Sagbrush safari and some general catching up

So a week or so ago I had to man up and do the Sagebrush 50miler Pro UET in order to help team mate, Eric Bostrom, to get a good result and hopefully stay in contention for the overall title. The task seemed daunting. Two laps of a really tough 25mile loop which would end up totaling code on 8000feet.

Sunday came around, and to our surprise race favorite, Tinker Jaurez (Cannondale Factory) was not on the start line. Unfortunately he had suffered from a crash the day before an had broken a rib. Although the news wasn't good, it presented the perfect opportunity to get Eric the win and put some points between the other riders in the hunt for the number one plate.  

By the time we rolled off the start line, the temperature had started rise. This played perfectly into our tactics as we eased our way into the first climb of the day, a steep two mile pavement climb into the first single track. I did a couple of hard surges to split up the field, as well as force Eric's main rivals into the red zone early on in the race. The plan worked perfectly. Eric sat in and waited for the pace to ease up, the other riders followed my wheel and soon fell off the pace, once that happened I eased up just enough to allow Eric back onto my wheel. From there on I paced Eric for the rest of the race, making sure that he felt good and protecting him from mechanics at all times. On the final lap Eric started to lock up a little with cramp, but he soldiered through like a true champion, and some how we managed to keep opening up a gap over the chase group. We ended up crossing the line together, giving Eric the win and the overall lead in the Pro UET Series. With me finishing 2nd, it put some points between himself and the other riders in the chase for the title. So all in all it was a PERFECT weekend. A huge thanks to the team, and to Ty as well as John for all the help over the weekend.

After the race down in Sand Diego, Ty sent me up to Big Bear to stay with my "USA Family" the Williams' to get in some altitude training. The stay here so far has been nothing short of awesome. I've had perfect weather to train in, apart from two days of snow, but other than that its been awesome. This weekend is the 3rd round of the Pro UET series up here in Big Bear, so hopefully we can keep the ball rolling after the awesome success of the last race.

Other than that not much else has happened. Colorado Pro XCT is just around the corner, and preparation is going extremely well, so needless to say, Im excited.

Stay tuned for updates over the coming weeks.

Regards

B

Full Speed Ahead

Hey guys,

Just a quick update to let you all know that Im back on the bike, and have been training  since mid-last week. My knee is holding up really good so far, and it doesn't seem to be causing me any pain. I'd like to thank Dr. Terry Weyman of CSI (Chiropractic Sports Institute) For the rehab done to my knee as well as the frequent readjustments to my body. He has a tip-top facility with a highly impressive Hyperbaric chamber... an injured athletes best friend.  If you're ever in the LA area, head up to Thousand Oaks and have a check up, its worth it, trust me.

Onto racing....This weekend will be my first weekend back racing. I'll be a wingman for Eric Bostrom at the Sage Brush Pro UET 50miler. He is currently fighting it out for the top spot in the series, so I'll be there to help him through the day and to try help him get the very best result possible.

Then I'll head up to Big Bear for some altitude training before my next major race, Ute Valley Pro XCT, Colorado. This will be the major deciding race whether I will be racing in Montana and Wisconsin for the final rounds of the Pro XCT series before flying home on the 22nd August.

There will be some smaller "Conditioning" races, along with some Marathons, to help keep the racing edge in-between the Pro XCT's.  I will also be going to Sun Valley, Idaho. To have some team bonding at the US National Championships, as well as race the Fat-Tyre Crit in downtown Sun Valley. Ive got a score to settle with that race.

Other than that there isn't much news. I'll keep you all updated on how things are going. Keep an eye out for the race report on Sage Brush. Its gonna be tough, my first marathon, should be interesting.

Until next time,
B

update

Hey guys

Just wanted to keep you all in the loop. Unfortunately I had a small spill over the weekend and sliced my knee down to the tendon. Although the laceration required stitches, I am fortunate enough that the tendon did not receive any damage.

I'll be doing some rehab off the bike for 10 or so days with some time in the hyperbaric chamber as well as some laser therapy at Dr. Terry Weyman, from Chiropractic Sports Institute.

Although the time off the bike is driving me crazy, i think it was definitely a blessing in disguise. Heading into the next round of the Pro XCT series (6 weeks away) I feel more motivated than ever!

I'll keep you all updated on how I progress with the knee!

Regards

B

Reasses and Reload

Hey guys

Last weekend was my first ever Sea Otter Classic, and as Im sure you can imagine, I was unbelievably excited to race against some of the Worlds best mountain bike racers.

Team mate, Pua Mata and I made the trip up to Monterey on the Wednesday before our first race (Friday).  Before I knew it, we were rolling into the world famous Laguna Seca raceway, a race track that I've heard of since I was two bricks and a stone high. I'd watched races of my now teammate, Ben Bostrom, when he raced World Superbikes on the Ducati team. It was a truly spine tingling feeling as we rolled into the pit area.

The immense size of this event was flabbergasting! Venders were crowded by people trying to see the latest and greatest products that were on display by the various bike manufactures, eyewear and clothing companies. It was awesome to bump into long time friend, former manager and fellow South African, Max Cluer, in amidst the hustle and bustle that is the Sea Otter Classic. I also got to meet up with Burry for a few minutes after his long haul direct from Europe.

Over the course of the next couple of days, I got some preriding in on the 20mile, single loop XCO track, then Friday rolled around, Short Track race day. The short track course was, well, short... around 650-700m long, with on short kicker climb, and NO room for overtaking. Oh, and man was it super bumpy!! Never mind that, I was fairly confident as we lined up. I had a second row start and the inside line to the first corner. Off the start I had good positioning, but as we approached the first, off camber corner, the rider to my inside cut down onto the main line viciously, causing my to unclip and stumble onto the first climb. I dismounted an ran up the short kick, but had lost a great deal of time on the leaders. From there I went as hard as possible for more then half the race, but once I realized I was out of contention I eased up and held my position to the end, not risking anymore aggressive passes.

Saturday was the Pro Mens XCO race. A single loop of 20miles, with 3500ft of climbing. With a field of some of the world's best xc riders, such as Burry Stander, Todd Wells, Geoff Kabush, Sid Taberlay, Sam Schultz, JHK to name but a few, the racing was gonna be fast and furious! Positioning onto the dirt was going to be very crucial after completing the long tarmac start loop.Fortunately I hit the dirt in 3rd, right on the wheel of Sid and Burry. The pace soon got hot, leaving the main group of riders shattered and strung. I was lucky to be sitting in the lead group of around 15 or so. We sped into a climb, appropriately named "The Wall", the group became extremely strung out with a couple of riders getting a gap over us. Max Plaxton, Geoff, Sam, Sid, Burry and Todd were now slightly off the front. I was now in the second group of 6 or so riders along with JHK, Derek Zandstra and Spencer Paxston. Disaster then struck. In amongst the thick dust, few  miles down the road, a rock flew up from the front of the pack and smashed into my front disc brake, bending it pretty badly. At first I thought it had merely hit a spoke or two, but soon it seemed as though I could barely hang onto the group. I stopped to loosen the actual caliper in order to give me a little less resistance until I could get to the tech zone, around 4 miles away. But even with the loose caliper, the brake was rubbing terribly and I began loosing positions FAST! When I finally rolled into the tech. zone I think I was very nearly in last place. Johnny Muller helped change my wheel and I was off. For the final half of the race I buried myself deep into the pain cave, but just couldn't bring myself back into the race, ending up in a lowly 49th.

I learned some valuable lessons at Sea Otter, although not a great weekend on my side, I feel I didn't come away from the race entirely empty handed. Definitely hard lessons learned.

Until next time
B