Competition Stage 2 Que River.

Sat Arvo. Smoother Fire road. Single track. Powerline track 4x4 access trails. 20km. Easier to get a flow happening.

The B group started about 2 mins after the A and I was looking to catch the back markers to drag myself back up. The start line was an unknown bunch and when the whistle blew they were off like a rocket. Funnily it was more like a sport XC start with one or 2 guys going flat out for 500m then slowing down. I took the lead in the early singletrack and smashed away chasing hard.

On one of the fast fire roads my chain dropped off and jammed up in the cranks. Quickly fixing the issue i'd only just been caught. Putting the power down i heard a crunch from the rear. My derailleur was being bent around the cassette. At this stage bellie rode past and i was in the middle of cracking the shits. Luckily the derailleur was good, only a small piece of the carbon cage was broken.

Back riding it was angry time. I caught bellie up and we rode together. Time trialing around the tailings dam of the Hellyer mining lease I was cranking it as i could see the back end of the A group up ahead.

Arriving at the Que river was a surprise for me. The trail dissapeared in the trees on the bank and i realised we had to get wet feet. Jumping off the bank with my bike i got a last minute warning from the camera man on the other side "its deep!! over knee height!" thanks mate. I nearly went under.

From there we were on a section that followed powerlines and i was back on form. Catching and passing the A group stragglers.... The strong ride had me back in the A group for day 2.