Night-time stage wraps up tough three-stage day

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A 15km night race in blustery conditions completed a mammoth three-stage day. Most riders were at the end of their tether. Mauritian mud was the main bugbear and fatigue the other. Fireflies lit up the Ferney valley on Friday night. Headlamps and lights affixed to riders' frames concertinaed in the distance, creating a procession of glowing racers. Timekeepers relied on riders shouting out their race numbers to record their lap times.

Rain lashed out in complete subjection to the buffeting winds. Gil Guillaumin blasted out of the gates like a frenzied race horse. A quick shuffle occurred on the first lap. At the start/finish area, the buzz increased about who would master the elements best.

Yannick Lincoln answered with a telling gap of 21 seconds to Christian Emmanuel and Yannick Cornille. Cornille and Emmanuel were chasing after Lincolns' lights. At the second lap of 5km, the time gap had extended to 49 seconds to a motivated Cornille.

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Many riders found the going too tough and abandoned. Andreas Freiter from Germany summed up the race, "That was super hard. It took loads of concentration."

Lincoln came out of the mud bath in the most pristine condition. A time advantage of 2:44 was his reward and his second stage win. Yannick Cornille retained his second place overall with a gutsy ride, while Denis Valentin impressed in the junior category.

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