Trans Alba Race Report - Day 7 (part 1)
Day 7 and we’ve seen most of the remaining field through the finish line. Yesterday was our busiest day yet seeing riders complete the course.
6th placed Tom van Leeuwen got the ball rolling. Like many he had underestimated the difficulty and conditions had worked against him. He spent much of the first day leading the line with Michiel and Tom Duncan but was reeled back when he eased off the pace. Tom was to start with his pair Tyas, but unfortunately injury prevented him starting. So a massive congratulations to Tom who adapted last minute and have a great go at the course.
Cap 46 Tom van Leeuwen - 6 Days 2 Hours and 18 Minutes
Next a trio of riders roll in led by Tim Needham came over the line in 7th place. He has no expectations coming in to the race but a solid top ten is a great effort. A few set backs with a blow out of his tyre near Ullapool slowed him down. But a consistent performer throughout the course! Think how much faster he would have been if he didn’t carry a full pineapple over the whole course. Guess if your theme is tropical you really need to lean in to it!
Joining the gang at the finish line we had support from scratched riders Adrian, Claire, James and David Lawson. The latter saw his pair Asbjørn come over the line after they had to split ways when David picked up an injury preventing any further progress. As a pair they always looked strong, focussed and determined to finish. Asbjørn used all of these qualities to move off solo and compete the journey.
Donald Munro was the third of this micro group to come in. Hampered by a 40 mile detour after navigation failure it was his ability to regroup and go again that saw him get to the end. Met by his family at the line he had an entourage to challenge Dario’s - less flags but some solid arts and crafts! We’ll call it a tie.
Cap 17 Tim Needham - 6D 6H 41M Cap 19
Asbjørn Klomp - 6D 7H 59M Cap 28
Donald Munro - 6D, 8H 27M
Meanwhile somewhere on a ferry Captain Daniel Pearce was making his way on to mainland. We’re not too sure how he managed to make it to the cockpit or how good he is at handling a ferry…
To be continued…
Cap 21 Glenn Eck - Scratch
Trans Alba Race Reports are brought to you be Alpine Bikes & Tiso.