to the big chain ring and I was off.
I managed to finish two minutes slower than my day stage and I finished about 3 minutes ahead of Tim and Woz.
