This past weekend was the Mtunzini Super Classic held around the small town of Mtunzini near Richards bay.
The race was slightly longer than what I normally race, being about 10km longer than the normal 45km super classic races, but from my experience from the previous years, I knew it would be fast and flat the whole way, and was preparing for a super fast pace.
We were the first batch off at 09h00 and the start the pace was very chilled with a few minor attacks going off the front, which were closed down fairly easily. After 5km or so, Andrew Warr came to the front and laid down the law. I followed and soon found myself in a break going over the top of a short steep climb. We began to work well together, but were soon joined by powerhouse, Shaun Peschl. We were now a group of three as we settled into a fast rhythum and began to open up a big gap on the chasing bunch.
At around the half way mark the marshall on duty at the intersection directed us down the wrong route and we lost a huge amount of time as we covered about 2km before we turned around and rode back to where we had gone wrong, Fortunately only one rider had managed to pass us , but we soon caught and dropped him after a couple of gruelling km.
At around the 35km mark we hit the biggest climb of the day and this is where Andrew and I made our move. We managed to open up a good gap on Shaun and were now making head way to the finish. Unfortunately the last water table was ready for us when we came through and we were unable to get some refreshments and as Murphy would have it I finished off the last of my juice about 15km out from the finish.
At 50km I knew I was in big trouble, I blew to pieces and decided to do damage control to the finish. In the process I lost 2 places and had to settle for a 4th overall some 3 minutes behind Andrew, but still managed to be the first Junior in. A very different race and a very different approach by organizers but a good effort by those involved.
Now back to the books in an effort to get these matric exams behind me together with some final preparations for the Nelspruit National (SA XCO4)which will take place on 12 June.
Ciao
B
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
MTN SA XCO3 - George
Hey guys
This past weekend was quite a disappointing race for me, but I managed to get a good result. The 3rd round of the MTN national XCO series took place on the beautiful campus of Saasveld just outside George.
With the race being so close to George, I decided to go down on the Monday straight after Karkloof to spend time with my family who live there. I met up with the young, up and coming, U23/Pro Elite lady, Mariske Strauss (MTN - Energade) throughout the week, and managed to get in some good laps of the new XCO course.
I took the week pretty easy to try and rest my leg which was still injured. I saw the physio right after my ride on Tuesday, and it re-strapped for the weekends racing. My leg was feeling pretty good, and I was hoping it would hold up for the entire race on Saturday. I met up with Kevin Evans and the MTN - Energade riders on the Thursday, which was a really cool experience!
Before I knew it, race day was there, and I felt super confident for the race that lay ahead. We made our way across to the race and I hopped onto the stationary trainer almost straight away. I had a really good warm up before heading to the start line. There was a really big field of juniors, fortunately my good result in PMB had moved me onto the front row of the start.
off the line Arno du Toit took off super hard. I followed his wheel with Team mate Ryan Ellis on my wheel. Unfortunately James Reid (Mr Price) snapped his chain off the start. We soon caught the Elite bunch as they came through to start their 2nd lap. This caused havoc with our race and let Arno get away in the traffic. I made a few costly mistakes and lost one or two positions, but was still with the lead bunch of 5. We eventually reeled Arno in and stayed together for the next few laps. The bunch began to split up on the 3rd and 4th lap with Travis dropping off. On the 4th lap I was sitting on the back of the bunch now, and stood up in a funny position on one of the climbs, sending my leg into spasm again. I rode through it but it happened again on one of the longer climbs, and I was forced to run it. This meant I lost touch of the lead group and dropped from the lead bunch to 5th. I tried to ride 'damage control' to the finish, but soon noticed I was losing huge amounts of ground. Going into the last lap (lap 6) my leg began to feel much better, I kicked down and rode as hard as I could. I began to reel in the time gaps. I caught and passed 4th and began to reel in the lead bunch. I then caught Ryan, who then snapped his chain. I was now riding out of pure determination, I ran into some hectic traffic near the end of the lap, but by the time I had passed them, it was too late. I brought it home in 3rd wih Luke Roberts in first, and Arno du Toit in Second.
I was quite disappointed, as it was the 2nd race that had been affected by my injury! But all in all, despite the mishap, I had a good race. Now time for some rest, and to sort my leg out for sure! Then Mankele! hopefully I'll bring home the gold!
Sunday morning dawned and Mariske Strauss and I decided to head up the Montagu Pass, which was ridden in the Cape Epic a few years back. It was a really awesome ride, with magnificent views, it was a real eye opener to see such beauty.
A HUGE thanks needs to go out to Allegra Wykerd, my coach, for all the hard work that she puts into my training program, and for lending me her bike bag, Johann Wykerd for packing my bike like an absolute machine! and of course Team Jeep South Africa, my sponsor, for all the backing and for the AWESOME Jeep Grand Cherokee which they gave us for the entire time we were down in George! You guys all rock!!!!
Ciao
B
This past weekend was quite a disappointing race for me, but I managed to get a good result. The 3rd round of the MTN national XCO series took place on the beautiful campus of Saasveld just outside George.
With the race being so close to George, I decided to go down on the Monday straight after Karkloof to spend time with my family who live there. I met up with the young, up and coming, U23/Pro Elite lady, Mariske Strauss (MTN - Energade) throughout the week, and managed to get in some good laps of the new XCO course.
I took the week pretty easy to try and rest my leg which was still injured. I saw the physio right after my ride on Tuesday, and it re-strapped for the weekends racing. My leg was feeling pretty good, and I was hoping it would hold up for the entire race on Saturday. I met up with Kevin Evans and the MTN - Energade riders on the Thursday, which was a really cool experience!
Before I knew it, race day was there, and I felt super confident for the race that lay ahead. We made our way across to the race and I hopped onto the stationary trainer almost straight away. I had a really good warm up before heading to the start line. There was a really big field of juniors, fortunately my good result in PMB had moved me onto the front row of the start.
off the line Arno du Toit took off super hard. I followed his wheel with Team mate Ryan Ellis on my wheel. Unfortunately James Reid (Mr Price) snapped his chain off the start. We soon caught the Elite bunch as they came through to start their 2nd lap. This caused havoc with our race and let Arno get away in the traffic. I made a few costly mistakes and lost one or two positions, but was still with the lead bunch of 5. We eventually reeled Arno in and stayed together for the next few laps. The bunch began to split up on the 3rd and 4th lap with Travis dropping off. On the 4th lap I was sitting on the back of the bunch now, and stood up in a funny position on one of the climbs, sending my leg into spasm again. I rode through it but it happened again on one of the longer climbs, and I was forced to run it. This meant I lost touch of the lead group and dropped from the lead bunch to 5th. I tried to ride 'damage control' to the finish, but soon noticed I was losing huge amounts of ground. Going into the last lap (lap 6) my leg began to feel much better, I kicked down and rode as hard as I could. I began to reel in the time gaps. I caught and passed 4th and began to reel in the lead bunch. I then caught Ryan, who then snapped his chain. I was now riding out of pure determination, I ran into some hectic traffic near the end of the lap, but by the time I had passed them, it was too late. I brought it home in 3rd wih Luke Roberts in first, and Arno du Toit in Second.
I was quite disappointed, as it was the 2nd race that had been affected by my injury! But all in all, despite the mishap, I had a good race. Now time for some rest, and to sort my leg out for sure! Then Mankele! hopefully I'll bring home the gold!
Sunday morning dawned and Mariske Strauss and I decided to head up the Montagu Pass, which was ridden in the Cape Epic a few years back. It was a really awesome ride, with magnificent views, it was a real eye opener to see such beauty.
A HUGE thanks needs to go out to Allegra Wykerd, my coach, for all the hard work that she puts into my training program, and for lending me her bike bag, Johann Wykerd for packing my bike like an absolute machine! and of course Team Jeep South Africa, my sponsor, for all the backing and for the AWESOME Jeep Grand Cherokee which they gave us for the entire time we were down in George! You guys all rock!!!!
Ciao
B
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Karkloof Classic 2010
Hey guys...
WOW what a weekend at the Karkloof MTB festival! Night Race, XC, Sprint Shoot Out and Marathon!!! Such an awesome event!
Unfortunately I couldn't participate in all the events, as I am still nurturing my injured leg. I sat out everything except the 40km race, which took place today. But there was absolutely NO WAY i would miss out on seeing the top guns battle it out in the Sprint! It was really awesome to watch Burry Stander fight his way from the back of the field to win by half a lap!
Sunday morning dawned and we made our way to the Prestigious Polo Grounds that play hot to the Karkloof Classic every year. Our race was off at 09:00 sharp, this year, without a neutral zone. The pace was hot from the start, with James Reid making it hard where ever possible. I put in one acceleration to try split up the main field, and to my surprise it worked. 6 of us got away, and hit the first main climb of the day. The pace stayed relatively the same, but a few furious surges were thrown in the mix. About 10km or so into the race, my leg began to twitch, but didn't think much of it as it went away. I pushed on. The race pushed down and whittled down to 4 of us, James, Trav, Ryan and I. We hit the second, and hardest climb of the day, and James rode all out. The break was covered really quickly and didn't split the bunch up.
The race pushed on, as the race got more fierce, and the attacks became more frequent, I could feel my leg wasn't going to hold up. It was James who attacked again, I tried to come around the back of the pack, but my leg went into spasm. I slowed to see if it would let up but it just got worse. I dropped off the bunch like I was standing still and soon found myself in no mans land.
I eventually got to a water table and stopped, Luke Roberts caught and passed me, and by now I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to get to the finish inside the top 10. Luckily I had managed to open a big gap early on in the race, so I had a comfortable cussion to get to the finish. I rode super easy to the finish, so as to not do any major damage before George next weekend. I managed to bring it home in 5th overall and 5th junior.
Well done to Ryan who got a 3rd, and Craig who got an 11th in the marathon after puncturing 20km in! HUGE thanks to Jeep for the awesome vehicles we were able to make use of, and to Tropitone for the sun block! To the organisers, an awesome event as always!
WOW what a weekend at the Karkloof MTB festival! Night Race, XC, Sprint Shoot Out and Marathon!!! Such an awesome event!
Unfortunately I couldn't participate in all the events, as I am still nurturing my injured leg. I sat out everything except the 40km race, which took place today. But there was absolutely NO WAY i would miss out on seeing the top guns battle it out in the Sprint! It was really awesome to watch Burry Stander fight his way from the back of the field to win by half a lap!
Sunday morning dawned and we made our way to the Prestigious Polo Grounds that play hot to the Karkloof Classic every year. Our race was off at 09:00 sharp, this year, without a neutral zone. The pace was hot from the start, with James Reid making it hard where ever possible. I put in one acceleration to try split up the main field, and to my surprise it worked. 6 of us got away, and hit the first main climb of the day. The pace stayed relatively the same, but a few furious surges were thrown in the mix. About 10km or so into the race, my leg began to twitch, but didn't think much of it as it went away. I pushed on. The race pushed down and whittled down to 4 of us, James, Trav, Ryan and I. We hit the second, and hardest climb of the day, and James rode all out. The break was covered really quickly and didn't split the bunch up.
The race pushed on, as the race got more fierce, and the attacks became more frequent, I could feel my leg wasn't going to hold up. It was James who attacked again, I tried to come around the back of the pack, but my leg went into spasm. I slowed to see if it would let up but it just got worse. I dropped off the bunch like I was standing still and soon found myself in no mans land.
I eventually got to a water table and stopped, Luke Roberts caught and passed me, and by now I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to get to the finish inside the top 10. Luckily I had managed to open a big gap early on in the race, so I had a comfortable cussion to get to the finish. I rode super easy to the finish, so as to not do any major damage before George next weekend. I managed to bring it home in 5th overall and 5th junior.
Well done to Ryan who got a 3rd, and Craig who got an 11th in the marathon after puncturing 20km in! HUGE thanks to Jeep for the awesome vehicles we were able to make use of, and to Tropitone for the sun block! To the organisers, an awesome event as always!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Check em out
Hey guys,
Been testing some new tyres which I got given to try out by Wsquared. The Nokian NBT tyres are really awesome. They're made from an organic rubber, which allows the compound to be softer. They're proper tubeless tyres and are really light. Go ask for the Nokian NBT tyres at Wsquared! They're really awesome!
Ciao
B
Been testing some new tyres which I got given to try out by Wsquared. The Nokian NBT tyres are really awesome. They're made from an organic rubber, which allows the compound to be softer. They're proper tubeless tyres and are really light. Go ask for the Nokian NBT tyres at Wsquared! They're really awesome!
Ciao
B
Monday, May 3, 2010
KZN XCO Championships - Cascades
Hey guys!
This past weekend was the KZN XC champs at Cascades, where the MTN National XC/DH was held a couple of weeks ago. It followed pretty much the exact same course, but unfortunately all the bull runs were kept out.
Well to be honest I had a very disappointing race. Off the start I made my break and went as hard as possible to get a gap on the rest of the bunch. ( I raced up in the U/23 category) I had managed to open up a very comfortable lead over the competition after the first lap, and kept the hammer down to see how far I could stretch the gap.
I held the pace as high as possible at all times, and going into the 4th of 8 laps I began to lap the back markers of the bunch. Unfortunately, while trying to push the limit further and further each lap, I made a crucial mistake on the exit of an EXTREMELY fast single track. On the exit of the single track was a dirt road, with a very fast left turn. I launched out the single track, and with the extra speed I was unable to hold my line through the corner. Before I knew it my front wheel was about to clip a stump on the edge of the road. Next thing I was upside down and planted on my head on the side of the road. I tried to get my bearings straight, and noticed some major discomfort in my left quad. I didn't think much of it at first, perhaps only an insane lame leg. But after trying to push through it, I soon found out that I was in serious trouble. I couldn't even turn the pedals, or walk up the slightest incline. I made the call to pull out, before causing major damage to myself.
So in the end I saw my 6 minute lead vanish out of no where. This week is going to be all about trying to get the leg sorted for Karkloof Classic! Off to the physio on Wednesday to get it scoped out properly.
Till next time
B
This past weekend was the KZN XC champs at Cascades, where the MTN National XC/DH was held a couple of weeks ago. It followed pretty much the exact same course, but unfortunately all the bull runs were kept out.
Well to be honest I had a very disappointing race. Off the start I made my break and went as hard as possible to get a gap on the rest of the bunch. ( I raced up in the U/23 category) I had managed to open up a very comfortable lead over the competition after the first lap, and kept the hammer down to see how far I could stretch the gap.
I held the pace as high as possible at all times, and going into the 4th of 8 laps I began to lap the back markers of the bunch. Unfortunately, while trying to push the limit further and further each lap, I made a crucial mistake on the exit of an EXTREMELY fast single track. On the exit of the single track was a dirt road, with a very fast left turn. I launched out the single track, and with the extra speed I was unable to hold my line through the corner. Before I knew it my front wheel was about to clip a stump on the edge of the road. Next thing I was upside down and planted on my head on the side of the road. I tried to get my bearings straight, and noticed some major discomfort in my left quad. I didn't think much of it at first, perhaps only an insane lame leg. But after trying to push through it, I soon found out that I was in serious trouble. I couldn't even turn the pedals, or walk up the slightest incline. I made the call to pull out, before causing major damage to myself.
So in the end I saw my 6 minute lead vanish out of no where. This week is going to be all about trying to get the leg sorted for Karkloof Classic! Off to the physio on Wednesday to get it scoped out properly.
Till next time
B
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