Rain, rain and more rain!

We are about half an hour into the 5th stage and you would not believe the weather! What little snow there was is quickly being washed away by heavy rain. It's humid and very wet. Pavol (Milos's brother and the other handler) and I are hiding in the van, the leftover dogs are hiding in the trailer and Milos and Jan with 10 dogs each are battling the elements on the trail. Milos started last so he'll be out in this the longest. I hope he doesn't get sick from it. The poor dogs! I have no idea what the trail will be like but I know that Milos will sacrifice his 2nd place again to bring the team back safely if it's icy or slippery. 

I think we're expecting to lose our 2nd place today but the idea is to not give away too much time. If we can stay close to Radek and Remy then the field remains wide open. 

At the moment, on the GPS it looks like it's going ok for all of them. Take a look under the "results" tab on the homepage of www.grandeodyssee.com to follow live events. Don't forget Milos started at the back so anyone he's over taking he's making time on. Jan started fourth from the end so 2 minutes before Remy Coste. Today's stage is two loops which may also cause a bit of confusion on the GPS site but if you click on the little sled icons you'll see the name and the distance on the trail they've covered.

Finally, a thank you to everyone for your encouragement which keeps coming in. I know some of you have problems to post comments and some of the Slovaks may have to get a translation (!!) but we know you're all reading and sending your best wishes. You should be very proud of your sons/nephews/cousins Milos and Jan!! :-) And thank you to Anne for braving the weather and coming to support us on the start line today. We managed a quick chat over lunch which was lovely!

More updates later.