Mongolian domination continues in Tuul River Valley

The three Mongolian National Team racers continue their strong MBC campaign on today’s second stage of the 10th Anniversary Edition. Bilguunjargal Erdenebat Nr. 41 places third in today’s 108km marathon stage and with a +2:21.8 lead defends his Khan jersey. Team mate Buyntogtokh Navaansamdan Nr. 66 wins both GPM classifications and with a race time of 3h16:49.4 claims also the stage victory in a sprint finish ahead of Bolor-Erdene Enkhtaivan Nr. 7 at Tuul Ovoot, the spectacular ger camp on the Tuul River. Ana Isabel Costa Pinto Alves defends her race in 4h11:04.6 lead among the women ahead of Leah Bayer from the United States.

Stage 2 started with two of the three dominant Mongolian racers again charging ahead right from the start and for a few kilometers it looked like they would break away even from race leader Bilguunjargal Erdenebat who proudly wore the pink Khan jersey. By the first GPM classification at 47km the race leader Bilguunjargal had managed to catch up to his team mates and together they charged onwards at a high pace further increasing their lead on the long final descent. After the highest elevation point with the second GPM classification, mountain valleys with small streams and dry river beds eventually gave way to a wide open grassland, the Tuul River Valley.

The eight female racers this year come represent five different nationalities and the Portugese racer Ana Isabel Costa Pinto Alves claims her second stage win among the women today, defending her lead ahead of tomorrow’s third stage. Leah Bayer from the United States is in second overall with a gap of just under two hours and Amparo Herena Sánchez Martín from Spain is third in the female GC (+2h08:05.3).

Full chronicle on www.mongoliabikechallenge.com 

Video made by Horacio Cabilla (www.restarts.es)