Lau and Martin win Trans-Provence day 3

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Nicolas Lau (Cube Action Team) and Anka Martin (Juliana Bicycles) won day 3 of the Trans-Provence in France on Wednesday. Lau beat Jérôme Clementz (Cannondale Overmountain / Mavic) by three seconds and Fabien Barel (Canyon Factory Enduro Team / Mavic) by four seconds.

In the women's category, Martin enjoyed a larger margin of victory, more than a minute ahead of Emily Horridge (Transition Bikes) and Kelli Emmett (Giant Factory Off-Road Team) in second and third, respectively.

The orders in the GC stayed the same. Clementz defended his lead in the overall classification. Lau sits in second while Barel is in third. Martin tops the women's standings, ahead of Emmett and Horridge.

About the day 3 course

Day 3 is the Trans-Provence's equivalent of an amusement park. All of the good bits but less of the brutal liaison stages. The day's trails were split between a morning of wet and slippery and an afternoon of something that seems to have been teleported in from the badlands of Dakota. The day finished with a trail that had fast woodland combined with big rocky sections (and some very short but evil climbs mixed in there too).

Special Stage 9, the first Special Stage of the day, was a variant of a Trans-Provence classic. Riders were uplifted to the Col Du Champs (2100m) before a combination of traversing through high alpine pasture before starting the timed stage proper.

Black and green. Dark loam and green deciduous woodland drops steeply along a side of the mountain. Interspersed with with roots and wet rocks. The scent of wild garlic and thyme hit riders slid through corners and slip from root to rock. Then they were suddenly exiting on to a very slippery bridge. It was a memorable stage.

The liaison between Special Stages 9 and 10 combined a vertiginous drop on one side with sliding around on ball bearing shaped rocks into tinder dry forest. Finally riders dropped on to the road (1100m) before winding their way back up to 1400m.

Special Stage 10 is similar in many ways to 9. Dark forests and loam with occasional complex rock "jigsaw puzzles" to negotiate. The stage has some longer "straightaways" for even more speed.

After the feed station there was a trail - well more of a set of potential lines to ride really - that needed little introduction to anyone that has followed the Trans-Provence since its early days: Grey Earth. The grippiest yet slipperiest trail in the world. Once out of the top section good luck trying to pick a go-faster line. The trail then opened on to the side of a huge mountain that looked like a frozen grey sand dune. If you weree having a good day you could have ridden it with very little braking, hitting natural jumps along the way and hitting some of the fastest speeds of the week.

To gain access to Special Stage 12 required a bike-hike that felt like penance. From the bottom of a wooded trail, riders pushed or carried their bikes for the next 45 minutes to an hour. Once riders topped out, they then traversed along the valley before the final special stage of the day.

Special Stage 12 started at full-tilt through a wood that has quickly become one of the favourite trails of the Trans-Provence team. Steep, but not so steep that riders were constantly on the brakes, with flattering rutted corners that act as mini-berms as riders threw the bike into the next corner. It was very easy to keep speed.

Once out of wood and across a pasture field, riders hit the original start of this Special Stage. It neatly bolted together the rest of the day's trails into one package. Slidey roots, rocky switchbacks that seem reminiscent of desert trails, short but vicious climbs not the mention the occasional rock garden to negotiate if riders thought it was all a bit too straightforward.

Check out the video from Day 3.

Full Results