Stage 5, the journey home is already beginning for many, we leave behind a fantastic 4 days of racing in a spectacular area of Poland. Never before have I raced a stage race or even single day marathon where the effort is so relentless but so well rewarded. Beskidy MTB Trophy 2015 is over but most will leave with many special memories.
Stage 4’s 68km (40km short distance) on paper looked like the toughest stage of the week with many steep climbs and equally steep descents, these are made even more difficult by the loose nature of the rocky ground.
By the top of the first climb Torsten Mutzlitz and I had had a small gap over Ryan Sherlock who isn’t a huge fan of these steeper climbs. Over the last 3 days we’ve seen Ryan make up time towards the end of the stage but not today. Once again there were some great trails out there, the singletrack around the first of two mountain summits was pretty sensational.
It was great fun riding with Torsten from the Scott Generation Germany MTB team, we crossed the line together, 1st and 2nd, Scott Bikes, one big happy family. Ryan crossed the line 2 minutes later to secure second on GC, Torsten was 3rd on GC. I took the win in the general classification.
Third today and the GC runner-up, Ryan Sherlock, shared his view on the Beskidy MTB Trophy. “After being so tired after the finish of stage 3 in the heat yesterday I actually recovered pretty well and felt good all day today. Again we had spectacular trails and scenery – maybe the climbs a bit steep for me but the descents made up for it. An hour in I had a puncture but fought on to the end to finish just behind the two leaders. I have raced all over the world and I have to admit that this has been one of the most beautiful and challenging races I have done. Sign me up again for next year!”
In the women’s race Laura Turpijn finished 1st today and the general classification, Daniella Storch was a close 2nd today, Beata Balazs 3rd.
Beskidy MTB Trophy will be back next year, it'll be quite the adventure!