I went down on Saturday morning to take part in the 4hour team enduro event with fellow team members Ryan Ellis, Ryan Redman and new team member, Evan van der Spuy. This turned out to be a great day with the most amazing vibe amongst the competitors. Everyone helping one another and a great social event where we could let our hair down while enjoying our riding at the same time.To our surprise we were first overall with the Maverick Team, lead by Mike Bradley in second and then our very own senior citizen members of Team Jeep lead my Clint Morck in third. Well done Ballies.
Sunday, dawned bright and early and we were already on the road to Durban at 05h45. Today would be very different, as this is the event that brings out the best riders and some nice prize money up for grabs, but it would turn out to be a day of thrills and spills for the majority of riders.
The day began with the first individual qualifier, where two riders would start together and the times would determine your seeding in your second and final qualifying run. Thereafter your second qualifying run would determine the top 10 men and top 5 ladies that would go into final, where we would all be sweating more than just blood.
The first qualifier saw a number of competitors crashing, which obviously effected their times. Luke Roberts fell twice, I connected some scaffolding resulting in me facing the opposite direction and Arno du Toit unfortunately took a huge crash carrying too much speed over an obstacle and breaking his collar bone/shoulder blade in the process. This was really unfortunate as he would have brought a nice mix to the competition. “ Sterkte boet”. We hope you get well soon.
Craig Paul and I then did the 2 man team event in an effort to double check some lines and then it was time for our second attempt to make the top 10.
This run went off a lot better, but James Reid took a tumble and withdrew - I am sure he would have been in the top 10. The top 10 men and top 5 ladies were announced and I had just made it in spot number 10. Going into the final, I was going to have to pull out all the stops.
As the last qualifying male, I would have the honour of running first directly after the females. What a race the ladies had, with Candice Neetling destroying her competition to take her third consecutive win. Well done Candy, you are a machine.
I set off and pushed as hard as possible. I really felt good and I was really enjoying the course. What are the odds that both myself and team mate Ryan Ellis would find ourselves in a heap in exactly that same spot at the bottom of the stairs leading down into the aquarium? . I managed to get up again and pressed on. I really felt good, but only managed to make it into 8th spot. Ryan Ellis and young Alan Hatherley also took tumbles but were also able to recover. However the star of the show must without a doubt be Phillip Buys. This guy is unbelievable. After crashing his brains out on the last metal bridge crossing on the far side of the canal, he ploughed into the shade cloth and still had to repair his chain before he could ride any further and he still posted the fastest time of the day. Respect Mr Buys. Respect.
A huge thank you must go out to Max Cluer and his army of helpers as well as all the associated sponsors for putting this event together. You guys all did an awesome job and I am really looking forward to the 2011 event.
Now I am eager to get to the Cape where I am going to enjoy a nice holiday with my family and some friends. It is long overdue and I am going to make the most of it.
Catch you later
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