{"id":86970,"date":"2015-10-24T20:19:04","date_gmt":"2015-10-24T09:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flowmountainbike.com\/?p=86970"},"modified":"2015-10-24T20:19:04","modified_gmt":"2015-10-24T09:19:04","slug":"cape-to-cape-mtb-day-three-the-pay-off-in-the-pines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flowmountainbike.com\/post-all\/cape-to-cape-mtb-day-three-the-pay-off-in-the-pines\/","title":{"rendered":"Cape to Cape MTB – Day Three: The Pay-off in the Pines"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe had a gentlemen\u2019s agreement,\u201d confessed Kyle Ward, after narrowly beating Mark Tupalski for his second stage win of the 2015 Cape to Cape MTB, \u201cthat if it came to a sprint, we wouldn\u2019t attack each other.\u201d\u00a0Their agreement may have been gentlemanly, but today\u2019s stage was all about acting like a child.<\/h2>\n

\"Cape<\/a><\/p>\n

They call day three the Margaret River Special Stage, and it\u2019s the defining day of this event \u2013 it\u2019s the pay-off for the blood and tears of stages one and two, it\u2019s the day that everyone anticipates and remembers. For many riders, it\u2019s the very reason they make the journey to Margs.<\/p>\n

\"Cape<\/a>
Now THAT is a peleton. 1100 riders snake out of Xanadu Winery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

While days one and two are all about showing off the glorious fruits of this region, day three is all about the trails. And they\u2019re really, really good. Good enough to be rated by many as the finest cross country singletrack in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n

Wrapping in and around the township of Margaret River itself, a solid chunk of the course for day three is noodle bowl of knotted, berm-riddled singletrack. A cool misty rain had dampened the surface to a perfectly tacky texture too, meaning grip and dust were both a non-issue. Conditions were prime, and riders were stoked.<\/p>\n\n

\"Cape<\/a>
And we’re racing. After a long neutral start roll-out, riders were itching to wind it up!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Much like it\u2019s a waste drinking a glass of Grange when you\u2019re already six wines deep, it\u2019s almost a pity to be racing these trails! This is the kind of singletrack you want to ride again and again. \u201cIt was unreal out there,\u201d frothed Tupalski, \u201cthe berms and jumps were so flowy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cape<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

Today\u2019s stage also put on show just what mountain biking, and this event in particular, has come to mean to Margaret River. The day commenced with a neutral rolling start out of Xanadu Winery and through the main street of town, where hundreds of people came out to witness the spectacle of 1100 colourful riders of all shapes and sizes embarking on a day of razzing through the trees. Just as we\u2019re starting to see in regional towns all across the country, mountain biking is creating jobs and fuelling opportunities in Margaret River, and the locals are embracing and supporting it.<\/p>\n

\"Cape<\/a>
Flow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The enthusiastic local spirit extended into the trails too, at Heckler\u2019s Corner, where a rowdy home-grown crew busted out the airhorn, a chainsaw and just about anything else that could clang or bang, to pump up riders. \u201cThe crowd was next level,\u201d said Mark Tupalski. \u201cIt was almost like racing in the Czech Republic,\u201d added Kyle Ward.<\/p>\n

\"Cape<\/a>
Mullens. All grins in the singletrack.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Cape<\/a><\/p>\n

Without wanting to labour the point again, it\u2019s super uplifting to see local riders opening their arms to out-of-town riders like this. Unlike in surfing, for which Margs has traditionally been known, territorialism doesn\u2019t seem to be an issue for mountain bikers; we\u2019re all one big tribe.<\/p>\n

\"Cape<\/a>
Russell Nankervis has been racing super consistently into fifth place. His brother Tasman is no slouch either. Good genes, or sibling rivalry in action?!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cape<\/a>
Tupac slots into another tasty berm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cape<\/a>
Tupac and PVDP cop a heckle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the time bonuses from last night\u2019s Redbull Sundown Shootout saw things tighten up a little in the top ranks, the stage finished without any change to the overall leaders. Mark Tupalski holds a fragile lead of less than thirty seconds over Kyle Ward, with Craig Cook, Jon Gregg and Russell Nankervis rounding out the top five. Peta Mullens had a tougher day in the office, telling us \u201cI kept getting dagged on the climbs and ended up dropping back a couple of bunches.\u201d Imogen Smith maintains second, though she too had a hard day of it with a couple of crashes taking their toll. For the riders whose main aim was survival today, Colonial Brewery proved just the ticket \u2013 recovery lagers all round, please!<\/p>\n\n\n

And just like that, we\u2019re into the final leg for another year, as riders push on north to the top of the Cape at Dunsborough. Come back tomorrow, same Flow place, same Flow channel \u2013 see you there.<\/p>\n

\"Cape<\/a>
Big Morgs on the charge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Cape<\/a>
Conor McGrory is one of two hand-cyclists racing. He only got his new machine a couple of weeks ago, and has launched into the deep end with Cape to Cape. He’s a serious legend – we’ll have more about his unique hand-cycle up on Flow soon too.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cape<\/a>
Appreciate the patience involved in luring these ducklings over for this shot, please.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cape<\/a>
Ghost Riders on the Weir.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"Cape<\/a>
We told you the locals were supportive. Braving the drizzle to cheer on the riders.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cape<\/a>
Mike Blewitt. Toowong’s finest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cape<\/a>
The Hairy Marron is Margaret River’s brand new, super cool bike shop and cafe. These guys are passionate as they come, so make sure you support them when you’re in town!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cape<\/a>
Kyle Ward and Tupac roll in together. Tomorrow is shaping up to be a good battle!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Cape<\/a>
Colonial Brewery’s scientifically formulated recovery fluids.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"Cape<\/a>
All the essentials are that-a-way.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe had a gentlemen\u2019s agreement,\u201d confessed Kyle Ward, after narrowly beating Mark Tupalski for his second stage win of the 2015 Cape to Cape MTB, \u201cthat if it came to a sprint, we wouldn\u2019t attack each other.\u201d\u00a0Their agreement may have been gentlemanly, but today\u2019s stage was all about acting like a child. They call day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":87028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pgc_meta":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,12],"tags":[677,708,923,680],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nCape to Cape MTB - Day Three: The Pay-off in the Pines<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cWe had a gentlemen\u2019s agreement,\u201d confessed Kyle Ward, after narrowly beating Mark Tupalski for his second stage win of the 2015 Cape to Cape MTB, \u201cthat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/flowmountainbike.com\/post-all\/cape-to-cape-mtb-day-three-the-pay-off-in-the-pines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cape to Cape MTB - 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