Hawson wins time trial despite flat

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Day four featured the third special stage, an abridged 8.5km time trial at the Nant y Arian trail centre loop.

For the riders fighting it out in the general classification, this was a pivotal special stage as there was quite simply nowhere to hide: either barrelling downhill or hauling up again. There was no flat. And so any mistake here would play into the hands of competitors and any time loss could easily become significant.

Ryan Hawson (Ayup Lighting) is riding in the solo men's category and has been having plenty of fun out on the trail; unfortunately he has been the unwilling recipient of special stage bad luck following his success on the climbing special stage on day one. Today, he had a front puncture as he was pinning it; however, his luck must be improving as even with the flat, his time of 23:15 was enough to take the stage win by 21 seconds from Greig Walker, who was 13 seconds ahead of third placed Paul Whittaker (Stockport Clarion). This means that Hawson (Ayup Lighting) retook the lead in the general classification ahead of Sean Grosvenor (Summit Cycles / Conti) by 24 seconds.

In the solo women's category, Rickie Cotter was out for blood after missing out on the podium on the downhill special stage due to double punctures. "I smashed it," she said of her run afterwards: "I'm really happy."

Her efforts certainly paid off as she beat her closest rival by just under two and a half minutes in a time of 26:09. Hannah Thorne pushed hard and came in second in a time of 28:37. The previous leader in the category, Fi Spotswood (For Goodness Shakes), has returned home to Bristol which opened the door and laid down the welcome mat for Hannah Thorne to take the overall women's lead, just 12 seconds ahead of Cotter.

In the duo men's category, Neil Richardson and Dan Lewis (RAFCC) put in the fastest performance of the entire stage in an average combined time of 22:57, a time that would have given either of them the win in the solo category. It was also a clear two minutes faster than the pairing of Darren Koslicki and Adam Wroz (Team Unknown), who were convincingly beaten into second on the stage and the general classification by some 2:10.

Elsewhere, in the mixed duo category, the overall changed hands due to the solid consistency of previously second-placed pair Claire Neuhoff and Simon Neuhoff (The Clantons). With a third on the first special stage followed by two second places - including on today's special stage - they succeeded in making up enough time on the previous leaders (Elizabeth Docherty and James Docherty (Ohh!) to take the lead by just five seconds. This all means that each of the top three teams (Team Ohh!, The Clantons, and Double Dutch) have held the lead in the overall at some point, and they are now separated by less than 20 seconds.

The pressure will continue for the fourth special stage tomorrow, the night stage at Cwm Rhaidr. Cotter will be looking to stamp her authority on the women's solo competition, whilst Hawson will be looking for a trouble-free but flawless run to extend his fragile lead. However, Cwm Rhaidr has a reputation for slicing sidewalls so he needs to be careful as another puncture could see him slip down the rankings.

In every category, nothing is settled so there's all to play for on the fifth day. Blend into this backdrop one of the most loved trails in the race's history: the Doethie Valley singletrack descent as the highlight of the linking stage and the fifth day promises to be the best so far.

Special stage 3 results

General classification after day four