Chhatri fastest in day two's special stage

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Day 2 of the TransWales got underway under sunny skies as the riders saddled up for the second longest day of the event, 76km. It may have been long, but it was also high quality: with varied riding, stunning vistas, and high octane racing on the second special stage. Oh, and some sunshine, too. Lots of it.

Heading from Knighton, the trail climbed almost immediately through woodland before winching up Stow Hill at 424m, and into after almost 20km Bucknell Wood; here the riders hit the second special stage of the TransWales.

Initially billed as a 5km trail loop, the special stage length was put on a Slim-Fast diet and reduced to 2km over safety concerns on the bottom section of the full descent where several huge kickers could spit the unwary into the stratosphere. Instead, the special stage loosed the riders directly into some beautifully rooty and pumpy singletrack, before a berm spat them into a sequence of rollable double jumps prior to a big drop in.

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After the warp speed accrued off the drop railed you round a big berm, a sequence of table tops segued into some tight switchbacks that delivered the riders back into the trees for the final section of the descent. This included a left hand bend which dropped through a tangle of roots that only the fastest and most alert riders cleaned without dabbing or wiping out.

A couple of rutted corners then dropped the riders onto the beginning of the fire road climb at speed. A big ring effort saw the riders tackle the worst of the hill mid-way, before the gradient eased a little for a sprint to the finish line. All in all, it was a varied and rewarding special stage that fully tested bike handling skills and fitness; to win here, riders had to be strong in both.

In the end, the racing was close and well-fought, with many categories seeing fresh faces climb onto the podium. Chief of which was Nepal's Ajay Chhatri (Torq) in the solo men's category. The two-time Yak Attack winner stormed the special stage in four minutes and 58 seconds to be in a class all of his own as the only rider to go sub-five minutes. Close on his heels just six seconds adrift was Matt Williams in second, with Matt Page (Wiggle) just pushed back into third by the matter of mere hundreths. Page admitted presciently before the results were announced that "the special stage was alright: I wasn't quickest but I think it was close." In hindsight, he could've written the script.

In the solo women's category, there was a total overhaul of the top three, as Cyclist No. 1's Fiona Spotswood put daylight between her and her chief rivals. She took the special stage by the scruff of its neck to complete it in six minutes dead; last year's overall second place finisher, Hannah Thorne, proved that she is hungry to improve on 2010's performance by beating yesterday's stage winner, Natasha Barry (BikeLux/Progression) into third place by nine seconds. Sixteen seconds is all that separates first from third.

Elsewhere, the solo veteran men's category saw a great result for five-time TransWales rider Gary Cousins (phasenineclothing.co.uk) as he claimed his first solo podium with a strong second place finish in a time of 5:27, pushing yesterday's stage winner Paul Whittaker (Stockport Clarion CC) into third six seconds down. The top spot was taken emphatically by Andy Jones (Clee Cycles KCNC) in 5:10 - a time good enough to have placed him sixth in the open male solo category.

"I loved it," said Cousins afterwards, "I thought the special stage was absolutely brilliant: it was like the Climachx [descent] - it was just hard enough to be a little bit scary. That makes you think enough and also feel like you've been pushed out of your comfort zone - which is what it's supposed to be like."

The profile for the first half of today's linking stage looked more like the ECG of someone being electrocuted: it convulsed upwards sharply into jagged peaks before hurtling horrendously down once more. The good news for the riders was that the profile looked worse than it was to ride, but the plain fact was clear: the bulk of the day's 2300m of climbing was dispensed with in the first two thirds of the ride. So, it was no surprise that after catching their breath, the riders trundled downwards from the special stage before the trail pointed ominously up once again along the wooded trails on Bucknell Hill. Then down. Then up again into Hopton Titterhill and down the marked downhill track with its multiple lines and rooty singletrack. Then up. Then down. Then repeat to fade. And once again for good measure.

The reward for the riders was stunning scenery that was the perfect opiate to their toils: wooded hillsides gave way to river valleys, which in turn passed the baton onto open hills. All in all, today's stage had a great blend of scenery, cracking riding, and good weather all day that, bar a minor sprinkling of the wet stuff, showcased this area of Wales and England (much of today's riding and Clun itself lies in Shropshire) in a great light.

The results of the day's special stage has altered the overall standings in more than one category. In the solo men's category, Matt Page (Wiggle) has relinquished his leader's jersey to Ajay Chhatri (Torq), who now leads Page by 17 seconds, with Jonathan Harris just a few hundredths of a second behind Page. With so many strong racers so close, Wednesday's downhill special stage on the Climachx trail near Macynlleth could well see fireworks as they all try to force an advantage.

Gary Cousin's (phasenineclothing.co.uk) impressive performance was good enough for him to move into second in the overall for the solo men's category. Andy Jones' emphatic ride sees him take the overall lead by 20 seconds, with the former category leader, Paul Whittaker (Stockport Clarion CC) just two seconds behind Cousin.

In the solo female category, the special stage standing is repeated for the overall, with Fiona Spotswood putting clear daylight between her and yesterday's stage winner, Natasha Barry (BikeLux/Progression) by 15 seconds, with Hannah Thorne maintaining contact with Spotswood in second, just 11 secondss behind.

Tomorrow, the TransWales carnival will experience that true "out there" feeling across plenty of open moorland along the way to Llandiloes, some 70km and 2050m of climbing away. It also follows a fair bit of history as the stage crosses Offa's Dyke and follows Glyndwr's Way for a spell. If the weather plays ball it will be a stunning day's riding across the backbone of mid-Wales, before the riders screech down the final descent to the day's end. There will be no special stage tomorrow, so the overall standings will remain the same barring any time penalties.

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