2013 Tour de Singkarak - Part 2

For the first time in a stage race, I had a rest day. For the team, it was a day of resting bodies, a short bike ride (via the beach for a time) and an afternoon releasing turtles into the ocean!

Quick rest day beach trip

Some of the turtles

Stage 6

An aggressive start - for Oscar and I this stage was marked by crashes. Having not had an incident in over a year, I came down twice during the stage - the final crash, at about 50kmph tore my right rotator cuff in my shoulder - I was able to continue and other than out of the saddle has not interfered with my road biking. Unfortunately, five weeks later, it still means I can't ride a mountain bike so for the first time since I started cycling, I'm missing the MTB XC National Championships this weekend.

The legs were great in the final stages of the race though and I was aggressive over the final climbs of the stage getting off the front.

Stage 7

The final day - after a very fast first hour a small break moved off the front with the familiar sight of TPT coming to the front and riding tempo for the remains of the stage protecting their yellow jersey. A frantic finale in Panang saw TPT also win the stage. Oscar finished 5th overall with two podiums while Sergey had a bunch of Top 10 finishes and a 10th overall in GC.

Backdrop for a stage finish (Stage 3) 

Post stage meal! (Stage 3)

Other than coffee, I had not known much about Sumatra before the race. The race organisation brought us through some spectacular scenery providing a safe, challenging race and giving us a great insight into this spectacular area of the world.