In wet conditions, it was Leandre Bouchard (BH SR Suntour KMC) enjoying his third win from four stages at the Crocodile Trophy. Canadian Andrew L'Esperance (Forward Racing-Norco) was second again as the elite men's field was trimmed to five with the abandon of Anton Sintsov (JBG-2 Team).
At the half-way mark of the race, Bouchard leads L'Esperance by 1:32 minutes with Okamoto a distant third at over an hour and a half on GC. Haley Smith continues as the sole elite women in the race and is fifth in the overall standings.
"Doing it full-gas all the time would be tough. I just want to keep it safe, that helped a little bit to stay fresh and of course the mileage in my legs and the training over the years," a cautious Bouchard said ahead of the longest stage in the race, 125 km from Skybutry to Skybury.
Article continues belowFull Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leandre Bouchard (Can) BH SR Suntour KMC | 4:51:08 |
| 2 | Andrew L'Esperance (Can) Forward Racing-Norco | 0:00:02 |
| 3 | Hiroyuki Okamoto (Aus) Inpulse | 0:15:50 |
| 4 | Ben May (Aus) Bicycle Riders/Specialized/Infinit Nutrition | 0:21:23 |
| 5 | Mike Blewitt (Aus) Subaru-Marathonmtb.com | 1:24:20 |
| DNF | Anton Sintsov (Rus) JBG-2 Team | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haley Smith (Can) Norco Factory Team | 5:30:51 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leandre Bouchard (Can) BH SR Suntour KMC | 24:29:51 |
| 2 | Andrew L'Esperance (Can) Forward Racing-Norco | 0:01:32 |
| 3 | Hiroyuki Okamoto (Aus) Inpulse | 1:36:52 |
| 4 | Ben May (Aus) Bicycle Riders/Specialized/Infinit Nutrition | 1:53:03 |
| 5 | Mike Blewitt (Aus) Subaru-Marathonmtb.com | 3:19:13 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haley Smith (Can) Norco Factory Team | 27:02:57 |
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