Here’s the round-up from days two and three at the AlpacAttack stage race. (Missed day one? Read it here.)
Day Two: Yuki Ikeda turns on the power in Patagonia.
Yuki Ikeda literally left the rest of the field in a cloud of dust during stage two of AlpacAttack.
Three months of very dry weather has turned the Argentinian steppes into a massive dust bowl, engulfing the riders for large sections of the course, which looped out and back from Villa Peheunia. 111km and 1600m of ascent lay ahead of the riders as they were led out on a neutral 12km sealed section and the action started as soon as the dirt began.
Yuki kicked on the first major climb of the day and Nuno Miguel Nano Jorge of Portugal went with him, but when he turned on the power again on the second climb he was too strong for Nuno and he broke away, riding the remaining 70kk through the Patagonian wilderness on his own.
A final 20km, through soft sand into a headwind along the shore of Lago Alumine made for an arduous finish to the race, but the chasing trio of Nuno, Guillermo Alvares of Argentina and Sonya Looney of the USA, couldn’t catch Yuki, who held strong to finish 20 minutes ahead of his closest rivals. Sonya again rode a strong stage finishing fourth overall and first female by over 30 minutes and Pablo Rodriguez of Argentinia took the male +50 category.
Day Three: 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 three commenced with a 7km climb, followed by a 15km descent on very loose gravel, but with the top contenders airing on the side of caution, a pack of around eight 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…..
