Thirteen days into the Mongolian leg of the journey and twelve more to go. Stage 251 starts lumpy downhill, takes a long lumpy uphill climb from seven miles then descends from nineteen miles down to the finish. That’s the summary version of this south easterly heading stage.
The rollout is interesting because it heads directly for the intersection between three provinces: Tor, which hosts the start, Dundgovi, into which the road crosses briefly, and Govisumber, which hosts the stage from seven miles in. As has become the norm, the road and the railway follow the same course, and are closer throughout this stage than they have been for a considerable time.
The first half a mile is steeply downhill but the elevation lost is quickly regained by one mile. The route then follows a lumpy descent to the meeting of the provinces where a further sharp descent takes you down to the lowest elevation of the stage at four thousand one hundred feet. Then the climbing starts in earnest: although the climb is nine miles long, it’s rarely steep and is more of a slog than a significant test. It tops out at nineteen miles at just over four thousand three hundred feet but then gives you the pleasure of five downhill miles to the finish, although there is a small rise at twenty one miles that might slow your progress for a short while.
Distance: 24 miles / 38 kilometres
Ascent: 433 feet / 132 metres
RGT Magic Road: GBVgtnl6WxBm
Max elevation: 4335 ft
Min elevation: 4135 ft
Total climbing: 433 ft
Total descent: -492 ft
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