You’ve got your work cut out with this one., even though parts of it look quite appealing on paper. With over eight hundred feet of climbing, much of it near the end of the stage, you’d better not burn those legs too early.
The rollout is northerly and rapid, but don’t be fooled into thinking that it’ll last: it won’t on both counts. By two miles the early descent has turned into a climb that takes you all the way up to the right hander at Bol’shiye Kluchi at four miles. The road then heads east for four miles before a gentle right hander takes you north east again. It’s worth bearing in mind that Irkutsk, which is still twenty stages away, is getting no nearer as the route continues to drive north. If anything, you’re actually getting further away and will continue to do so for a couple of stages more.
The lumpy climbing continues right up to eleven miles and it’s not until just before the yellow kite that any form of respite begins in earnest. The summit’s followed by a long seven mile descent down to the junction to Bol’shaya Urya at eighteen miles where you achieve the lowest elevation of the stage at around eight hundred and fifty feet: then the real climbing begins in earnest.
The route climbs four hundred feet in three miles as it weaves through the forest between miles eighteen and twenty one. Once it emerges from the other side, the road passes by Dorozhnyy to the east before entering a two mile downhill run to the line.
Distance: 24 miles / 38 kilometres
Ascent: 814 feet / 248 metres
RGT Magic Road: 82CRwnt280KI
Max elevation: 1304 ft
Min elevation: 845 ft
Total climbing: 799 ft
Total descent: -859 ft
You must log in to post a comment.