| Stage 3
: Ma’der El Kebir/Maharch Distance : 38 km – 3 check-points
Tuesday 11 april 2006
Temperature : 39.4°C at 13h
Hygrometry : 18 % at 13h
663 runners at start of this stage,
68 retirements
Total abandons pour cette étape à 13h
: 11
PROVISIONAL STAGE RANKINGS
Men
1. Lahcen Ahansal (1, Morocco) 3h10m58
2. Abderrahmane Maliki (12, Morocco)
3h11m44
3. Mohamad Ahansal (2, Morocco) 3h20m31
Women
1. Geraldine Couderesses (153,
France) 5h21m06
2. Alessia Bertolini (714, Italy) 5h27m33
3. Lorena Di Vito (728, Italy) 5h28m23
Teams
1. Team Lorans Salomon (D184,185,186,187,
France) 4h44’’
2. Comanav 1 (D1,2,3,745, Morocco)
4h10m23
3. Comanav 2 (D18,19,20, Morocco) 4h27m37’’
PROVISIONAL
GENERAL RANKINGS :
Men
1. Lahcen Ahansal (1, Morocco) 8h17m42
2. Abderrahmane Maliki (12, Maroc)
at 13m42’’
3. Salameh Al Aqra (D164, Jordanie)
at 26m18’’
Women
1. Geraldine Couderesses (153, France)
13h18m32
2. Alessia Bertolini (714, Italy) at
22m10
3. Lorena Di Vito (728, Italy) at 43m02
Teams
1. Team Lorans Salomon (D184,185,186,187,
France) 10h02m24
2. Comanav 1 (D1,2,3,745, Morocco)
at 39m10
3. Legendre Bretagne 1 (D351,352,353,354
Morocco) at 1h15’28
After a considerable
number of retirements, the diminished
group of competitors
embarked on the 3rd stage with a
certain amount of apprehension. The
terrain was uneven, and competitors
were able to appreciate the very
diverse landscapes and colours of
the Moroccan Sahara: blue skies and
ochre dunes but also green fields
of henna and oases. A copious menu
featured a long series of ridges
and dunes leading up to CP2. CP2
is inaccessible to vehicles and was
installed using a helicopter. The
winds stayed reasonable during the
morning, providing much needed respite
for the runners.
In this spaghetti western landscape,
the reigning leaders went on the attack.
Lahcen Ahansal(1), unsurprisingly won
this stage with a virtual sprint finish
but just one minute ahead of Abderrahmane
Maliki (12). Maliki, from Errachidia,
confirms he’s a genuine threat
to the supremacy of the Ahansal brothers;
they were wary of his abilities from
the outset. He treated himself to the
luxury of pushing Mohamad Ahansal (2)
back nearly 10 minutes. Salameh Al
Aqra from Jordan was hit by a dose
of fatigue and finished fourth.
In the women’s race Geraldine
Courdesses (153, France) was out in
front from start to finish, ahead of
the two Italians Alessia Bertolini
(714) and Lorena Di Vito (728); the
latter had come in 6th place on MDS
in 2004 and 2005.
The MDS caravan is now anticipating,
not without a certain apprehension,
tomorrow’s mythic long stage:
72km over 2 days, partly run during
the night.
|
