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Day 4 - Blister in the sun

24.07.2008

Day 4 marked a potential major difference-maker in the Mountain X Race rankings. With the points which decide each teams ranking based on the relative times taken for a stage, over a long stage a large gap may still be a relatively low percentage difference, therefore a team may only drop a few points. As only two of the three activities today were timed, and the longest of those only an hour long, then even small differences in the total times could have a major effect on the rankings. Tim Lloyd, manager of Saab Salomon, stated that “today could be make or break for the top teams. If one team has particularly good climbers, they could well push others down the rankings�.

The teams split into two groups this morning, one group heading to a canyoning stage, the other for a combined stage of rock climbing and via ferrata, then in the afternoon the two groups swapped activities. With the canyoning run as an untimed activity (albeit accruing a penalty for non-participation) some had questioned the logic of running the stage at all. To all the doubters, the answer became self explanatory as the teams filtered out of the canyon grinning from ear to ear, reports of the stage filtered over the organisation radios, with the Italian team of BG Extreme quoted as having run up to the French marshal proclaiming the canyon to have been ‘magnifique’ and ‘excellente’. For both safety and legal reasons, the stage could not have been made competitive, but the expressions and comments from all the teams indicated that it had been well worth the extra effort. For the teams moving through the canyon in the afternoon, this was a great opportunity to cool down in the glacial melt, and to relax a little, knowing they could enjoy the section without worrying about the time.

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