Stage 3

125km day. Morning brought cloud cover but still hot. The race today took us straight into hell. The first climb of the day was loose rock and 4-6 inches of dry loose sand. The descent was extremely difficult to maintain control. Gary has had some awful crashes but today he rode the technical very well considering conditions that even the pros were saying were unreal. The first feed station 40kms in was the end for Gary. He was too dehydrated from the heat and not being able to eat to power his body spelled the end. I continued on for a very difficult, fast paced stage, solo. The mountains are beautiful here and different than anything I have ever seen. It is difficult to look around and feed when the rocks and sand are endless. Finished very tired, very common theme around camp. Gary will be given a blue plate which will allow him to continue if he can't start or quits during anymore stages, he will not be allowed to race further. I have the option to race solo or stay as a team with Gary. I will stay with him, I would really love to see him finish the last 4 stages.