DAY 5 : RECAP

by Ash Smith | Jun 25, 2023

Day 5, the air is hot and getting saltier by the second. The penultimate day is in the bag and we are ready to dive into Bordighera, head first.

Today was another super physical day for body and bike – getting closer to the coast makes for rocky, technical trails that shake everything loose. After several days of back-to-back racing, it was a big ask, but the promise of a cold beer and a dip in the ocean is definitely the dangling carrot.

SP18 was today’s big effort. 19 minutes of descending down rocky, tight switch backs that are “almost impossible,” but these eased as riders got lower down and then were treated to a scenic tour of the Granile, a hamlet perched on the south-facing slope of a ravine that flows to the Paganin gorges, in the Roya. Not everyday you get to dodge between buildings that have been around for almost a quarter of a century..big thanks to @srammtb for helping resuscitate a few bikes after a few rocky altercations.

The day ended in Dolceacqua; a village nestled in the hills of Val Nervia and home to a medieval bridge that has featured in many images, including a Monet painting….it’s charming backstreets and cobbled paths make for a great backdrop for the last sleep before the final push.

In terms of results, everything is on the line for the final day. Currently, there is only 0.2 seconds splitting @paulhette and @glennmac_mtb. It’s tight.

Time for a spritz-induced sleep and then it’s the sprint to the finish.