THE FOURTH STAGE OF THE MBC ENDS IN A SPRINT

August 5, 2011 - The fourth stage of the Orbea sponsored Mongolia Bike Challenge started at 7:30am after a night of extreme winds at the Yangirt Pass camp. A large group of riders escaped the main bunch early on, setting a fast pace through the hot, dry Mongolian steppe. At the 60km mark, about 10 riders were still together and looking strong. Passing through the village of Gochin, it was Canadians Cory Wallace and Craig Richey riding with Italian, Marzio Deho, and German, Gerber Sven. In the last kilometres Richey and Gerber sprinted ahead of Deho and Wallace, who did not respond. At the finish line it was Craig Richey (NOP System/BC Bike Race) winning stage 4 with Gerber Sven right on his wheel. In a photo finish, Wallace (Kona) took third ahead of Deho (Olympia). Wallace retains the pink leader´s jersey he has held since stage 1. Four different winners in the first four stages of the this year´s race is a testament to the strong field the MBC has attracted in only its second year.
Australian Melinda Jackson won stage four without problem. She was joined on the podium by Judith Locher from Switzerland and Raffaela Canonico of Italy. Canonico struggled with the track conditions today, saying she is looking forward to the mountain stages.