TRANSMAROCAINE 2012 - 7th edition

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Day 4

Anne-Marie Dunhill / 17.03.2011

Teams passed a cold wet night in the bivouac at the base of the mountain amongst the pine trees. They awoke to frost on their tents and none of their gear has had a chance to dry with the incessant rain and snow ever present on this edition of the Transmarocaine.

The race director and the marshals stayed up late into the night discussing the different options for todays stage. The weather forecasted yet another day of heavy rain and if it was accurate it would have meant that the entire section would be cancelled. The morale was low as a years work had gone into tracing the race route.

The skies cleared around 02:00 and racers awoke to bright sunshine. Plan B wasn’t activated for today. The athletes took off on a run and bike up a steep mountain pass. Several incurred penalties for not staying with their team mate and it was the racer on foot who was invariably far ahead of the one on the bike amongst the lead teams. As the Gendarmerie Royal of Morocco had blocked the road to traffic the only sounds heard were the wind and heavy breathing as racers struggled up hill.

After the run and bike racers continued on to an orienteering stage into the green rolling hills of the Middle Atlas. An epic section of MTB orienteering followed. The red clay on the single track quickly coated the mountain bikes in a heavy red clay casing. There were several mechanical failures early on in the section as chains and gears snapped under the weight of the clay. A member of team number eleven said that he was terrified to change gears for fear of breaking down and his fears were valid as many teams had to continue on foot.
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