Night attack

Wow. What a move. From at least three, possibly four or five hours behind Jefe, Kurt has overhauled the erstwhile leader and created his own buffer of several hours at the front of the race. It’s a real statement of intent, and took me – and possibly Jefe and Ethan as well – by surprise. In fact, it took me several looks to work out what had happened after having briefly checked in this morning (UK time – late last night, race time). I blame the time difference.

The price of this ‘attack’ – real Tour de France parlance, perhaps showing the evolution of the TD as a race, rather than a war of attrition – is that it’s come at the expense of a night’s sleep. Presumably Kurt will have to catch up on that – if not the whole night at least have a decent kip – before too long. Will he stop in Pinedale for a few hours and then hit the road again before nightfall.

He certainly chose a good spot to ride through the night, as all the re-route that avoids Togwotee and Union passes seems to have been on paved roads. That makes a big difference. Ahead lies good ground as well – another 20 or so paved miles past Pinedale, then good ground right the way to Rawlins a further 200+ miles ahead. It could be a crucial time to see if the push Kurt has made will stick.

More later when the day’s done – assuming there aren’t other nocturnal attacks to report on.

Paul