Hitting help.

Sarah Hammond continues her bid to win a third consecutive Race to the Rock growing her lead over Adam Lana with just 500km left to ride. Sarah currently has almost a 300km lead which will be almost insurmountable before the finish.

The riders have been battered by strong winds over the past few days making progress extremely slow, however they have begun to change direction and give the riders some well earnt respite.

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The run-in to the finish is characterised by some extremely remote sections of riding, up to 300km with no resupply. Road surfaces are rough and corrugated, so riders are really on their own in this physically demanding terrain.

Early this morning, Adam pushed the ‘help’ button on his spot tracker. This sends out an emergency message to friends and loved ones that he needed non-life-threatening help. Adams wife informed the local police who found Adam out in the wilderness with bike issues. Reports suggest that Adam has some bearing issues with his bike and so couldn’t continue to cycle, although he is hopeful of repairing the problem in the nearest town and re-joining the course. This explains the jump in Sarah’s lead over the past 24hours, and makes her odds-on to retain the title - probably in the next 48hours.

Keep watching the dots.