Randall wins men's stage ahead of two breakaway mates

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Wednesday marked the just over halfway point in the Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro-Red Centre with four stages and three days completed, including the toughest marathon stage done today.

Competition has heated up with the men's race having swapped winners in each stage and Adrian Jackson holding a slim overall lead over Jason English, Ben Randall and Andrew Fellows. In the women's action, American star Rebecca Rusch made a comeback to challenge the first race leader, Jodie Willett.

Stage four was a gruelling, 95km from Trephina Gorge back to Alice Springs. Freight trains were packed with the bikes last night, and competitors were bused to them at 5:15 am for a 7:30 am start.

Although a little chilly, the competitors were treated to a stunning setting with the sun rising over the MacDonnell Ranges. They had time to enjoy their surrounds before the start hooter sounded. The course varied from 4WD to singletrack to corrugated road. One thing was constant, and that was the sand.

With some hiking the bike a prerequisite through parts of the course, some used it as a good excuse for a rest. A breakaway group took the opportunity to work as a team and steamroll through it. Jackson, Fellows and Randall got away from the pack and rode together until 3km to go, when Randall and Jackson sprinted to the line. Randall took the stage win and was credited by Jackson saying, "Ben had legs of steel today," and deserved the win.

It was a similar scenario in the women with Willett, Rusch and eventual stage winner Gracie Elvin all working together. Rusch said, "We helped each other for three hours, pacing each other, sharing the lead. It was hard, but it was super fun." Elvin, from the ACT, stormed home to her first win in the event in just over five hours.

Of the race so far, Rusch said she's been, "scratched by gnarly sticks and had a kangaroo jump out in front of me, which was really exciting by the way, but I haven't had anything bad happen yet like a flat. But anything can happen. I really do feel like I'm slowly getting warmed up and every day keeps getting better and better."

It would take a disaster to catch Willett who now has a 15-minute overall lead with just three stages to go, but anything can happen.

Take Jason English, for example. He punctured at the 20km mark and lost a few minutes, relinquishing the yellow jersey back to Jackson. It's still very close though between the top three men with only three minutes separating Jackson, English and Randall.

Over the next two days, there are 90km over three stages to crown a deserving winner, one of which is the infamous night ride, the highlight of the week for many racers.

While there is a tussle at the pointy end of the field, it's not all about hard-core racing. In fact, the majority of competitors are just there for an adventurous holiday. A group from New Zealand made the trip, doubling their holiday as has Edmund Hoh from Singapore, who is accompanied by his sister. Hoh thought the race would be a great way to discover Australia. Some racers are opting for tourist activities after the riding is over in the morning by visiting places like The Desert Park and Simpson Gap, and others others are opting to hang out around the pool, beer in hand boasting of their riding feats over the past few days. Either way, new friends are being made as the race rolls onward.

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