AlpacAttack
AlpacAttack Moves Into Chile
News Release / 16.04.2015
A dramatic change in scenery and terrain awaited the riders today as AlpacAttack crossed from Argentina to Chile.
Wind swept steppe and rolling hills were replaced with a much more “acute” terrain which travelled through pine forests and across volcanic landscapes.
Stage 3 commenced with a 7km climb, followed by a 15km descent on very loose gravel, but with the top contenders erring on the side of caution, a pack of around 8 riders hit the bottom of the hill together.
It wasn’t until after the first water station at the 40km mark that the action really began, again instigated by Yuki Ikeda attacking on the second climb of the day, which took the riders through a section of the recent bush fires that have recently plagued this area of Chile.
By the top of the10km ascent, Yuki had once again built a commanding lead over the chasing group of Nuno Miguel Mano Jorge, Guillermo Torres Alvares and Sonya Looney and the race eventually concluded in that order outside the village plaza in Lonquimay.
With 3 stage victories under his belt, Topeak-Ergon rider Yuki now has a 32 minute lead over his closes rival Nuno, who in turn has close to 7 minutes on third place Argentinian rider Guillermo Torres Alvares.
With 3 stages remaining, Sonya Looney seems to be tightening her grip on overall victory, taking a third successive stage win and increasing her overall lead to over 2 hours on her closest competitors of Wendy Lyall and Mireille Montminy.
The male +50 category is panning out to be hardest fought battle with only 2 minutes separating Jorge Vidart of Uruguay and Pablo Rodriguez of Argentina.
Tomorrow’s stage will test even the toughest of riders with 130km and 2900m of ascent across the flanks of Lonquimay volcano. Anything could happen…..
SleepMonsters
