Loihuno to Betano

Distance – 95km
Altitude gain - 570m
Going – Largely flat, with numerous river bed crossings
Surface – Mix of dirt and bitumen surfaces, rocky river crossings.

The arrival of Timor Tummy (aka. Bali Belly) meant that as far as sleep was going on this tour, I was well down on the field.

I knew today's stage featured less hills, but until I could work out how guys without massive muscles were getting up them faster than me I'd have to settle for doing well on the flatter stages. I took the first stage as a performance guide and aimed to repeat it.... well without the cramps. So, first off there was a climb, I was resigned to the fact that would likely mean a chase to get back to the front bunch, after that I'd sit in and do as little work as possible in preparation for day 4 (you'll see why).

The start line had a surprise for me, they seeded the first 23 riders, which meant I didn't have to fight through the masses in the first few Km. Considering there was a small descent immediately after the start I was pretty bloody relieved. I will happily say, descending in big packs over broken roads scares me. I'll toy with my own life, but don't like the idea of it being in some one else's hands.

I kept my self in the first 15 riders down the descent and in to the bottom of the climb I moved into the first 6-12 riders to give myself the best chance of staying near them. As the climb continued I was surprise that the pace wasn't killing me, sure it hurt some times, but it never felt like I burning away all my reserves. When 2 guys attacked I waited for the pace of the pack to kick up a notch, but it never happened, meaning I stayed with the bunch over the climb and down towards the flat.

On the flat the GC leader sent his team mates to the front to help minimise the damage of the brake away. My race plan was still sound, so I sat in and let others drag me along. The roads were better than yesterday but sections were completely broken up, some had massive pot holes while others were all sand. I did my best to keep towards the front and stay out of trouble.

Once again the locals were enthusiastic during the entire stage, waving and cheering, especially for the Timorese team. In one town they threw water, by then it was a pretty hot day so it did help with cooling, but perhaps throwing bucket fulls was a little too enthusiastic. It caused some funny moments as riders were temporarily drenched head to toe and unable to see. :)

I survived the water, but did have a couple of other moments where I thought I was surely going to crash and crash hard.

The first was when the rider in front of me had his bike completely and utterly sideways right before a massive pothole. I think he was headed for the widest point before he realised it was there and had to take some massive evasive manoeuvres, only getting off the brakes and into a bunny hop inches from the edge. Transfixed by this whole sequence I was riding the brakes so had to haul my bike airward to clear the gaping hole.

The second time also revolved around a big pothole, sadly this time the rider in front didn't make it and crashed hard. I managed to split the 6 inch gap that opened up between his bike and himself. The following medical cars made sure he was ok, but I was torn about racing on or stopping to aid him.

Some time around these incidents, possibly on one of the many rough sections my drive train started to feel stiff and odd. One of my team mates informed me that I'd lost a jockey wheel. While it was harder to pedal, my bike was still going forwards and appeared to shift, even if the shifting was slightly reluctant. I knew we weren't far from the end so I pushed on, and tried not to worry about the chance of spare jockey wheels and bolts in remote Timor.

I sprinted with the bunch and finished ok. This was the first time the timers had had to deal with bunch finishes to there were some issues with the actual places given in the results.

It turns out it wasn't a lost jockey wheel, but rather my chain had jumped out of the derailleur (the retaining pin/plate at the back had broken). I was pretty worried about the wear, but somehow in my mind it was easier to deal with than a missing jockey wheel.



Sam, shows just how hot and dusty the stage was.



After the race we hung out on top of an old naval lookout tower, enjoying the gentle ocean breeze. Sadly it was the day's podium so we were soon evicted.



Stage time: 2:09.31
Official Stage place: 29th
My opinion: 15th
Overall place: 22nd

3 stages down. 2 more to go.