Dunes and More Dunes
There was an impressive sunrise on the bivouac before the start of stage four on Wednesday.
Covering a distance of 70.5 km, this stage is the longest and often the decisive part of the MdS. It is the stage competitors look forward to, but at the same time fear most. 686 competitors set off at 9.15 a.m. with the remainder - the top 50 competitors and top five women - starting three hours later. The disadvantage of the later start is that temperatures are higher.
Competitors have up to 34 hours to complete the stage. Those who finish well before that will have a rest during the day on Thursday. Most competitors will have spent at least part of the night out on the course, guided by a laser beam projected from the fifth checkpoint.
The terrain which competitors have to cross includes a long plateaux, stony ground and four very sandy wadis (dry river beds). There is also a long crossing of dunes after the third checkpoint.
Ben anticipated having to walk much of this stage because of the dunes. This would affect his average speed, the best so far being 7.78 km per hour on stage three.
We won’t know Ben’s results for this part of the race until all competitors have finished.
Stage 4 Menu
Cereal, Chicken Noodles, Wild Berry yoghurt, Strawberry cream, Cashew nuts, Garlic and Chili Oil, Peanuts.