At last: the border crossing from Poland into Lithuania! There’s plenty of water on offer right and left on a stage that generally descends, albeit gently and lumpily, with precious little flat road on display.
This stage is a wee cracker. Lumpy but slightly downhill for ten miles from the rollout just outside Gleboki Brod, the pace fairly rattles along heading north east through the forest. The first sight of civilisation is at four miles where the road emerges past Lake Gieret and Lake Pomorze into the twin towns of Koszary and Gibasowka, followed immediately by Dziemanowka. North of Giby, near Konstantynowka, route 16 16 crosses over the Marycha river before passing Lake Budziewizna a mile later.
At ten miles, the road passes through Pockuny before sliding between the lakes of Pyre on the left and Samanis and Berznik on the right. After the water, Dworczysko at eleven miles and Ogrodniki a mile later where the road skirts around the eastern shore of Lake Holny.
The last town before the border is Holny Mejera at fourteen miles. The road actually runs along the border for a few hundred metres just before fifteen miles so I’m not exactly sure where you have to show your papers. By fifteen miles itself, the route’s firmly into Lithuanian territory and the town of Janaslavas appears very quickly after the border.
Although the road appears straight, it actually takes a curvature to the right over a period of about four miles, crossing the Raisupis river in the process, and by the time it passes south of Lazdijai at twenty miles miles, the highway’s heading east again. The Nemajune river is at the lowest point on the stage at twenty one miles, before the road rises again over the last four miles, passing by Nemajunai, Agariniai and Kirtliske on the way to the finish approaching Sventezeris.
Distance: 24 miles / 38 kilometres
Ascent: 574 feet / 175 metres
RGT Magic Road: oHErjuAcqNQV
Max elevation: 1181 ft
Min elevation: 900 ft
Total climbing: 574 ft
Total descent: -763 ft
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