Landslides and rain cause havoc: Fengqing stage shortened and neutralised

Rain struck again, unfortunately. Lincang/Fengqing, venue for Stage 3 and the Queen’s Stage of this year’s Granfondo Yunnan event, got hit by massive rainfall causing severe mudslides and even a road collapse. Already on the rest/transfer day from Tengchong, it became clear that the long distance course was too badly affected by the weather that racing would be impossible. In fact, in one area the concrete mountain road broke in two , forcing authorities to block access all together. No long distance race of 156km across Lucky Dragon Mountain, but hopes were still up that riders could all race on the short distance loop of 55km. Alas, as rain continued to fall during the night - causing many mudslides on the race course -, it was decided that racing is not feasible. However, with weather forecasts predicting rain to stop falling around noon, the organising committee agreed to postpone everything to 1 pm and allow participants to ride the short distance course at own pace and without competition. . As in Pu'Er last year. Call it a coffee and tea ride. The postponement allowed the organising team to clean up the worst sections as well.

While the starting timeframe between 13:00 and 13:35 was indeed dry, riders again got wet after some 25km into the ride. Nevertheless, the camaraderie amongst the 1500 riders and the many local spectators along the route gave plenty to smile about.