You might remember that stage 342 was lumpy and uphill virtually the whole way. So’s stage 343, except it’s lumpier and uphillier: five hundred feet of climbing as opposed to three hundred and forty. That’s the bad news. The good news is that once you’ve done it, you’ll be a stage nearer the fun part of the South Australian leg of Around The World where the road starts to go downhill again towards Port Augusta: but that’s a long way off yet so for now it’s just a case of getting your head down, finding a gear that works and just keep turning those pedals.
The rollout is easterly from a section of the Eyre Highway between Orana and Tjilipi Plains. The start is steep and uphill for half a mile after which it just becomes annoyingly lumpy, curving left after two miles, until the road reaches Wirrulla at five miles. There, the main A1 bends right and south easterly, retaining that trajectory for the remainder of the stage.
The communities start to come thick and fast and after dropping down off the first lumpy summit at ten miles, the road passes through Yantanabie after the start of the next four mile climb. That climb peaks initially at fifteen miles, but after losing a hundred feet of elevation, the road climbs back up again to the same height before descending to Fairview at nineteen miles. That’s followed by another short sharp climb to twenty miles then there’s finally some respite in the shape of a lumpy two mile descent to the finish in Cungena.
Distance: 22 miles / 35 kilometres
Ascent: 502 feet / 153 metres
RGT Magic Road: XuoiRMaj05WY
Max elevation: 436 ft
Min elevation: 319 ft
Total climbing: 480 ft
Total descent: -393 ft
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