We rode and hiked up the short distance to the start point, it was then it became clear what we were about to ride down. Well I say ride, we were supposed to be racing down this but a quick scout of the first few hundred metres revealed some of the diciest terrain possible. The track followed an old trading route that was paved with cobbled stones that were nicely greased up by the heavy mist and slight rain. The stones led into hundreds of switchbacks that on the upper slopes had potentially deadly consequences for the slightest mistakes. So what with the mist, wind, rain, cliffs and the added issue that no–one had seen or ridden the trails it was quite intimidating on the top of the hill.

Once a little further down the trail we dropped out of the cloud and mist and into the most stunning valley that was made up of hundreds of terraces, cliffs and small communities living high up on these sheer slopes, we were racing past banana plants and small sugar cane plantations. Nico took the fastest time on this stage of tight switchbacks. The finish was at the start of the main villages so with the race done, and narrowly missing a hen on the finish line, we all rode on down into the villages, with something so unusual going on in such remote places everyone was out to have a look. It was a great afternoon, popping manuals and hitting a few drops for the kids as we sessioned our way down through the villages. The locals were really excited by the riding with wild reactions to every move and turn. It’s pretty amazing when something so simple and something that we clearly all love doing gives other people so much excitement; there was a great buzz about the place. All sorts of people stopped to talk and look at the bikes and we were soon offered some rum from some of the younger locals, made from the sugar cane they grow on the hills. It was nice but Fred later told us that it’s quite dangerous as it is not brewed properly and quite a few of the locals have gone crazy from drinking it. Ah well…a drop won’t hurt!

We rode an amazing trail from the villages on the lower slopes of the mountains down to the pick–up point, with loads of rock steps and tight switchbacks to play on as we went. It was a really fun ride and rounded off what was an amazing day of great scenery, a crazy trail and loads of fun with the people in the villages.

This was the final days riding with race runs three and four taking place. We woke early again and loaded the mini buses to head up to run three, the drive to the top was breathtaking, a long winding cobbled road that cut into the valley side and perched on top of the ridges of the mountains, the intricate detail of the landscape was such that the bus was silent as everyone soaked up the view.

A short 10 minute cross country ride took us to the start of run three; we had a few minutes to spare so we walked down the course a little to see what we might be in store for us. I’m still not sure if that was a good idea or not! The start was deceptive, it looked a lot mellower than the day before but in fact after 30 seconds or so it soon entered into the more familiar terrain of run two with a few switchbacks with huge cliffs on the outside of the bends. One corner in particular had everyone’s attention as you headed quite quickly downhill into it and the drop on the outside of the switchback was a sheer several hundred feet!

The race run was eventful for me; I hit my chain device early on dropping my chain at the bottom of the first main climb. With the chain back on I set about trying to find a good rhythm on the next descent and was going well until I encountered a donkey on the trail, having narrowly avoided a cockerel the day before I approached cautiously. After dismounting to take my bike past the donkey and its rope, it bolted the other way and tensioned the rope which wrapped around my cranks and pedal. I had to chase the donkey as it ran the other way and was bricking it as I tried to untangle the bike that it would kick me in the face, I got my bike free and carried on the run…this is what the Urge event is all about, you never know what is coming! I had a GoPro camera on to capture the run footage, so Fred and Fab decided to deduct the time from this, so the ‘donkey bonus’ moved me from 7th to 5th – only in Cape Verde! Rene put together a really strong run to take the win on this the most all–around stage of the event.

Run four started in a different spot, dropping into another valley, again we had time to walk the first 30–40 seconds of the track and this was definitely more downhill style, not super steep, but quite fast and technical with less cliffs.

At the finish line it was a relieving feeling with everyone completing the event safely with no major incidents and we reflected on the incredible trails we had ridden over the days. Nico had taken the final stage win and the overall with his smooth yet uncompromising riding, with Fabien and Rene rounding out the top three. Tracy won the women’s race with Sabrina in second and Anka third. With the racing done we relaxed and enjoyed the last night on the island back down at the port town. We headed to a bar for food, beers and speeches and a local band were on hand to liven up the party. It was the perfect way to round out an amazing adventure spent with a great bunch of people, all of whom live for riding bikes and equally understand and support the humanitarian goals of the event. We rode some incredible trails in jaw dropping landscapes, adding excitement in and around the villages and leaving the people with stories that they will probably never forget, of when the crazy men and women came to town and raced down their mountains and through their villages on the humble bicycle.