Sabie Experience
It was my first time participating in an event during December and since December is the time to put in some base miles it was exactly what I planned on doing at the Sabie Experience.
My main reason for riding Sabie in the first place was because my partner, Dave Leiman, and I are keen to ride the Epic together in 2010.
I’ve heard a few stories about this event and it sounded like the ideal stage race to see whether Dave and my riding styles were compatible.
The first stage was a 30km time trail. Dave and I agreed from the beginning to ride the event at a steady comfortable pace and so we did. I still don’t even know our result on that day which is a nice feeling. For a change I didn’t have to worry about my placing and could only enjoy the beautiful scenery, the event itself and my new Specialised ERA which is a woman specific mountain bike.
Unfortunately I only got to ride my ERA on two occasions before the event. This didn’t give me enough time to set my bike up properly. But once on it I couldn’t get myself to leave it behind and my ERA travelled with me to the Lowveld.
The difference from riding a hardtail to a PROPER full suspension bike is incredible. For the first time I could actually ride over rocky terrain, grass patches and tricky descents without being thrown all over the place. It’s really an awesome bike.
The second stage was a very muddy, cold and wet 65km long stage. I managed to survive it but won’t like to repeat it any time soon. We were climbing solidly for the first half of the stage. Upon finally reaching the summit we crossed a plateau called the ‘Hartebeesvlakte’ where it was freezing cold. The 2nd half of the stage wasn’t easy either. Although we were gradually descending to the finish, the muddy terrain only made it feel like a second climb seeing to it that you have to push just as hard on the pedals to get through the sludge.
That afternoon my knees started to hurt, even making it uncomfortable to climb the stairs which lead to my bedroom. I kind of ignored the pain and thought some extra stretching would do the trick.
The third stage started straight up a climb and sadly my stretching didn’t help as much as I hoped it would. My knees started hurting again on the climb so much so that I decided to rather stop and turn around before I end my season before it even began.
I felt bad leaving Dave to continue on his own. Until then we had a great ride together. Dave was very supportive in my decision as he himself went through a stage where he struggled with his ITB and I guess that’s why he also understood what I was going through.
I knew before starting the event that it might be a bit too much too soon, especially with my knees being so sensitive. But one always hopes for the best!
The reality was that I only started training the week before and I was on a new bike which I haven’t been properly fitted on. I think a combination of this and the cold weather lead to my knee problems flaring up again.
A lot of positive also came from this. I learned that Dave and I can be a good team in the future and what I have to do to be able to be competitive in a long stage race. Also that its not a good idea to ride a stage race when you aren’t used to your bike, I know this but still I do it!! (That’s why I am writing it down, hopefully then I will remember it in the future)
Shortly after returning home from the Lowveld I went for a BG bike fit at Specialized.
The BG bike fit is really great. They examine your anatomy and fit you on your bike accordingly. If they find problem areas they can correct it through the right saddle width, supportive shoes, wedges, inner soles etc.
It may sound too good to be true but by only putting on the correct saddle and riding with specialised inner soles it has fixed a lot of my issues.
It’s important to feel comfortable on the bike and get yourself to ride as pain free as possible!
My first race for the new season will be on 16th January (Attakwas)
Until then HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
94.7 Cycle Challenge
Following the Argus, the 94.7 Cycle Challenge is the 2nd biggest event in South Africa. This year around 30 000 cyclists took part in the demanding route through the streets of Johannesburg.
This 2009 route took cyclist around the centre of Johannesburg instead of going through it like previous year. The new course included a few extra steep hills which made for some hard racing.
The Elite woman left the start line just after 6 am. Our group consisted of only elite lady riders, excluding the veteran and junior woman who had their own start batches. The initial part of the route took us on the M1 highway. It was here where the first break-away group formed including Joanna van der Winkel (Cycle lab), An-Li Pretorius (Nashua) and Lylanie Lauwrens (Team MTN).
With all the main contenders still tucked in the main group, the break didn’t trouble me at first. Later on it became apparent that the big teams were happy with their representatives in the break and they would let it run. Lise Olivier and I (both Konica Minolta) started taking turns up front in an attempt to keep the break in sight. We didn’t want to tire ourselves unnecessarily, but we couldn’t let the break get too much of gap either.
As we reached the halfway mark the break had managed to stretch their time gap to over 2 min. Back in the main group it seemed as if all the major teams (MTN, Nashua and Cycle lab) were racing with their hands tight on their brakes. With both of team MTN and team Nashua’s riders in the break starting to fade I couldn’t understand why they didn’t contribute to the chase...
As we reached the N14 highway I didn’t have any other option but to start chasing seriously if we were to have any chance of winning. Lise (Olivier) and I knew bringing back the break wouldn’t be ideal because it would leave us tired for the sprint, but at least it will give us some opportunity to fight for victory.
By the finish we managed to reduce the time gap to only a few seconds, but unfortunately we couldn’t close it completely and also ended up being too tired to sprint for the minor placings.
It was my last race for the season and I gave everything I had to get a good result. We were unfortunate to miss the break of the day and with the race being so tactical it cost us dearly. Despite this I was happy to cross the finishline completely ‘empty’, knowing that I had given it my all.
My next event is Sabie Experience in December and I am already looking forward to spending some time on my mountain bike again…but first I’ll have a bit of a rest!
Following the Argus, the 94.7 Cycle Challenge is the 2nd biggest event in South Africa. This year around 30 000 cyclists took part in the demanding route through the streets of Johannesburg.
This 2009 route took cyclist around the centre of Johannesburg instead of going through it like previous year. The new course included a few extra steep hills which made for some hard racing.
The Elite woman left the start line just after 6 am. Our group consisted of only elite lady riders, excluding the veteran and junior woman who had their own start batches. The initial part of the route took us on the M1 highway. It was here where the first break-away group formed including Joanna van der Winkel (Cycle lab), An-Li Pretorius (Nashua) and Lylanie Lauwrens (Team MTN).
With all the main contenders still tucked in the main group, the break didn’t trouble me at first. Later on it became apparent that the big teams were happy with their representatives in the break and they would let it run. Lise Olivier and I (both Konica Minolta) started taking turns up front in an attempt to keep the break in sight. We didn’t want to tire ourselves unnecessarily, but we couldn’t let the break get too much of gap either.
As we reached the halfway mark the break had managed to stretch their time gap to over 2 min. Back in the main group it seemed as if all the major teams (MTN, Nashua and Cycle lab) were racing with their hands tight on their brakes. With both of team MTN and team Nashua’s riders in the break starting to fade I couldn’t understand why they didn’t contribute to the chase...
As we reached the N14 highway I didn’t have any other option but to start chasing seriously if we were to have any chance of winning. Lise (Olivier) and I knew bringing back the break wouldn’t be ideal because it would leave us tired for the sprint, but at least it will give us some opportunity to fight for victory.
By the finish we managed to reduce the time gap to only a few seconds, but unfortunately we couldn’t close it completely and also ended up being too tired to sprint for the minor placings.
It was my last race for the season and I gave everything I had to get a good result. We were unfortunate to miss the break of the day and with the race being so tactical it cost us dearly. Despite this I was happy to cross the finishline completely ‘empty’, knowing that I had given it my all.
My next event is Sabie Experience in December and I am already looking forward to spending some time on my mountain bike again…but first I’ll have a bit of a rest!
Monday, November 9, 2009
AGA CYCLE CHALLENGE
On Sunday I traveled to the North West Province to participate in the AGA Cycle Challenge. It was hosted at the Oppenheimer Sports Complex in Vaal Reefs, Orkney. This year the event formed part of the Alpha Pharm Series, attracting cyclists from all across the country.
The route was very flat, taking us through the Vaal river mining area of AngloGold Ashanti.
The wind played the biggest role on the day, gusting at a strong 25 to 35km/h. This caused the bunch to string out in ‘gutters’, reducing the numbers in the main group as the kilometers rolled by.
The Elite ladies started alongside the veteran men from all age categories, making the race very fast.
The ladies bunch mainly consisted of Team Nashua (with 4 riders), Jenny Stennerhag (Alpha Pharm) and me (Konica Minolta). In the first quarter of the event, Robyn de Groot put in a good attack and managed to open up a decent gap. She was soon joined by a pair of veteran riders who bridged across to her.
Nobody thought that this attempt would last in the strong wind, but they surprised us all and stayed away until the finish. Robyn de Groot (Team Nashua) took 1st place, winning her 2nd big race in a row.
In the sprint for the line, I sat in 2nd place, behind a veteran rider going into the final corner. It was a headwind to the line and he sat up 400m to go. As I was left in front I decided to start sprinting early. It was still a long way to the finish line and the headwind proved too much for me.
Anriette Schoeman (Team Nashua) and Jenny Stennerhag ( Alpha Pharm) passed me, crossing the finish line in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
Race Results
1st Robyn de Groot (Team Nashua)
2nd Anriette Schoeman(Team Nashua)
3rd Jenny Stennerhag( Alpha Pharm)
4th Carla van den Merwe (Team Nashua)
5th Jade Roberts (Team Nashua)
6th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
On Sunday I traveled to the North West Province to participate in the AGA Cycle Challenge. It was hosted at the Oppenheimer Sports Complex in Vaal Reefs, Orkney. This year the event formed part of the Alpha Pharm Series, attracting cyclists from all across the country.
The route was very flat, taking us through the Vaal river mining area of AngloGold Ashanti.
The wind played the biggest role on the day, gusting at a strong 25 to 35km/h. This caused the bunch to string out in ‘gutters’, reducing the numbers in the main group as the kilometers rolled by.
The Elite ladies started alongside the veteran men from all age categories, making the race very fast.
The ladies bunch mainly consisted of Team Nashua (with 4 riders), Jenny Stennerhag (Alpha Pharm) and me (Konica Minolta). In the first quarter of the event, Robyn de Groot put in a good attack and managed to open up a decent gap. She was soon joined by a pair of veteran riders who bridged across to her.
Nobody thought that this attempt would last in the strong wind, but they surprised us all and stayed away until the finish. Robyn de Groot (Team Nashua) took 1st place, winning her 2nd big race in a row.
In the sprint for the line, I sat in 2nd place, behind a veteran rider going into the final corner. It was a headwind to the line and he sat up 400m to go. As I was left in front I decided to start sprinting early. It was still a long way to the finish line and the headwind proved too much for me.
Anriette Schoeman (Team Nashua) and Jenny Stennerhag ( Alpha Pharm) passed me, crossing the finish line in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
Race Results
1st Robyn de Groot (Team Nashua)
2nd Anriette Schoeman(Team Nashua)
3rd Jenny Stennerhag( Alpha Pharm)
4th Carla van den Merwe (Team Nashua)
5th Jade Roberts (Team Nashua)
6th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
MTN-OFM Classic
The OFM Classic turned out to be held on an ideal weekend with the Currie Cup’s final match played on Saturday night.
When I arrived in Bloemfontein on Friday, I could feel the liveliness in the air.
On Saturday I didn’t only feel it, but started to see it. Outside everything was orange, movable or immovable.
On Sunday the liveliness didn’t disappear after the Rugby match but only shifted to the OFM Cycling Classic.
This year a few changes were made to the OFM cycling route which took us first through Bloemfontein to encounter the 3 famous climbs of Bloemfontein (Harry
Smith climb, then Bloemfontein’s own ‘suikerbossie’and lastly Lucas Steyn).
On top of Lucas Steyn the Ladies peleton were reduces by a great deal and less than ¼ of the ladies were left (around 20 riders) in the group. Only when we left town I started to feel the heavy wind blowing which ended up playing a crucial roll on the day.
The familiar procedure took place on the high-way (around 40km) when all the big teams (Team MTN/Team Nashua/Cycle Lab) started to launch several attacks to get riders down the road and eventually a small break-away group formed consisting of Isabel Moolman (Cycle Lab), An-Li Pretorius (Nashua) and Lilanie Lourence (MTN).
The pace back in the group was easing up, until we turned back on the high-way (around 60km). From there it felt like a chest match with all the kings (Team Captain’s) playing their pawns (team mates).
I didn’t have any other options available except to go with everything that went down the road. Luckily the 3 girls up front got brought back before we headed onto the airport circuit for the last 20km.
Isabel Moolman (Cycle Lab) was very strong and determined. She managed to get herself into a solo break around 10km from the finish. This forced the MTN team to role through on the front, also putting the rest of the field in the cutter.
They managed to bring Isabel back with 5km to go and from there onwards it was a fight for position all the way to the finish.
Robyn de Groot made a smart move and attacked with 2km to go. The bunch hesitated for a moment and then only followed, but it was too late. She managed to keep free from the Peleton to take her biggest victory in her cycling career, with the rest of us sprinting for the line. The sprint was chaotic, trying to get through riders from the shorter distances, luckily nobody from the ladies crashed.
Results
1st Robyn de Groot (Nashua)
2nd Jenny Stennerhag (Alpha Pharm)
3rd Marissa van den Merwe(MTN)
4th Cherise Taylor (MTN)
5th Lynette Burger (Cycle Lab)
6th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
The OFM Classic turned out to be held on an ideal weekend with the Currie Cup’s final match played on Saturday night.
When I arrived in Bloemfontein on Friday, I could feel the liveliness in the air.
On Saturday I didn’t only feel it, but started to see it. Outside everything was orange, movable or immovable.
On Sunday the liveliness didn’t disappear after the Rugby match but only shifted to the OFM Cycling Classic.
This year a few changes were made to the OFM cycling route which took us first through Bloemfontein to encounter the 3 famous climbs of Bloemfontein (Harry
Smith climb, then Bloemfontein’s own ‘suikerbossie’and lastly Lucas Steyn).
On top of Lucas Steyn the Ladies peleton were reduces by a great deal and less than ¼ of the ladies were left (around 20 riders) in the group. Only when we left town I started to feel the heavy wind blowing which ended up playing a crucial roll on the day.
The familiar procedure took place on the high-way (around 40km) when all the big teams (Team MTN/Team Nashua/Cycle Lab) started to launch several attacks to get riders down the road and eventually a small break-away group formed consisting of Isabel Moolman (Cycle Lab), An-Li Pretorius (Nashua) and Lilanie Lourence (MTN).
The pace back in the group was easing up, until we turned back on the high-way (around 60km). From there it felt like a chest match with all the kings (Team Captain’s) playing their pawns (team mates).
I didn’t have any other options available except to go with everything that went down the road. Luckily the 3 girls up front got brought back before we headed onto the airport circuit for the last 20km.
Isabel Moolman (Cycle Lab) was very strong and determined. She managed to get herself into a solo break around 10km from the finish. This forced the MTN team to role through on the front, also putting the rest of the field in the cutter.
They managed to bring Isabel back with 5km to go and from there onwards it was a fight for position all the way to the finish.
Robyn de Groot made a smart move and attacked with 2km to go. The bunch hesitated for a moment and then only followed, but it was too late. She managed to keep free from the Peleton to take her biggest victory in her cycling career, with the rest of us sprinting for the line. The sprint was chaotic, trying to get through riders from the shorter distances, luckily nobody from the ladies crashed.
Results
1st Robyn de Groot (Nashua)
2nd Jenny Stennerhag (Alpha Pharm)
3rd Marissa van den Merwe(MTN)
4th Cherise Taylor (MTN)
5th Lynette Burger (Cycle Lab)
6th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
Monday, October 26, 2009
Telkom Satellite challenge
The event was held at the Hartebeeshoek Satellite Station, just outside Johannesburg. It’s a popular event amongst cyclist with a vast number of participants.
Even as the woman’s group started the 107km race, a string of cars were still waiting on the road to get into the parking area. Come to think of it, getting up so early to start amongst the first groups is actually not that bad….
The woman’s field was very strong, with all the major teams coming out to do this event. Also with the continental games coming up in 2 weeks time, we even had international riders in our group, a Mauritian, Namibian and a Zimbabwean.
The race was made hard from the start with all the teams consistently launching attacks in an attempt to get their riders down the road.
As the bunch came up to the hot spot sprint, Roben de Groot (Nashua) and Ashleigh Moolman (Cycle lab) were the two girls challenging each other to the line. As they crossed the hot spot line they managed to open a small gap on the rest of the field. On realizing this, they put their heads down in an effort to extend their time gap. Marissa van der Merwe (MTN) quickly responded and bridged across to the break.
This break, that at first appeared to be a hot spot sprint, now suddenly turned out to be very dangerous to the rest of us who didn’t have a team mate present in the break.
Only 4 girls (Jenny Stennerhag, Lise Olivier, Arien Torsius and I) worked hard up front trying to bring the break back.
As we closed the gap on the 3 girls that were in front, Cashandra Slingerland (Team MTN) launched a counter attack. I immediately follower her with Arien Torsius (Dilila), Lizanne Naude (Cycle lab) and An-Li Pretorius (Nashua) behind me.
This formed the final break of the day as we headed towards the most challenging part of the day- Hekpoort climb.
The road leading towards Hekpoort is quite hilly and a headwind made it extra hard.
At the bottom of Hekpoort it was only Lizanne Naude (Cycle lab) and myself (Konica Minolta) left of the break away group, with the main bunch breathing down our necks.
On the climb I focussed on a good rhythm and tempo as I made my way to the top of Hekpoort. As we crested the hill, Anriette Schoeman (Nashua) and Ashleigh Moolman (Cycle lab) rode clear from the main bunch, and crossed to Lizanne and me.
With 10 km left to the finish, the 4 of us worked together as best as riders from different teams could!!!
Ashleigh and Lizanne (both Cycle Lab) tried to tire Anriette and myself by taking turns to attack us. This lead to Lizanne getting dropped in the penultimate climb to the finish. Now everything was to be decided through that final 90 degree turn before the finish.
It was Ashleigh who dived into the corner first, taking the victory with me and Anriette finishing in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
It is a nice event, one I’ve always enjoyed with the challenging Hekpoort climb thrown in right at end to make this event truly demanding…..
Results
1st Ashleigh Moolman (Cycle Lab)
2nd Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
3rd Anriette Schoeman (Nashua)
4th Lizanne Naude (Cycle Lab)
5th Lynette Burger (Cycle Lab)
The event was held at the Hartebeeshoek Satellite Station, just outside Johannesburg. It’s a popular event amongst cyclist with a vast number of participants.
Even as the woman’s group started the 107km race, a string of cars were still waiting on the road to get into the parking area. Come to think of it, getting up so early to start amongst the first groups is actually not that bad….
The woman’s field was very strong, with all the major teams coming out to do this event. Also with the continental games coming up in 2 weeks time, we even had international riders in our group, a Mauritian, Namibian and a Zimbabwean.
The race was made hard from the start with all the teams consistently launching attacks in an attempt to get their riders down the road.
As the bunch came up to the hot spot sprint, Roben de Groot (Nashua) and Ashleigh Moolman (Cycle lab) were the two girls challenging each other to the line. As they crossed the hot spot line they managed to open a small gap on the rest of the field. On realizing this, they put their heads down in an effort to extend their time gap. Marissa van der Merwe (MTN) quickly responded and bridged across to the break.
This break, that at first appeared to be a hot spot sprint, now suddenly turned out to be very dangerous to the rest of us who didn’t have a team mate present in the break.
Only 4 girls (Jenny Stennerhag, Lise Olivier, Arien Torsius and I) worked hard up front trying to bring the break back.
As we closed the gap on the 3 girls that were in front, Cashandra Slingerland (Team MTN) launched a counter attack. I immediately follower her with Arien Torsius (Dilila), Lizanne Naude (Cycle lab) and An-Li Pretorius (Nashua) behind me.
This formed the final break of the day as we headed towards the most challenging part of the day- Hekpoort climb.
The road leading towards Hekpoort is quite hilly and a headwind made it extra hard.
At the bottom of Hekpoort it was only Lizanne Naude (Cycle lab) and myself (Konica Minolta) left of the break away group, with the main bunch breathing down our necks.
On the climb I focussed on a good rhythm and tempo as I made my way to the top of Hekpoort. As we crested the hill, Anriette Schoeman (Nashua) and Ashleigh Moolman (Cycle lab) rode clear from the main bunch, and crossed to Lizanne and me.
With 10 km left to the finish, the 4 of us worked together as best as riders from different teams could!!!
Ashleigh and Lizanne (both Cycle Lab) tried to tire Anriette and myself by taking turns to attack us. This lead to Lizanne getting dropped in the penultimate climb to the finish. Now everything was to be decided through that final 90 degree turn before the finish.
It was Ashleigh who dived into the corner first, taking the victory with me and Anriette finishing in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
It is a nice event, one I’ve always enjoyed with the challenging Hekpoort climb thrown in right at end to make this event truly demanding…..
Results
1st Ashleigh Moolman (Cycle Lab)
2nd Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
3rd Anriette Schoeman (Nashua)
4th Lizanne Naude (Cycle Lab)
5th Lynette Burger (Cycle Lab)
Monday, October 19, 2009
Amashova weekend
Asishova Mountain bike event:
This past weekend I travelled down to Natal for the Amashova Mountain bike and road event on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
The weather forecast predicted heavy rain on the weekend and I thought my preparations were adequate... I had my mud tyres on, packed my rain jacket but still it wasn’t nearly enough for what I was about to experience at the MTB race on Saturday!
The event started in misty rain and very cold conditions. As we left the start I was positioned behind a few riders, concentrating hard on following their wheels. Then suddenly we went onto an open stretch of field without any tracks to ride on. There were only confused riders heading in all directions - we had gone the wrong way!
The leading quad bike that was missing at the start came to our rescue and took us back to the race route. In the meantime the rest of the 70km participants were already out on the ‘correct’ course which left us to ride back up and past them.
Samantha Oosthuisen (Karsten Cycles) took the lead during the first part of the event with me lying in 2nd position.
Unfortunately around 20km into the event, I had to stop to fix my flat rear tyre.
Once my tyre was fixed I got back on my bike and started my chase back to the girls in the front.
With all the rain some of the route markings got lost and I ended up passing some riders a few times. It felt very unfair and demoralising to chase very hard, only to catch up to the same guys over and over again.
My last 10km turned into a nightmare! As I got onto the last section of singletrack, the trail was like a mud bath! The mud just stuck to my bike and tyres, which eventually even caused my wheels to stop turning.
I had to stop every few meters and try to remove some of the mud, just to get my wheels turning again. Carrying my bike was also not an option because it got too heavy to pick up.
If I was told this might happen to my bike on muddy trails I wouldn’t have believed it. It was crazy and frustrating with the end being so close but not knowing how in the world I was going the get there….
They made the route very challenging, climbing mostly on dirt routes and then descending on technical twisting singletrack. You never really got an opportunity to rest or stop pedalling. With the downhill sections on singletrack it also took longer than usual and this made the event even more gruelling. I managed to finish in 5th place with a time of 5:27min.
Amashova Road event:
This year more than 300 girls stood on the start line of the 107 km Amashova Classic.
As we left the start in Pietermaritzburg, heading towards Durban, we encountered the first challenges of the event. The route rolled over 3 consecutive climbs which caused the field to split and only around 30 ladies were left in the front.
The big teams (MTN, Nashua, Cycle lab) kept the racing interesting throughout the entire event as they consistently tried to launch attacks off the front of the bunch.
The second challenge of the event came around 40km from the finish when we had to go over another series of hills. This reduced the leading bunch to a small group of around 15 girls and I was happy to still be up in front after the previous day’s outing.
As we got onto the highway with 10km left to the finish I just couldn’t keep up with the pace anymore. The previous day’s effort finally caught up with me.
On one of the drags Cashandra Slingerland (MTN), Lizanne Naude (Cycle lab), Carla van den Merwe (Nashua) and I (Konica Minolta) got left behind and we were forced to chase. Unfortunately we couldn’t get back in the final few kilometres and we finished a few seconds behind the first bunch.
Jenny Stenerhagdt (Alpha Pharm) won the sprint for 1st place in an exciting finale.
Asishova Mountain bike event:
This past weekend I travelled down to Natal for the Amashova Mountain bike and road event on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
The weather forecast predicted heavy rain on the weekend and I thought my preparations were adequate... I had my mud tyres on, packed my rain jacket but still it wasn’t nearly enough for what I was about to experience at the MTB race on Saturday!
The event started in misty rain and very cold conditions. As we left the start I was positioned behind a few riders, concentrating hard on following their wheels. Then suddenly we went onto an open stretch of field without any tracks to ride on. There were only confused riders heading in all directions - we had gone the wrong way!
The leading quad bike that was missing at the start came to our rescue and took us back to the race route. In the meantime the rest of the 70km participants were already out on the ‘correct’ course which left us to ride back up and past them.
Samantha Oosthuisen (Karsten Cycles) took the lead during the first part of the event with me lying in 2nd position.
Unfortunately around 20km into the event, I had to stop to fix my flat rear tyre.
Once my tyre was fixed I got back on my bike and started my chase back to the girls in the front.
With all the rain some of the route markings got lost and I ended up passing some riders a few times. It felt very unfair and demoralising to chase very hard, only to catch up to the same guys over and over again.
My last 10km turned into a nightmare! As I got onto the last section of singletrack, the trail was like a mud bath! The mud just stuck to my bike and tyres, which eventually even caused my wheels to stop turning.
I had to stop every few meters and try to remove some of the mud, just to get my wheels turning again. Carrying my bike was also not an option because it got too heavy to pick up.
If I was told this might happen to my bike on muddy trails I wouldn’t have believed it. It was crazy and frustrating with the end being so close but not knowing how in the world I was going the get there….
They made the route very challenging, climbing mostly on dirt routes and then descending on technical twisting singletrack. You never really got an opportunity to rest or stop pedalling. With the downhill sections on singletrack it also took longer than usual and this made the event even more gruelling. I managed to finish in 5th place with a time of 5:27min.
Amashova Road event:
This year more than 300 girls stood on the start line of the 107 km Amashova Classic.
As we left the start in Pietermaritzburg, heading towards Durban, we encountered the first challenges of the event. The route rolled over 3 consecutive climbs which caused the field to split and only around 30 ladies were left in the front.
The big teams (MTN, Nashua, Cycle lab) kept the racing interesting throughout the entire event as they consistently tried to launch attacks off the front of the bunch.
The second challenge of the event came around 40km from the finish when we had to go over another series of hills. This reduced the leading bunch to a small group of around 15 girls and I was happy to still be up in front after the previous day’s outing.
As we got onto the highway with 10km left to the finish I just couldn’t keep up with the pace anymore. The previous day’s effort finally caught up with me.
On one of the drags Cashandra Slingerland (MTN), Lizanne Naude (Cycle lab), Carla van den Merwe (Nashua) and I (Konica Minolta) got left behind and we were forced to chase. Unfortunately we couldn’t get back in the final few kilometres and we finished a few seconds behind the first bunch.
Jenny Stenerhagdt (Alpha Pharm) won the sprint for 1st place in an exciting finale.
Monday, October 12, 2009
101km Crater Cruise
The event started in Carl Preller Avenue opposite the horse riding Arena in Parys.
It is very popular with both on and off road cyclist and the increasing number of riders from the road participating was astonishing. Mountain biking is becoming a very popular sport.
The group rolled out on relatively flat tarmac and after 8km we went onto a rather rocky dirt road.
With 2500 participants one can only imagine the chaos in the front group. Every rider was fighting for a front seat rolling onto the dirt road.
I tried to position myself as good as possible in the group, before heading into the first of 2 stretches of singletrack. These sections lead to the bunch being spread out and formed smaller groups once back on the main dirt road around 22km.
This is when I first realized that I might be in front of my competitors. During mountain bike events it’s difficult to identify in what position you are out in the field as a lady. Throughout the event I was never thinking “I want to win this”. My focus was mostly on finding the best lines, avoiding badly corrugated sections, eating and drinking and getting to the finish line in one piece.
We ended the main dirt road with a long drag (Suikerbossie). Then from the main road we were lead through a few game farms on mostly jeep and singletrack which also included the toughest rocky climb of the day.
After we left the main dirt road (33km) it became an individual TT for me. I knew the route before hand and it helped me a lot being mentally prepared.
Coming out of the game farms the route continued on more corrugated dirt roads before we turned onto a farm with more technical singletrack, including some rock gardens, sandy spots and short steep climbs over rocky sections. I found this section hard because if you don’t ride smoothly through it you end up like me braking before each corner then sprinting to the next.
After this section I had around 20km remaining on more corrugated roads and rutted singletrack laid out on farm roads. My final 20km felt like a never ending nightmare. Everything was hurting, even my feet couldn’t bear the bumpy surface any longer.
The finish line was my rescuer on Saturday and crossing it in first place made it definitely worth doing all over again! I am very happy with my result. It’s my biggest MTB victory. One that I couldn’t and didn’t achieve on my own!!!
Race Results
1st Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
2nd Samantha Oosthuisen
3rd Carla Rowley.
The event started in Carl Preller Avenue opposite the horse riding Arena in Parys.
It is very popular with both on and off road cyclist and the increasing number of riders from the road participating was astonishing. Mountain biking is becoming a very popular sport.
The group rolled out on relatively flat tarmac and after 8km we went onto a rather rocky dirt road.
With 2500 participants one can only imagine the chaos in the front group. Every rider was fighting for a front seat rolling onto the dirt road.
I tried to position myself as good as possible in the group, before heading into the first of 2 stretches of singletrack. These sections lead to the bunch being spread out and formed smaller groups once back on the main dirt road around 22km.
This is when I first realized that I might be in front of my competitors. During mountain bike events it’s difficult to identify in what position you are out in the field as a lady. Throughout the event I was never thinking “I want to win this”. My focus was mostly on finding the best lines, avoiding badly corrugated sections, eating and drinking and getting to the finish line in one piece.
We ended the main dirt road with a long drag (Suikerbossie). Then from the main road we were lead through a few game farms on mostly jeep and singletrack which also included the toughest rocky climb of the day.
After we left the main dirt road (33km) it became an individual TT for me. I knew the route before hand and it helped me a lot being mentally prepared.
Coming out of the game farms the route continued on more corrugated dirt roads before we turned onto a farm with more technical singletrack, including some rock gardens, sandy spots and short steep climbs over rocky sections. I found this section hard because if you don’t ride smoothly through it you end up like me braking before each corner then sprinting to the next.
After this section I had around 20km remaining on more corrugated roads and rutted singletrack laid out on farm roads. My final 20km felt like a never ending nightmare. Everything was hurting, even my feet couldn’t bear the bumpy surface any longer.
The finish line was my rescuer on Saturday and crossing it in first place made it definitely worth doing all over again! I am very happy with my result. It’s my biggest MTB victory. One that I couldn’t and didn’t achieve on my own!!!
Race Results
1st Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
2nd Samantha Oosthuisen
3rd Carla Rowley.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Clarens MTN Series
The event was held in Clarens, a little village situated in the foothills of the Maluti-Mountains in close proximity to the Golden Gate National Park.
The woman in the Marathon event (80km) started alongside the Elite men in the Ultra-Marathon (109 km). The group left the village square with a neutralised start on the gravel roads. We headed on the tar road towards Bethelem and cycled for about 3km before we turned onto some rugged singletrack. As we turned the guys started to lift the pace, which lead to the group being spread out all along the trail.
Yolandi de Villiers (Cycle lab), Ischen Stopforth and Samantha Oosthuizen were in front of me going onto the singletrack. I sat only a few meters behind them preferring to have a better view of what was coming.
I struggled to get into a rhythm on the bumpy trail and couldn’t get myself to sit comfortably on my bike. It felt like my bike was directing me where to go and that was everywhere except on the track.
After 15km of singletrack we reached a district road. Upfront I could see the 3 ladies working together and tried hard to get across to them before the next section of farm roads. I didn’t manage to get across but kept on pacing myself as best as I could.
I felt very demoralised for not being able to make contact again and struggled to keep up my morale. My aching knee also didn’t help the situation.
Despite everything I wasn’t going to give up. Around halfway I passed Yolandi de Villiers while she was fixing a flat tyre. Moving up into 3rd position was just what I needed to get my motivation back. Now I had to maintain my podium position.
After passing Yolandi the race took us on a hiking trail into the mountains. We were actually riding on the narrow sandstone trails. I didn’t want to look at the view because if I accidentally rode where I was looking, they might not find me again. It was a long way down! The hiking trail was scary, exciting and very hard all at the same time.
After the hiking trail we returned back onto the route finishing the last 20km on the same section of singletrack back to Clarens.
I managed to hold onto 3rd position, behind Ischen Stopforth and Samantha Oosthuisen who took 1st and 2nd place respectively.
I enjoyed the circuit even though it was extremely hard and technical. Being forced to ride trails I would normally walk was a huge boost to my confidence. The beautiful scenery of the surrounding area made the race a truly unique experience.
Results
1st Ichen Stopforth
2nd Yolandi de Villiers
3rd Yolandi du Toit
The event was held in Clarens, a little village situated in the foothills of the Maluti-Mountains in close proximity to the Golden Gate National Park.
The woman in the Marathon event (80km) started alongside the Elite men in the Ultra-Marathon (109 km). The group left the village square with a neutralised start on the gravel roads. We headed on the tar road towards Bethelem and cycled for about 3km before we turned onto some rugged singletrack. As we turned the guys started to lift the pace, which lead to the group being spread out all along the trail.
Yolandi de Villiers (Cycle lab), Ischen Stopforth and Samantha Oosthuizen were in front of me going onto the singletrack. I sat only a few meters behind them preferring to have a better view of what was coming.
I struggled to get into a rhythm on the bumpy trail and couldn’t get myself to sit comfortably on my bike. It felt like my bike was directing me where to go and that was everywhere except on the track.
After 15km of singletrack we reached a district road. Upfront I could see the 3 ladies working together and tried hard to get across to them before the next section of farm roads. I didn’t manage to get across but kept on pacing myself as best as I could.
I felt very demoralised for not being able to make contact again and struggled to keep up my morale. My aching knee also didn’t help the situation.
Despite everything I wasn’t going to give up. Around halfway I passed Yolandi de Villiers while she was fixing a flat tyre. Moving up into 3rd position was just what I needed to get my motivation back. Now I had to maintain my podium position.
After passing Yolandi the race took us on a hiking trail into the mountains. We were actually riding on the narrow sandstone trails. I didn’t want to look at the view because if I accidentally rode where I was looking, they might not find me again. It was a long way down! The hiking trail was scary, exciting and very hard all at the same time.
After the hiking trail we returned back onto the route finishing the last 20km on the same section of singletrack back to Clarens.
I managed to hold onto 3rd position, behind Ischen Stopforth and Samantha Oosthuisen who took 1st and 2nd place respectively.
I enjoyed the circuit even though it was extremely hard and technical. Being forced to ride trails I would normally walk was a huge boost to my confidence. The beautiful scenery of the surrounding area made the race a truly unique experience.
Results
1st Ichen Stopforth
2nd Yolandi de Villiers
3rd Yolandi du Toit
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Campus2Campus
The first time I road this event, it was held from the Potchefstroom Campus to the Vanderbijlpark Campus, hence the name. This year Vanderbijlpark Campus was the start and finish venue for the race. This made it easier for participants as no travel arrangements from start to finish were necessary.
The 106km ladies race started along with the Veteran 50+ men. It was very noticeable that the Veteran tour held in Parys, Freestate, will be starting in two weeks time.
There was a large number of Veterans participating to sharpen up their form ahead of the “Master Blaster Tour”.
The circular route took cyclist in the direction of Parys, including 2 climbs - ‘klein ertjies’ and ‘ertjies berg’. The name originates from a cyclist called Ertjies Besuidenhout, who lived in Parys and used this circuit as his general training route. He was considered as one of SA’s best climbers back in the day.
The group stayed together until the bottom of ‘klein ertjies’. Going over the top, a few riders couldn’t keep up with the pace and the bunch was thinned out.
Ertjies berg followed only 4km afterwards and this was the deciding factor of the day. It was on this climb that Johan Spies showed us why he is one of the best veteran cyclists in our country.
He attacked halfway up and continued pacing hard on the front. On top a small break formed including a few veteran men, Joanna van der Winkel, Lizanne Naude, Lynette Burger ( all Cycle lab), Lilanie Lourens, Cherise Taylor (both MTN),
An-Li Pretorius (Nashua), and me (Konica Minolta).
We all worked well together until around 30km from the finish. I had a few problems and was forced to sit at the back. It didn’t make it any easier as I had to follow attacks while being unable to stand and sprint.
Joanna van der Winkel road very aggressively for her team and attacked on several occasions in an attempt to get away. Luckily for me the group stayed together for a bunch finish, and I was able to chase back and hang on after all the attacks in the closing kilometres. Eventually I even managed to position myself well for the final sprint and finished in a self surprising 2nd place behind Cherise Taylor who took the victory at this years Campus to Campus. Its great seeing her back in form!!!!
My next race will be on my mountain bike in Clarens, participating in a MTN Series event.
I am looking forward to racing in the dirt again – just me and my bike!!
Results:
1st Cherise Taylor
2nd Yolandi du Toit
3rd An-li Pretorius
4th Lynette Burger.
5th Lilanie Lourence
The first time I road this event, it was held from the Potchefstroom Campus to the Vanderbijlpark Campus, hence the name. This year Vanderbijlpark Campus was the start and finish venue for the race. This made it easier for participants as no travel arrangements from start to finish were necessary.
The 106km ladies race started along with the Veteran 50+ men. It was very noticeable that the Veteran tour held in Parys, Freestate, will be starting in two weeks time.
There was a large number of Veterans participating to sharpen up their form ahead of the “Master Blaster Tour”.
The circular route took cyclist in the direction of Parys, including 2 climbs - ‘klein ertjies’ and ‘ertjies berg’. The name originates from a cyclist called Ertjies Besuidenhout, who lived in Parys and used this circuit as his general training route. He was considered as one of SA’s best climbers back in the day.
The group stayed together until the bottom of ‘klein ertjies’. Going over the top, a few riders couldn’t keep up with the pace and the bunch was thinned out.
Ertjies berg followed only 4km afterwards and this was the deciding factor of the day. It was on this climb that Johan Spies showed us why he is one of the best veteran cyclists in our country.
He attacked halfway up and continued pacing hard on the front. On top a small break formed including a few veteran men, Joanna van der Winkel, Lizanne Naude, Lynette Burger ( all Cycle lab), Lilanie Lourens, Cherise Taylor (both MTN),
An-Li Pretorius (Nashua), and me (Konica Minolta).
We all worked well together until around 30km from the finish. I had a few problems and was forced to sit at the back. It didn’t make it any easier as I had to follow attacks while being unable to stand and sprint.
Joanna van der Winkel road very aggressively for her team and attacked on several occasions in an attempt to get away. Luckily for me the group stayed together for a bunch finish, and I was able to chase back and hang on after all the attacks in the closing kilometres. Eventually I even managed to position myself well for the final sprint and finished in a self surprising 2nd place behind Cherise Taylor who took the victory at this years Campus to Campus. Its great seeing her back in form!!!!
My next race will be on my mountain bike in Clarens, participating in a MTN Series event.
I am looking forward to racing in the dirt again – just me and my bike!!
Results:
1st Cherise Taylor
2nd Yolandi du Toit
3rd An-li Pretorius
4th Lynette Burger.
5th Lilanie Lourence
Thursday, September 24, 2009
MTN Zoo Lake Criterium
After Hill2Hill mountain bike race, I didn’t quite know what to expect for this event. I only wanted and hoped to do and feel better than what I did at my previous race.
The event was held at Zoo Lake in Johannesburg and this year Fritz Pienaar and his team organized the event. They changed the route to last year by making the riders go the opposite way around the lake. I personally enjoyed the circuit more this way, it added an extra gradual climb and it gave spectators the opportunity to see cyclist sprinting for the finishing line from 500m to go, in comparison to last years 200m.
With al the major teams (MTN, Nashua, Cycle lab, Konica Minolta) and a few individual riders present, the race was made extremely hard for the whole 25min + 1 lap.
The teams were taking turns attacking continuously which lead to the front group getting smaller each time we crossed the finish line.
The last 2km was on a gradual climb where you turned left at the top onto the finishing straight with around 500m left to the finish.
On our last lap going onto the gradual climb the pace were quite high which led to the bunch being stretched out in a line. I decided to try my luck and attacked half way up and actually got away on my own. As I turned left I managed to open a good gap on the rest of the field. As I saw the finish line getting closer I really hoped that I would stay away until crossing it. Unfortunately Cherise Taylor (MTN) and Lynette Burger (Cycle lab) came past me just before the line to take 1st and 2nd respectively.
Result
1st Cherise Taylor (MTN)
2nd Lynette Burger (Cycle lab)
3rd Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
After Hill2Hill mountain bike race, I didn’t quite know what to expect for this event. I only wanted and hoped to do and feel better than what I did at my previous race.
The event was held at Zoo Lake in Johannesburg and this year Fritz Pienaar and his team organized the event. They changed the route to last year by making the riders go the opposite way around the lake. I personally enjoyed the circuit more this way, it added an extra gradual climb and it gave spectators the opportunity to see cyclist sprinting for the finishing line from 500m to go, in comparison to last years 200m.
With al the major teams (MTN, Nashua, Cycle lab, Konica Minolta) and a few individual riders present, the race was made extremely hard for the whole 25min + 1 lap.
The teams were taking turns attacking continuously which lead to the front group getting smaller each time we crossed the finish line.
The last 2km was on a gradual climb where you turned left at the top onto the finishing straight with around 500m left to the finish.
On our last lap going onto the gradual climb the pace were quite high which led to the bunch being stretched out in a line. I decided to try my luck and attacked half way up and actually got away on my own. As I turned left I managed to open a good gap on the rest of the field. As I saw the finish line getting closer I really hoped that I would stay away until crossing it. Unfortunately Cherise Taylor (MTN) and Lynette Burger (Cycle lab) came past me just before the line to take 1st and 2nd respectively.
Result
1st Cherise Taylor (MTN)
2nd Lynette Burger (Cycle lab)
3rd Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sunday Tribune/Jeep Hill2Hill MTB
The event started at Hillton in Pietermaritzburg and took the riders all the way to Hillcrest in Durban, the finishing venue for the race.
We had a very early 6am start and the weather conditions wasn’t exactly morale boosting.
It was freezing outside and a strong wind made it even worse. Luckily the car had enough space to get dressed in before we left for the start line.
Warming up for the race seemed easier in the car than outside on the bike.
The race started very fast and my legs couldn’t respond to the fast pace. I saw Samantha Oosthuizen and Tanya Raats up front but didn’t notice any other ladies as I was concentrating too much on the technical downhill start.
I tried to get into a good rhythm, despite my legs feeling very sluggish. To stay motivated I just focussed on doing my solo effort as best as I could.
Being a first timer at the event I found the route very interesting. The first part of the race included a rocky descent, a very dark tunnel, steps, and even a slippery bridge thrown in for good measure.
Then for a few kilometres’s the route went on tar road through Pietermaritzburg.
The second part of the race was on district roads as well as jeep and singletrack through sugar cane plantations. It included more hills, which got quite technical on some of the singletrack littered with rocks.
To see the finish line after 105km on my mountain bike made me very happy!
I didn’t manage to get a good results and I feel very disappointed. However, it was my first time competing in the event and at least now for next year I know the route and what to expect. I’ll put this one down to experience.
It was a nice event with an interesting route. I would really like to do it again next year and hopefully have a better day out on my bike!
The event started at Hillton in Pietermaritzburg and took the riders all the way to Hillcrest in Durban, the finishing venue for the race.
We had a very early 6am start and the weather conditions wasn’t exactly morale boosting.
It was freezing outside and a strong wind made it even worse. Luckily the car had enough space to get dressed in before we left for the start line.
Warming up for the race seemed easier in the car than outside on the bike.
The race started very fast and my legs couldn’t respond to the fast pace. I saw Samantha Oosthuizen and Tanya Raats up front but didn’t notice any other ladies as I was concentrating too much on the technical downhill start.
I tried to get into a good rhythm, despite my legs feeling very sluggish. To stay motivated I just focussed on doing my solo effort as best as I could.
Being a first timer at the event I found the route very interesting. The first part of the race included a rocky descent, a very dark tunnel, steps, and even a slippery bridge thrown in for good measure.
Then for a few kilometres’s the route went on tar road through Pietermaritzburg.
The second part of the race was on district roads as well as jeep and singletrack through sugar cane plantations. It included more hills, which got quite technical on some of the singletrack littered with rocks.
To see the finish line after 105km on my mountain bike made me very happy!
I didn’t manage to get a good results and I feel very disappointed. However, it was my first time competing in the event and at least now for next year I know the route and what to expect. I’ll put this one down to experience.
It was a nice event with an interesting route. I would really like to do it again next year and hopefully have a better day out on my bike!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Powerade Dome to dome
The event was held at the Coca-Cola Dome, in the vicinity of Northgate shopping centre,Johannesburg. The venue provided supporters with something to do as well, while participants where out on the open roads racing hard and this created a friendly family atmosphere.
I had an early morning start, leaving my home just after 4am. It was definitely worth getting up so early because outside it was a beautiful morning.
I enjoyed the race route, it was a very demanding which helps a lot when you are on your own against other teams.
The first move of the day came when An-Li Pretorius (Nashua) attacked taking Cashandra Slingerland (MTN) with her.
With a MTN and Nashua rider present in the break I knew I had to do something. I decided to wait for one of the major climbs around 20km into the event to give it a go.
Half way up the climb I attacked in attempt to catch up with the leading duo. As I managed to make contact with the leading two, Marissa van den Merwe (MTN) counter attacked immediately and this led to a small break away group of 9 girls containing Cashandra Sllingerland, Marissa van den Merwe, Cherise Taylor, Larissa Kleinmann (all MTN), Jade Thompson, Anriette Schoeman (Both Nashua), myself (Konica Minolta) and two other girls that I haven’t seen at cycling events before, but road very well.
Team MTN attacked several times and on a few occasions Cashandra Slingerland, Marissa van den Merwe, Cherise Taylor (all MTN), Andriette Schoeman and myself managed to open a small gap on the rest of the field., which didn’t last very long because we couldn’t work well together.
On the last occasion (around 30km from the finish) MTN started taking turns in attacking Anriette and myself. Eventually Cashandra Slingerland got away.
The other girls made contact with us again and from then onwards until the finish line nobody really wanted to contribute to the pace. Even when I managed to get away alone with two MTN girls they also didn’t want to help keeping the pace high.
Cashandra, who is very well know for her incredible time trail ability, managed to stay away and won the event.
I enjoyed the race, knowing that I gave my best makes every event I participate in meaningful.
Results:
1st Cashandra Slingerland (MTN)
2nd Cherise Taylor (MTN)
3rd Marissa van den Merwe (MTN)
4th Andriette Schoeman(Nashua)
5th Larissa Kleinmann (MTN)
6th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
The event was held at the Coca-Cola Dome, in the vicinity of Northgate shopping centre,Johannesburg. The venue provided supporters with something to do as well, while participants where out on the open roads racing hard and this created a friendly family atmosphere.
I had an early morning start, leaving my home just after 4am. It was definitely worth getting up so early because outside it was a beautiful morning.
I enjoyed the race route, it was a very demanding which helps a lot when you are on your own against other teams.
The first move of the day came when An-Li Pretorius (Nashua) attacked taking Cashandra Slingerland (MTN) with her.
With a MTN and Nashua rider present in the break I knew I had to do something. I decided to wait for one of the major climbs around 20km into the event to give it a go.
Half way up the climb I attacked in attempt to catch up with the leading duo. As I managed to make contact with the leading two, Marissa van den Merwe (MTN) counter attacked immediately and this led to a small break away group of 9 girls containing Cashandra Sllingerland, Marissa van den Merwe, Cherise Taylor, Larissa Kleinmann (all MTN), Jade Thompson, Anriette Schoeman (Both Nashua), myself (Konica Minolta) and two other girls that I haven’t seen at cycling events before, but road very well.
Team MTN attacked several times and on a few occasions Cashandra Slingerland, Marissa van den Merwe, Cherise Taylor (all MTN), Andriette Schoeman and myself managed to open a small gap on the rest of the field., which didn’t last very long because we couldn’t work well together.
On the last occasion (around 30km from the finish) MTN started taking turns in attacking Anriette and myself. Eventually Cashandra Slingerland got away.
The other girls made contact with us again and from then onwards until the finish line nobody really wanted to contribute to the pace. Even when I managed to get away alone with two MTN girls they also didn’t want to help keeping the pace high.
Cashandra, who is very well know for her incredible time trail ability, managed to stay away and won the event.
I enjoyed the race, knowing that I gave my best makes every event I participate in meaningful.
Results:
1st Cashandra Slingerland (MTN)
2nd Cherise Taylor (MTN)
3rd Marissa van den Merwe (MTN)
4th Andriette Schoeman(Nashua)
5th Larissa Kleinmann (MTN)
6th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
Monday, September 7, 2009
MARGATE CENTENARY CYCLE CHALLANGE
Over the past weekend the team travelled down to Margate to participate in some local racing at the South Coast. It was one of those small events that no one really knows about, but actually should. The race organisers put a lot of effort into the event and the terrain is ideal for hard racing!
The 94km event started at Margate’s main beach and took the riders all the way to the Sun Coast Casino and back, riding mostly on the N2.
I started in the second group with the woman, under 16 boys and veteran men.
Waking up the morning I felt like I’ve never gone to bed although I had 7h of sleep in. I recognized that I might have a difficult day out on my bike but still wanted to go and give it my best.
The group started quite fast and around 10km only a few was left up front, including Isable Moolman (Cycle Lab) and myself out of woman’s category. I tried to stick on as long as possible, but the rolling terrain and wind made the race very hard and half way into the event I lost contact with the main group.
I didn’t deliver a very good performance, but I know one can’t always have a good day although it would be nice! Its days like this that motivates me to work harder or rest more if my body needs it.
Race Results:
1st Isabel Moolman (Cycle Lab)
2nd Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
Over the past weekend the team travelled down to Margate to participate in some local racing at the South Coast. It was one of those small events that no one really knows about, but actually should. The race organisers put a lot of effort into the event and the terrain is ideal for hard racing!
The 94km event started at Margate’s main beach and took the riders all the way to the Sun Coast Casino and back, riding mostly on the N2.
I started in the second group with the woman, under 16 boys and veteran men.
Waking up the morning I felt like I’ve never gone to bed although I had 7h of sleep in. I recognized that I might have a difficult day out on my bike but still wanted to go and give it my best.
The group started quite fast and around 10km only a few was left up front, including Isable Moolman (Cycle Lab) and myself out of woman’s category. I tried to stick on as long as possible, but the rolling terrain and wind made the race very hard and half way into the event I lost contact with the main group.
I didn’t deliver a very good performance, but I know one can’t always have a good day although it would be nice! Its days like this that motivates me to work harder or rest more if my body needs it.
Race Results:
1st Isabel Moolman (Cycle Lab)
2nd Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
Monday, August 31, 2009
Blockhouse
MTN National MTB Series # 5
The event was held in Randvaal, Meyerton at the Circus located just outside of town.
It was great to have a weekend without traveling hours on the road with the MTN series event held so close to home. One thing is for certain, it doesn’t make the racing any easier.
The 78km route was very flat and fast. I have to admit, at first I thought the race wouldn’t be too hard because it was described as a very fast and technically undemanding circuit.
These predictions would turn out to be very wide of the mark. The route was indeed very flat but this only meant one had to pedal continuously, without any place to recover…
The woman in the Marathon (78km) event started with the Elite men in the Ultra-marathon (110km). As we left the start line, the pace was very high and soon the group split up.
I found myself together with Yolande de Villiers (Cycle lab) and Ischen Stopforth. The three of us worked well together, fighting to keep the chasing girls off. The circuit was very hard for me, especially going through the moto-cross track and the twisty single track crammed full of rocks. Through these sections I couldn’t stay on Yolandi and Ischen’s wheels. A few times they would open up 2/3 sec gaps on me which I had to close again.
The final 4km single track was on an open stretch of field, twisting and turning on itself continuously to make up the last few miles. We also joined the riders from the shorter distances on this section making it even more challenging. I sat behind de Villiers and Ishchen going into the single track and through every corning/turn they would open a small gap on me and eventually I couldn’t stay with them anymore and lost contact within 4km from the finish.
Yolande de Villiers took the win over Ischen Stopforth, and I came home in 3rd position.
I am happy with my result. It was a tough circuit and I had to fight hard to finish were I did.
Results:
1st Yolande de Villiers (Cycle lab)
2nd Ischen Stopforth
3rd Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
4th Samantha Oosthuizen
4th Nicole Murphy
5th Beatrice Hogan
MTN National MTB Series # 5
The event was held in Randvaal, Meyerton at the Circus located just outside of town.
It was great to have a weekend without traveling hours on the road with the MTN series event held so close to home. One thing is for certain, it doesn’t make the racing any easier.
The 78km route was very flat and fast. I have to admit, at first I thought the race wouldn’t be too hard because it was described as a very fast and technically undemanding circuit.
These predictions would turn out to be very wide of the mark. The route was indeed very flat but this only meant one had to pedal continuously, without any place to recover…
The woman in the Marathon (78km) event started with the Elite men in the Ultra-marathon (110km). As we left the start line, the pace was very high and soon the group split up.
I found myself together with Yolande de Villiers (Cycle lab) and Ischen Stopforth. The three of us worked well together, fighting to keep the chasing girls off. The circuit was very hard for me, especially going through the moto-cross track and the twisty single track crammed full of rocks. Through these sections I couldn’t stay on Yolandi and Ischen’s wheels. A few times they would open up 2/3 sec gaps on me which I had to close again.
The final 4km single track was on an open stretch of field, twisting and turning on itself continuously to make up the last few miles. We also joined the riders from the shorter distances on this section making it even more challenging. I sat behind de Villiers and Ishchen going into the single track and through every corning/turn they would open a small gap on me and eventually I couldn’t stay with them anymore and lost contact within 4km from the finish.
Yolande de Villiers took the win over Ischen Stopforth, and I came home in 3rd position.
I am happy with my result. It was a tough circuit and I had to fight hard to finish were I did.
Results:
1st Yolande de Villiers (Cycle lab)
2nd Ischen Stopforth
3rd Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
4th Samantha Oosthuizen
4th Nicole Murphy
5th Beatrice Hogan
Monday, August 24, 2009
Powerade Lost City Cycle challenge
The event was held at Sun City Casino in the North West province, situated on the outskirts of Rustenburg.
The 103km pan flat route is laid out on the open straight roads in the Pilanesberg area. This circuit can be very hard on a windy day, but luckily we had perfect weather for racing.
I didn’t enjoy my race so much today. My legs didn’t feel so good and the route doesn’t suit me. It was almost impossible to get away with the route being so flat. Except if you have 6 or 7 girls in your team and you can use team tactics to your advantage. This was the situation with the MTN team today.
They took turns to attack us and with only a few of the girls in the large bunch willing to actually race, the gaps started to appear. The end result saw a small group containing Marissa van de Merwe, Carla Swart, Cashandra Slingerland (all MTN), Ann-Li Pretorius and Altie Clark (both Nashua) sprint for the finishing line. I was caught behind in the chasing group, together with 6 other girls. Arien Torsius (Team Delila ) and I tried hard to bring the leading group back, but unfortunately we didn’t succeed and had to be satisfied with the end result.
Subaru Mountain bike Challenge
Saturday during the road race I didn’t feel so good on my bike and on Sunday I was dreading a repeat of the previous day. The race was scheduled to start at 8:00 am. But only took off at 8:30am. This was ideal for me because it gave me 20min extra to warm up and get my legs loose from the previous day’s effort. It definitely helped me a lot, because I felt good during the event.
The start was extremely fast, with a lot of road riders also participating.
As I left the start I had to ride as hard as my ability allowed me to, because this was the most crucial point in the race. Up front I could see a small group of around 5/6 riders forming and behind them a small group chasing hard. I was just behind the chasing group, together with 4 other guys.
I saw Sanet Small (Nashua) and Laetitia Botha during the fight to get to the front just after the start. In my group I didn’t notice them around, and knew I had to work hard to stay in my current position.
The course was fairly flat, with no technical sections to speak of. This made the race extremely fast. With the race being only 50km (2x25km) long, it felt like an all out effort for 1:33min.
The group I was in worked very well together and I managed to take the win and also finished 19th overall.
I enjoyed the circuit. The route was very winding, with a lot of turns and small drags added to it.
After the event we cycled around the Casino area, and the scenery is breathtaking! The race was held at a beautiful venue, and if you don’t take a minute to look around you might miss out!
Results:
1st Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta) 1:33
2nd Theresa Ralph 1:39
3rd Karien, van Jaarsveld 1:40
4th Laetitia Botha 1:43
The event was held at Sun City Casino in the North West province, situated on the outskirts of Rustenburg.
The 103km pan flat route is laid out on the open straight roads in the Pilanesberg area. This circuit can be very hard on a windy day, but luckily we had perfect weather for racing.
I didn’t enjoy my race so much today. My legs didn’t feel so good and the route doesn’t suit me. It was almost impossible to get away with the route being so flat. Except if you have 6 or 7 girls in your team and you can use team tactics to your advantage. This was the situation with the MTN team today.
They took turns to attack us and with only a few of the girls in the large bunch willing to actually race, the gaps started to appear. The end result saw a small group containing Marissa van de Merwe, Carla Swart, Cashandra Slingerland (all MTN), Ann-Li Pretorius and Altie Clark (both Nashua) sprint for the finishing line. I was caught behind in the chasing group, together with 6 other girls. Arien Torsius (Team Delila ) and I tried hard to bring the leading group back, but unfortunately we didn’t succeed and had to be satisfied with the end result.
Subaru Mountain bike Challenge
Saturday during the road race I didn’t feel so good on my bike and on Sunday I was dreading a repeat of the previous day. The race was scheduled to start at 8:00 am. But only took off at 8:30am. This was ideal for me because it gave me 20min extra to warm up and get my legs loose from the previous day’s effort. It definitely helped me a lot, because I felt good during the event.
The start was extremely fast, with a lot of road riders also participating.
As I left the start I had to ride as hard as my ability allowed me to, because this was the most crucial point in the race. Up front I could see a small group of around 5/6 riders forming and behind them a small group chasing hard. I was just behind the chasing group, together with 4 other guys.
I saw Sanet Small (Nashua) and Laetitia Botha during the fight to get to the front just after the start. In my group I didn’t notice them around, and knew I had to work hard to stay in my current position.
The course was fairly flat, with no technical sections to speak of. This made the race extremely fast. With the race being only 50km (2x25km) long, it felt like an all out effort for 1:33min.
The group I was in worked very well together and I managed to take the win and also finished 19th overall.
I enjoyed the circuit. The route was very winding, with a lot of turns and small drags added to it.
After the event we cycled around the Casino area, and the scenery is breathtaking! The race was held at a beautiful venue, and if you don’t take a minute to look around you might miss out!
Results:
1st Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta) 1:33
2nd Theresa Ralph 1:39
3rd Karien, van Jaarsveld 1:40
4th Laetitia Botha 1:43
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sungardens Carousel Classic 2009
We kicked of the second part of the season at the Sungardens Carousel Classic north of Pretoria. It was a great opportunity for all cyclists to test their level of fitness after the cold winter months. For everyone else it was a public holiday, celebrating Woman’s day.
The Elite men were the only category allowed to participate in the 150km event, while the rest could decide between the 110km or 40km event.
Four ladies teams were present at the race (6 girls from Cycle Lab, 7 girls from MTN, 2 from Nashua and me riding for Konica Minolta). Unfortunately Cycle Lab’s girls decided to ride with the Veteran men, reducing the field to only three teams and a few individual riders.
The ladies race (110km) started around 7:30am. It was a typical cold winter morning, but luckily it warmed up soon after we left the start line. The flat race route was made very treacherous by huge potholes in the middle of the road and traffic passing the riders regularly from both directions.
Early into the race MTN started launching attacks one after the other. They had the numbers and dominated the race completely. Roben de Groot and I tried hard to make our presence felt but MTN just had too many riders. Once hey had 3 girls in the break the rest of the team just covered all the counter attacks and kept the bunch together.
The only counter attack that stayed away consisted of Roben de Groot, Altie Clark and me with Chrissie Viljoen sitting on as a ‘policeman’ for MTN. We rode hard in an attempt to catch the 3 leaders, Marissa van der Merwe, Cashandra Slingerland and Carla Swart – all MTN. Our disorganized chase wasn’t making an impact on the MTN team time trial and to rub salt into our wounds Chrissie sprinted us all at the finish line after sitting on the whole way.
It wasn’t a great day, but I was happy to reach the finish in one piece. Let’s hope next week’s racing at the Tour de Soweto is a bit more positive and not just all about tactics.
Race Results:
1st Carla Swart (MTN)
2nd Cashandra Slingerland (MTN)
3rd Marissa vd Merwe (MTN)
4th Chrissie Viljoen (MTN)
5th Altie Clark (Nashua)
6th Roben de Groot (Nashua)
7th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
We kicked of the second part of the season at the Sungardens Carousel Classic north of Pretoria. It was a great opportunity for all cyclists to test their level of fitness after the cold winter months. For everyone else it was a public holiday, celebrating Woman’s day.
The Elite men were the only category allowed to participate in the 150km event, while the rest could decide between the 110km or 40km event.
Four ladies teams were present at the race (6 girls from Cycle Lab, 7 girls from MTN, 2 from Nashua and me riding for Konica Minolta). Unfortunately Cycle Lab’s girls decided to ride with the Veteran men, reducing the field to only three teams and a few individual riders.
The ladies race (110km) started around 7:30am. It was a typical cold winter morning, but luckily it warmed up soon after we left the start line. The flat race route was made very treacherous by huge potholes in the middle of the road and traffic passing the riders regularly from both directions.
Early into the race MTN started launching attacks one after the other. They had the numbers and dominated the race completely. Roben de Groot and I tried hard to make our presence felt but MTN just had too many riders. Once hey had 3 girls in the break the rest of the team just covered all the counter attacks and kept the bunch together.
The only counter attack that stayed away consisted of Roben de Groot, Altie Clark and me with Chrissie Viljoen sitting on as a ‘policeman’ for MTN. We rode hard in an attempt to catch the 3 leaders, Marissa van der Merwe, Cashandra Slingerland and Carla Swart – all MTN. Our disorganized chase wasn’t making an impact on the MTN team time trial and to rub salt into our wounds Chrissie sprinted us all at the finish line after sitting on the whole way.
It wasn’t a great day, but I was happy to reach the finish in one piece. Let’s hope next week’s racing at the Tour de Soweto is a bit more positive and not just all about tactics.
Race Results:
1st Carla Swart (MTN)
2nd Cashandra Slingerland (MTN)
3rd Marissa vd Merwe (MTN)
4th Chrissie Viljoen (MTN)
5th Altie Clark (Nashua)
6th Roben de Groot (Nashua)
7th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
Sunday, August 9, 2009
The N3TC Dirty Harry
SA Mountain bike Marathon Championships
The event was hosted at Platberg Stadium in Harrismith, together with the town’s annual "Berg Bohaai" festival. This created a warm, friendly atmosphere with most of the town’s people not only coming to the fair but also supporting and cheering the riders as we crossed the finish line.
The morning while we were driving down to Harrismith on the N3, I notice the bill boards at the side of the road flashing “MTB SA championships/ Good luck cyclist”. N3TC is a sponsor of the event, and it was great to ‘see’ their support!
The event started at 8:30am. At first I thought it was going to be a ‘cool’ day out on the bikes, but luckily it turned into a great day with sunshine and no wind.
The Elite men in the ultra marathon (120km) and the Elite ladies in the marathon (75km) started together. We had a neutralized start through town until we reached a gravel road that lead the riders out of Harrismith towards Platberg.
The first part of the gravel road was on a slight drag and it was here when Yolande Speedy made the first move for the day, trying to slip away. I tried to get across to her but Yolandi de Villiers wasn’t going to let any break go away and jumped onto my wheel. I decided to rather sit up and wait instead of tiring myself before the single track.
Speedy was first to go into the single track section, with Ischen Stopforth and me chasing hard. Around 7km into the race Ischen and I managed to close the gap to Speedy. The three of us rode together until we got to the bottom of the Platberg climb.
On the climb I passed Speedy and Ischen, reaching the top first. I didn’t have an idea of the time gap between me and the other girls. I was only thinking of keeping calm, concentrating on the circuit and riding as hard as my body would allow me to.
Halfway down the climb Speedy passed me using her exceptional bike handling skills.
On the next climb around 26km into the race I managed to catch up to Speedy again, passing her and opening a small gap before the summit.
Reaching the top, I realized that although I’m in the leading position for now, Speedy is very well known for getting stronger into the event. So if I wanted to stay away I would really have to concentrate more than ever.
Fritz Pienaar came past me in his ‘bakkie’ around the 55km mark and said I had a 1min gap over Yolande.
As the finish line came closer, so did Speedy. She caught me with 8km remaining. I had nothing left in my body and couldn’t do anything except watch her ride away from me.
It was a very rocky and bumpy course and the challenge at the end wasn’t only Speedy, but also trying to hold on to my handlebars with my arms and hands hurting the way they did!
I am more than satisfied with my result. I went into the race not really expecting a medal, although hoping for one. I knew I would give my best, I always do. At the end finishing with a Silver Medal at the South African Marathon Mountain Bike championships was an overwhelming feeling!
Results:
1 Yolande Speedy - IMC Momentum
2 Yolandi du Toit – Konica Minolta
3 Ischen Stopforth
SA Mountain bike Marathon Championships
The event was hosted at Platberg Stadium in Harrismith, together with the town’s annual "Berg Bohaai" festival. This created a warm, friendly atmosphere with most of the town’s people not only coming to the fair but also supporting and cheering the riders as we crossed the finish line.
The morning while we were driving down to Harrismith on the N3, I notice the bill boards at the side of the road flashing “MTB SA championships/ Good luck cyclist”. N3TC is a sponsor of the event, and it was great to ‘see’ their support!
The event started at 8:30am. At first I thought it was going to be a ‘cool’ day out on the bikes, but luckily it turned into a great day with sunshine and no wind.
The Elite men in the ultra marathon (120km) and the Elite ladies in the marathon (75km) started together. We had a neutralized start through town until we reached a gravel road that lead the riders out of Harrismith towards Platberg.
The first part of the gravel road was on a slight drag and it was here when Yolande Speedy made the first move for the day, trying to slip away. I tried to get across to her but Yolandi de Villiers wasn’t going to let any break go away and jumped onto my wheel. I decided to rather sit up and wait instead of tiring myself before the single track.
Speedy was first to go into the single track section, with Ischen Stopforth and me chasing hard. Around 7km into the race Ischen and I managed to close the gap to Speedy. The three of us rode together until we got to the bottom of the Platberg climb.
On the climb I passed Speedy and Ischen, reaching the top first. I didn’t have an idea of the time gap between me and the other girls. I was only thinking of keeping calm, concentrating on the circuit and riding as hard as my body would allow me to.
Halfway down the climb Speedy passed me using her exceptional bike handling skills.
On the next climb around 26km into the race I managed to catch up to Speedy again, passing her and opening a small gap before the summit.
Reaching the top, I realized that although I’m in the leading position for now, Speedy is very well known for getting stronger into the event. So if I wanted to stay away I would really have to concentrate more than ever.
Fritz Pienaar came past me in his ‘bakkie’ around the 55km mark and said I had a 1min gap over Yolande.
As the finish line came closer, so did Speedy. She caught me with 8km remaining. I had nothing left in my body and couldn’t do anything except watch her ride away from me.
It was a very rocky and bumpy course and the challenge at the end wasn’t only Speedy, but also trying to hold on to my handlebars with my arms and hands hurting the way they did!
I am more than satisfied with my result. I went into the race not really expecting a medal, although hoping for one. I knew I would give my best, I always do. At the end finishing with a Silver Medal at the South African Marathon Mountain Bike championships was an overwhelming feeling!
Results:
1 Yolande Speedy - IMC Momentum
2 Yolandi du Toit – Konica Minolta
3 Ischen Stopforth
Monday, August 3, 2009
Illovo Eston MTB challenge
The event was held in Eston, Pietermaritzburg. With rain pouring down throughout the whole of Saturday, we were in for a tough challenge.
I was surprised by the number of woman that turned up to participate in the 60km Marathon event despite the challenging weather conditions.
It was quite a spectacular sight as we left the start line. With all the rain falling on the open trails it was very slippery and one only saw girls sliding across the trail from one side to the other.
It was only for a short 200m section and riding on to more compact ground Speedy used her technical skills to open a small gap on the rest of us. The Queen of the mountain was situated only 3km into the event, which made the racing aggressive from the start.
Samantha Oosthuisen made the first move to try and bridge the gap to Speedy. I reacted immediately and went with her. We caught up to Yolande 1km before the Queen of the mountain. At this stage the pace was uncomfortably high for me, and I decided to rather back off a bit. I didn’t want to dig to deep at the start and then blow up only a few kilometres later.
Tanya Raats bridged up to me and the two of us rode together on the first flat and windy part of the course.
As the climbing started Tanya was unable to keep up with me as I chased hard to catch up with the two frontrunners (Samantha and Speedy).
The mud on the trails made the event truly challenging and I had to jump off a few times because of chain suck. My gears also suffered in the muddy conditions and it was a challenge just to keep the wheels turning smoothly.
.
Luckily I had mud tires on, which meant the riding on technical trails was made a bit easier. I actually enjoyed the route in the wet conditions. It meant your approach to a situation had to be calculated. You had to think how to handle it without slipping or where to ride to get the most traction in the mud and on top of that still concentrate on pushing your pedals as hard as possible.
After leaving Tanya around 10km into the race I was left to ride alone throughout the remainder of the event. It was hard at times being alone with no one in sight behind or in front of me, never quite sure if I was still on the correct route while doing a 3:30h effort.
As I approached the 5km to go sign, I was completely finished. I don’t know how I reached the finish line, but I eventually did crossing the line in 3rd place.
Results for the day
1st Yolande Speedy
2nd Samantha Oosthuisen
3rd Yolandi du Toit
4th Shawna Thunder
The event was held in Eston, Pietermaritzburg. With rain pouring down throughout the whole of Saturday, we were in for a tough challenge.
I was surprised by the number of woman that turned up to participate in the 60km Marathon event despite the challenging weather conditions.
It was quite a spectacular sight as we left the start line. With all the rain falling on the open trails it was very slippery and one only saw girls sliding across the trail from one side to the other.
It was only for a short 200m section and riding on to more compact ground Speedy used her technical skills to open a small gap on the rest of us. The Queen of the mountain was situated only 3km into the event, which made the racing aggressive from the start.
Samantha Oosthuisen made the first move to try and bridge the gap to Speedy. I reacted immediately and went with her. We caught up to Yolande 1km before the Queen of the mountain. At this stage the pace was uncomfortably high for me, and I decided to rather back off a bit. I didn’t want to dig to deep at the start and then blow up only a few kilometres later.
Tanya Raats bridged up to me and the two of us rode together on the first flat and windy part of the course.
As the climbing started Tanya was unable to keep up with me as I chased hard to catch up with the two frontrunners (Samantha and Speedy).
The mud on the trails made the event truly challenging and I had to jump off a few times because of chain suck. My gears also suffered in the muddy conditions and it was a challenge just to keep the wheels turning smoothly.
.
Luckily I had mud tires on, which meant the riding on technical trails was made a bit easier. I actually enjoyed the route in the wet conditions. It meant your approach to a situation had to be calculated. You had to think how to handle it without slipping or where to ride to get the most traction in the mud and on top of that still concentrate on pushing your pedals as hard as possible.
After leaving Tanya around 10km into the race I was left to ride alone throughout the remainder of the event. It was hard at times being alone with no one in sight behind or in front of me, never quite sure if I was still on the correct route while doing a 3:30h effort.
As I approached the 5km to go sign, I was completely finished. I don’t know how I reached the finish line, but I eventually did crossing the line in 3rd place.
Results for the day
1st Yolande Speedy
2nd Samantha Oosthuisen
3rd Yolandi du Toit
4th Shawna Thunder
Monday, July 27, 2009
Mountain2mountain
(25thJuly)
This road race was held in Tzaneen (Limpopo Province), a beautiful part of our country with its hills and green forests. The weather forecast for Tzaneen predicted very cold conditions over the weekend. Unfortunately it turned out to be correct!
On Saturday morning it was really freezing outside. Luckily we stayed less than 1km away from the start. This meant we could leave our warm hotel rooms fully dressed for the race, skipping the usual routine of getting race ready next to the team car in the cold.
My start group consisted of only 4 Cycle Lab girls and me starting at 6:45am.
The first 11km were the deciding factor of the event. Starting on a downhill and then reaching the bottom of the first and only major climb after just 2 km.
Agatha Mountain is a 9km climb and it was here where Ashleigh Moolman showed off her talent climbing away from the group.
I had to dig deep to stay with the other 3 Cycle Lab girls (Lynette Burger, Joanna van der Winkel and Lizanne Naude) on the climb. The cold weather conditions caused my legs to feel heavy and slow.
At the top Joanna vd Winkel, Lizanne Naude and I opened a small gap on Lynette. Lynette showed that she was determined to get a good result. She quickly caught back up as her team mates waited for her over the top of the climb. She attacked immediately after getting back on. I responded and as I reached her with the 2 Cycle lab girls on my wheel, she forced an echelon.
The next few kilometres were gradually downhill and Lynette tried several times to get away. I followed so that at times we opened a gap on the other two, but they managed to get back every time.
Next, we reached a T-junction where I was the first to turn left. Lynette attacked again with her 2 team mates sitting on her wheel. I tried to respond but I had nothing left after following all the earlier attacks.
My race was over and I continued riding on my own with only the wind and the occasional ‘funrider’ as a companion. It was a long, hard day in the saddle for a 5th place result.
The Mountain2Mountain is a very well organised event. Each rider received a big bag of oranges plus a goody ‘box’ with his/her race number filled with orange juice, nougat, cherry tomatoes, onions and some other local delicacies.
The 107km event had countdown markers every 10km, with 8 water points spread over the racing distance. At the finish venue there was plenty of food stalls and prize winners received their cash prizes, trophies and some more local treats.
This event is definitely worth adding on your race program for the future.
(25thJuly)
This road race was held in Tzaneen (Limpopo Province), a beautiful part of our country with its hills and green forests. The weather forecast for Tzaneen predicted very cold conditions over the weekend. Unfortunately it turned out to be correct!
On Saturday morning it was really freezing outside. Luckily we stayed less than 1km away from the start. This meant we could leave our warm hotel rooms fully dressed for the race, skipping the usual routine of getting race ready next to the team car in the cold.
My start group consisted of only 4 Cycle Lab girls and me starting at 6:45am.
The first 11km were the deciding factor of the event. Starting on a downhill and then reaching the bottom of the first and only major climb after just 2 km.
Agatha Mountain is a 9km climb and it was here where Ashleigh Moolman showed off her talent climbing away from the group.
I had to dig deep to stay with the other 3 Cycle Lab girls (Lynette Burger, Joanna van der Winkel and Lizanne Naude) on the climb. The cold weather conditions caused my legs to feel heavy and slow.
At the top Joanna vd Winkel, Lizanne Naude and I opened a small gap on Lynette. Lynette showed that she was determined to get a good result. She quickly caught back up as her team mates waited for her over the top of the climb. She attacked immediately after getting back on. I responded and as I reached her with the 2 Cycle lab girls on my wheel, she forced an echelon.
The next few kilometres were gradually downhill and Lynette tried several times to get away. I followed so that at times we opened a gap on the other two, but they managed to get back every time.
Next, we reached a T-junction where I was the first to turn left. Lynette attacked again with her 2 team mates sitting on her wheel. I tried to respond but I had nothing left after following all the earlier attacks.
My race was over and I continued riding on my own with only the wind and the occasional ‘funrider’ as a companion. It was a long, hard day in the saddle for a 5th place result.
The Mountain2Mountain is a very well organised event. Each rider received a big bag of oranges plus a goody ‘box’ with his/her race number filled with orange juice, nougat, cherry tomatoes, onions and some other local delicacies.
The 107km event had countdown markers every 10km, with 8 water points spread over the racing distance. At the finish venue there was plenty of food stalls and prize winners received their cash prizes, trophies and some more local treats.
This event is definitely worth adding on your race program for the future.
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Jock Cycle Classic
(18th July)
The event was held in Barberton, in the Lowveld. In the past it was 3 stages held on one day. The first stage was from Barberton to Nelspruit going over Hilltop, a 4.5km
climb just before Nelspruit. The second stage was from Nelspuit to Kaapmuiden going over Boulders (7km climb) and the last stage from Kaapmuiden back to Barberton on a very hilly course. Now the event is one long ‘stage’, passing through Nelspruit and Kaapmuiden, finishing back in Barberton.
The woman started with the Veteran Men (40-49) leaving Barberton just past 7am.
Because the Lowveld’s temperature is normally quite pleasant this time of year, I knew the day would warm up and decided to take a few layers of clothing off before the start. As we left the start line I realized that it was the worst decision I made for the day. For the first 20km my body was frozen.
It made me smile seeing the climb coming closer, not because of my climbing abilities but knowing it will help my body temperature increase. The group went hard on the climb splitting into pieces quickly. The pace was too high for me and I decided to rather ride up and ride at my own pace. It’s still a long way home and a lot can change in between. I caught up to a few riders on the climb, reaching the top I was back in the convoy of motor vehicles and road back up to the main bunch.
Going through Nelspruit we went over a few very steep hills, reducing the peloton even more.
Boulders was the 2nd major climb for the day. My legs weren’t feeling so good and I decided to ride as hard as my threshold ability would allow without going ‘into the red’. Going over Boulders there were 6 girls up in front, while I was chasing by myself.
Going down Boulders, four other Veteran Men caught up to me and we formed a small group . I still felt comfortable going past Kaapmuiden, with the front group just in sight.
We formed an echelon, each taking a decent turn upfront and managed to get ourselves back in the main group. We were now the first chasing group as 3 girls and a few Veteran Men got away over Boulders.
The finish line was on a slight uphill and I decided to make the first move going for a long sprint. It actually worked very well. The other riders in my group reacted too late and I managed to open a small gap on the rest taking 4th place. I am satisfied with my result. I didn’t feel at my best, but riding steady and saving strength wherever I could helped me to still finish strong at the end.
Results for the day
1st Ashley Moolman (Cycle Lab)
2nd Andriette Schoeman (Nashua)
3rd Jenny Stenerhag (Alpha Pharm)
4th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
5th Isabel Moolman (Cycle Lab)
6th An-Li Pretorius (Nashua)
7th Joanna van der Winkel (Cycle Lab)
8th Robyn de Groot (Nashua)
9th Lylanie Lauwrence
10th Lizanne Naude (Cycle lab)
(18th July)
The event was held in Barberton, in the Lowveld. In the past it was 3 stages held on one day. The first stage was from Barberton to Nelspruit going over Hilltop, a 4.5km
climb just before Nelspruit. The second stage was from Nelspuit to Kaapmuiden going over Boulders (7km climb) and the last stage from Kaapmuiden back to Barberton on a very hilly course. Now the event is one long ‘stage’, passing through Nelspruit and Kaapmuiden, finishing back in Barberton.
The woman started with the Veteran Men (40-49) leaving Barberton just past 7am.
Because the Lowveld’s temperature is normally quite pleasant this time of year, I knew the day would warm up and decided to take a few layers of clothing off before the start. As we left the start line I realized that it was the worst decision I made for the day. For the first 20km my body was frozen.
It made me smile seeing the climb coming closer, not because of my climbing abilities but knowing it will help my body temperature increase. The group went hard on the climb splitting into pieces quickly. The pace was too high for me and I decided to rather ride up and ride at my own pace. It’s still a long way home and a lot can change in between. I caught up to a few riders on the climb, reaching the top I was back in the convoy of motor vehicles and road back up to the main bunch.
Going through Nelspruit we went over a few very steep hills, reducing the peloton even more.
Boulders was the 2nd major climb for the day. My legs weren’t feeling so good and I decided to ride as hard as my threshold ability would allow without going ‘into the red’. Going over Boulders there were 6 girls up in front, while I was chasing by myself.
Going down Boulders, four other Veteran Men caught up to me and we formed a small group . I still felt comfortable going past Kaapmuiden, with the front group just in sight.
We formed an echelon, each taking a decent turn upfront and managed to get ourselves back in the main group. We were now the first chasing group as 3 girls and a few Veteran Men got away over Boulders.
The finish line was on a slight uphill and I decided to make the first move going for a long sprint. It actually worked very well. The other riders in my group reacted too late and I managed to open a small gap on the rest taking 4th place. I am satisfied with my result. I didn’t feel at my best, but riding steady and saving strength wherever I could helped me to still finish strong at the end.
Results for the day
1st Ashley Moolman (Cycle Lab)
2nd Andriette Schoeman (Nashua)
3rd Jenny Stenerhag (Alpha Pharm)
4th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
5th Isabel Moolman (Cycle Lab)
6th An-Li Pretorius (Nashua)
7th Joanna van der Winkel (Cycle Lab)
8th Robyn de Groot (Nashua)
9th Lylanie Lauwrence
10th Lizanne Naude (Cycle lab)
Monday, July 13, 2009
Walkerville MTB Classic
The Walkerville Classic is held at Lapeng Hotel and Conference Centre to the South of Johannesburg. Race distances were 60km and 35km.
Normally the race is a very cold race in the middle of winter, but this year we were lucky with the temperature reaching 16 degrees. The wind definately made up for the cold, blowing strongly and bringing with it the cold front from the Cape.
The 60km started at 8:45am. There was a large field due to more road riders taking up MTB during the cold winter months.
The first 10km with single and jeep track on a slight ascent caused the group to break up soon after we left the start. I managed to place first lady going into the open single track. Next we reached the bottom of Platberg, the first Climb of the day.
At the top the riders had a beautiful view of the Witwatersrand and looking down I couldn’t spot any girls chasing. The route down the mountain is on a slippery jeep track with two short rocky sections. I got into a comfortable pace hoping to keep my lead to the finish.
Just before the third section, where everyone had to dismount, the 60km joined the 35km making it impossible to move past on the single track. At the portage section, I managed to pass a few riders. Unfortunately a few more sections followed where one couldn’t go past. Making it quite stressful cause I didn’t know where the other girls where lying.
The last 13km we rode straight into a head wind, where I had to use up the little energy I had left at that point!
As I crossed the finish line I believed I made it home in first place. The organizers and time keepers seemed a bit confused and I actually had to tell/ask them if I was the first lady in…..
At prize giving I was happy to find out I did indeed finish in 1st place.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Parys Island Dirtmax
After the busy first half of the year, I took a few days off at the end of June . I am sure I will be thankful for the break during the coming months. From now on until the end of November my race program is full with at least one race per weekend.
On Monday (29th June) it was time to face the freezing cold air again. It wasn’t only the Tour de France that added motivation but also my new Focus hardtail mountain bike. It feels great to have a MTB that feels like its only been built for me personally.
With only a week of training in my legs, I didn’t have any plans to race over the past weekend. At the last moment I changed my plans when I heard about a small race in Parys. With Walkerville on this coming weekend it was the perfect opportunity to get used to my new bike and do a bit of off road riding.
It was a lap race situated next to the Vaalriver, just outside Parys. The circuit was over a distance of 10km. Riders could choose between the 10km (1x10km), 30km (3x10km) or 60km (6x10km) events.
One can truly see all the effort that’s gone into building and designing the course. It was one of the most enjoyable MTB races I ever participated in. The circuit included some technical singletrack, rocky sections, across bridges, through streams; up and down bumps- I really had fun! And my bike was handling excellent over the terrain.
The race organisers were very welcoming, with their small 2year old boerbull (Sasha ) running around greeting everyone with her delightful 'smile' and friendly eyes. Making sure she gets max attention, she is really cute. If she was up for grabs, I would've raced EXTRA hard!!!!
I completed the 60km event in 3:32 finishing in first position.
On our way home we drove through the main street of Parys which was packed with small stores, coffee shops and restaurants.Every so often there would be a parked car with a bike rack and a few drty mtb's hanging off the back. My only thought was if you’re not a professional rider that would be a nice way to spend your Sunday afternoon. Do a short 10/ 30km race then go into town and enjoy spending time with your family in Parys!
After the busy first half of the year, I took a few days off at the end of June . I am sure I will be thankful for the break during the coming months. From now on until the end of November my race program is full with at least one race per weekend.
On Monday (29th June) it was time to face the freezing cold air again. It wasn’t only the Tour de France that added motivation but also my new Focus hardtail mountain bike. It feels great to have a MTB that feels like its only been built for me personally.
With only a week of training in my legs, I didn’t have any plans to race over the past weekend. At the last moment I changed my plans when I heard about a small race in Parys. With Walkerville on this coming weekend it was the perfect opportunity to get used to my new bike and do a bit of off road riding.
It was a lap race situated next to the Vaalriver, just outside Parys. The circuit was over a distance of 10km. Riders could choose between the 10km (1x10km), 30km (3x10km) or 60km (6x10km) events.
One can truly see all the effort that’s gone into building and designing the course. It was one of the most enjoyable MTB races I ever participated in. The circuit included some technical singletrack, rocky sections, across bridges, through streams; up and down bumps- I really had fun! And my bike was handling excellent over the terrain.
The race organisers were very welcoming, with their small 2year old boerbull (Sasha ) running around greeting everyone with her delightful 'smile' and friendly eyes. Making sure she gets max attention, she is really cute. If she was up for grabs, I would've raced EXTRA hard!!!!
I completed the 60km event in 3:32 finishing in first position.
On our way home we drove through the main street of Parys which was packed with small stores, coffee shops and restaurants.Every so often there would be a parked car with a bike rack and a few drty mtb's hanging off the back. My only thought was if you’re not a professional rider that would be a nice way to spend your Sunday afternoon. Do a short 10/ 30km race then go into town and enjoy spending time with your family in Parys!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
FOUNTAINS ROAD RACE
(June, 16th)
For most people yesterday was a public holiday, but for cyclist it meant another opportunity to race.
The race was held at Rynfield church in Benoni with the main event being the 96km. Cyclist could also participate in the 56km fun ride.
The woman started separately with a time gap of 10min following the men.
Standing on the start line looking at my competitors I quickly realised that I was out numbered against team Nashua, who had 4 girls in the race.
Team Nashua used their numbers to their advantage by attacking continuously. I was the only one to react, but couldn’t respond to all their attacks. Ann-Li Pretorius (Nashua) was the first to eventually get away. Nashua just repeated their tactics and soon Joanna van de Winkel (Nashua) also got away. I tried counter attacking but with one, sometimes two, Nashua girls constantly sitting my wheel I weren’t able to do anything.
Plan B - I decided to let all the girls from Nashua ride away one by one, because they made it quite obvious that that was what they were planning on doing. Then I can get away from the group on my own and catch up to them to get at least a 5th place finish.
With the whole Nashua team riding solo following each other in the wind I knew I had an advantage over them as I was sitting the first part of the race in the bunch saving some energy. Luckily my plan succeeded as I first caught up to Sanet Small (Nashua) and then Altie Pienaar (Nashua) leaving them to chase me at the end. . Lying in 3rd position I continued pacing myself trying to get closer to the 2 Nashua girls still out in front.
I didn’t see them until I crossed the finish line to realize that Joanna (Nashua) took the wrong turn just before the finish line which moved me a position up finishing 2nd on the day.
1st An-Li Pretorius (Nashua)
2nd Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
3rd Altie Pienaar (Nashua)
Monday, June 15, 2009
INDUNA MTN MARATHON SERIES no. 3
(13 JUNE)
The 3rd leg of the MTN mountain bike marathon series was held at Induna adventures, just outside Hazyview.
I feared a wet and muddy course after all the rain that fell during the week leading up to the event. Luckily it cleared up on Friday, and I took the opportunity to go and train on parts of the course. The rain actually washed away most loose sand, which made the course compact with only a few wet forest sections.
At 8:00am Saturday morning the 75km (which I participated in) and 105km (newly added ultra marathon for elite men) were the first groups to start.
The Lowveld is well known for its climbs and the race route didn’t disappoint! As the neutral zone ended, we turned off on a dirt road and straight up a 4km climb with gradients of up to 12%.
I found myself struggling up the first hill and lost contact with the leading girls. I tried my best to get back to the leaders on the downhills, but with all the climbing in between, I started to lose motivation and just settled into a comfortable speed, pacing myself to the end.
Despite the fierce argument I had with myself on the climbs, I enjoyed the beautiful singletrack, and took the opportunity to work on my technical skills. This year I managed to ride all the technical sections and even rode smoothly over the hanging bridge! (I still had vivid memories from last year when I almost fell into the river, but luckily caught one of the cables to save myself!!!)
I am still new to the sport and it’s truly satisfying to see any little improvement from one race to the next.
It was evident that the team from Induna adventures put in a lot of effort designing the route. This year they added newly built bridges and interesting parts in the course taking the riders through some spectacular surroundings like the banana plantation etc.
I didn’t do as well as I wanted, but managed to finish as the 3rd elite lady and 5th overall on the day behind Ischen Stopforth and Samantha Oosthuizen (Garmin).
Yolande Speedy showed her class again by competing in the 105km event.
(13 JUNE)
The 3rd leg of the MTN mountain bike marathon series was held at Induna adventures, just outside Hazyview.
I feared a wet and muddy course after all the rain that fell during the week leading up to the event. Luckily it cleared up on Friday, and I took the opportunity to go and train on parts of the course. The rain actually washed away most loose sand, which made the course compact with only a few wet forest sections.
At 8:00am Saturday morning the 75km (which I participated in) and 105km (newly added ultra marathon for elite men) were the first groups to start.
The Lowveld is well known for its climbs and the race route didn’t disappoint! As the neutral zone ended, we turned off on a dirt road and straight up a 4km climb with gradients of up to 12%.
I found myself struggling up the first hill and lost contact with the leading girls. I tried my best to get back to the leaders on the downhills, but with all the climbing in between, I started to lose motivation and just settled into a comfortable speed, pacing myself to the end.
Despite the fierce argument I had with myself on the climbs, I enjoyed the beautiful singletrack, and took the opportunity to work on my technical skills. This year I managed to ride all the technical sections and even rode smoothly over the hanging bridge! (I still had vivid memories from last year when I almost fell into the river, but luckily caught one of the cables to save myself!!!)
I am still new to the sport and it’s truly satisfying to see any little improvement from one race to the next.
It was evident that the team from Induna adventures put in a lot of effort designing the route. This year they added newly built bridges and interesting parts in the course taking the riders through some spectacular surroundings like the banana plantation etc.
I didn’t do as well as I wanted, but managed to finish as the 3rd elite lady and 5th overall on the day behind Ischen Stopforth and Samantha Oosthuizen (Garmin).
Yolande Speedy showed her class again by competing in the 105km event.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Rooiberg Echo Challenge
(6,7 June)
Rooiberg, a small settlement to the west of Bela Bela was the venue for a 2day MTB stage race held this past weekend.
On Friday I left Heidelberg just after lunch, hoping to miss traffic on the N1 but as unpredictable as the traffic can be, I drove straight into it. A normally 1hour drive took me more than 2hours. I felt relieved as I drove out of Pretoria leaving the busy city behind me heading out onto the open freeway towards the bushy landscape of Limpopo province.
As I left the freeway at Bela Bela off ramp, the road to Rooiberg was filled with game farms and I was even lucky enough to see a few different species of antelope.
I arrived well after dark at Etosha Nature reserve where I stayed for 2 nights. The lodge is situated deep in the bush, which gives you the opportunity to experience the sounds and beauty of nature.
Day 1, 70km
Etosha Nature reserve is a 30min drive from the race start. I left at 6:30am, just in time to see the sun rise!!!
The race started at 8:00am. I am always glad to get on my bike and start, it gives my nerves time to settle down and I can concentrate on the race.
On the first flat part of the race I worked my way into the leading position. We got to a very steep hill which forced us to get off our bikes and push. It was here were Samantha Oosthuizen (Garmin) came running past me while pushing her bike. On the downhill I tried to make up some lost time but on one of the corners I slipped and fell. Yolandi de Villiers( Cycle Lab) then made her way past me. I struggled to get into a rhythm again and lost a bit of confidence. Yolande Speedy caught me half way through the stage, and with her experience and technical skills I wasn’t able to follow.
The race had ± 60 km of single track, with some sections being really technical. We also had to cycle through a fire which had only just started when I came past. The marshals had to redirect the rest of the field behind me around the fire. I never manage to make up time on the 3 girls out front and finished in 4th place for the day.
Stage 2, 85km
I started my day with another beautiful sunrise, and this made it worthwhile getting up so early.
In a repeat of the previous day, we were off at 8am.
The first part of the course consisted of singletrack with river crossings and rocky climbing sections, where you had to carry or push your bike most of the time. I struggled to carry my bike and was laying 4th coming out of the “hike a bike” section.
Although the stage had less singletrack, it wasn’t any easier than day 1.
The first day’s technical singletrack was replaced by loose rocky descents and ascents, thick sand and river crossings, which required just as much skill and concentration.
The two stages were long and tough. After riding for almost 10hours in 2 days, I managed to get a podium place in the end by finishing 3rd overall in the ladies category.
Results
1st Yolande Speedy
2nd Samantha Oosthuizen
3rd Yolandi du Toit
(6,7 June)
Rooiberg, a small settlement to the west of Bela Bela was the venue for a 2day MTB stage race held this past weekend.
On Friday I left Heidelberg just after lunch, hoping to miss traffic on the N1 but as unpredictable as the traffic can be, I drove straight into it. A normally 1hour drive took me more than 2hours. I felt relieved as I drove out of Pretoria leaving the busy city behind me heading out onto the open freeway towards the bushy landscape of Limpopo province.
As I left the freeway at Bela Bela off ramp, the road to Rooiberg was filled with game farms and I was even lucky enough to see a few different species of antelope.
I arrived well after dark at Etosha Nature reserve where I stayed for 2 nights. The lodge is situated deep in the bush, which gives you the opportunity to experience the sounds and beauty of nature.
Day 1, 70km
Etosha Nature reserve is a 30min drive from the race start. I left at 6:30am, just in time to see the sun rise!!!
The race started at 8:00am. I am always glad to get on my bike and start, it gives my nerves time to settle down and I can concentrate on the race.
On the first flat part of the race I worked my way into the leading position. We got to a very steep hill which forced us to get off our bikes and push. It was here were Samantha Oosthuizen (Garmin) came running past me while pushing her bike. On the downhill I tried to make up some lost time but on one of the corners I slipped and fell. Yolandi de Villiers( Cycle Lab) then made her way past me. I struggled to get into a rhythm again and lost a bit of confidence. Yolande Speedy caught me half way through the stage, and with her experience and technical skills I wasn’t able to follow.
The race had ± 60 km of single track, with some sections being really technical. We also had to cycle through a fire which had only just started when I came past. The marshals had to redirect the rest of the field behind me around the fire. I never manage to make up time on the 3 girls out front and finished in 4th place for the day.
Stage 2, 85km
I started my day with another beautiful sunrise, and this made it worthwhile getting up so early.
In a repeat of the previous day, we were off at 8am.
The first part of the course consisted of singletrack with river crossings and rocky climbing sections, where you had to carry or push your bike most of the time. I struggled to carry my bike and was laying 4th coming out of the “hike a bike” section.
Although the stage had less singletrack, it wasn’t any easier than day 1.
The first day’s technical singletrack was replaced by loose rocky descents and ascents, thick sand and river crossings, which required just as much skill and concentration.
The two stages were long and tough. After riding for almost 10hours in 2 days, I managed to get a podium place in the end by finishing 3rd overall in the ladies category.
Results
1st Yolande Speedy
2nd Samantha Oosthuizen
3rd Yolandi du Toit
Monday, May 25, 2009
BELA BELA CLASSIC & Vi-T-Go
(23, 24 May)
Travelling on the N1 North is becoming a habit for our team these days... This weekend we headed off in that direction again, Saturday for the Bela Bela Classic (road race) and Sunday for the Vi-T-Go MTB race.
Bela Bela Classic
The woman started with the Veteran Men 50+. Being a bigger group helped to keep the pace high on a fairly flat circuit of 95km. With the pace being so quick no one could get away and the group stayed together to the finish. My team mate Michelle Corbett, who is still a junior, surprised everyone on the day by outsprinting the rest of the Elite ladies field and taking the win for Team Konica Minolta.
Results
1stMichelle Corbett (Konica Minolta)
2nd Sanett Smal (Nashua)
3rd An-Li Pretorius (Nashua)
6th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
Vi-T-Go
The race started a bit later (8:30am) and after yesterdays early 7:00am start I appreciated the extra sleep. It also meant the day had a bit of time to warm up and we could start the race in conditions that suited me more.
It was my second time doing this event and I still think the race is good for developing and practicing bike handling skills with the loose sand, tricky corners, rocky climbs and descents.
I got into a nice steady tempo from the start and managed to pace myself until the finish, taking Konica Minolta’s second win for the weekend.
(23, 24 May)
Travelling on the N1 North is becoming a habit for our team these days... This weekend we headed off in that direction again, Saturday for the Bela Bela Classic (road race) and Sunday for the Vi-T-Go MTB race.
Bela Bela Classic
The woman started with the Veteran Men 50+. Being a bigger group helped to keep the pace high on a fairly flat circuit of 95km. With the pace being so quick no one could get away and the group stayed together to the finish. My team mate Michelle Corbett, who is still a junior, surprised everyone on the day by outsprinting the rest of the Elite ladies field and taking the win for Team Konica Minolta.
Results
1stMichelle Corbett (Konica Minolta)
2nd Sanett Smal (Nashua)
3rd An-Li Pretorius (Nashua)
6th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
Vi-T-Go
The race started a bit later (8:30am) and after yesterdays early 7:00am start I appreciated the extra sleep. It also meant the day had a bit of time to warm up and we could start the race in conditions that suited me more.
It was my second time doing this event and I still think the race is good for developing and practicing bike handling skills with the loose sand, tricky corners, rocky climbs and descents.
I got into a nice steady tempo from the start and managed to pace myself until the finish, taking Konica Minolta’s second win for the weekend.
Monday, May 18, 2009
MAGOEBASKLOOF & INTERPROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP
(16, 17 MEI)
We had quite a busy but successful weekend. Personally, it’s great to have a race schedule and organised team again. It seems we’re racing every weekend and also getting the opportunity to see new places.
On Friday we travelled to Tzaneen, a small town east of Polokwane (Pietersburg). I was fascinated by the sudden change in landscape. The flat and dry area of Polokwane was replaced by mountainous forests and lush greenery as we got closer to Tzaneen.
Although the scenery was beautiful, I found the racing very tough. We started with the men and 30km into the race we reached the bottom of the Magoebaskloof climb in a small group.
The 10km climb served as the launch pad for the Konica Minolta men’s team to ride away from everyone else.
I went over the climb at my own tempo and made contact with a small group on the downhill, which should have made things easier for me. Unfortunately one of the 3guys I had caught up to felt intimidated by a ladies presence. He attacked several times in an effort to get rid of me.
With 10km to go I had enough and let them go, leaving me to ride in for a victory alongside the men’s team.
On Sunday the team headed to the Interprovincial which was held south of Johannesburg. The course consisted of 3x 30km loops.
Cold and windy conditions made the racing difficult on a very flat circuit.
I started with the junior men and after some tough racing, I managed to get another victory for the team.
This coming weekend the team will head north again for the Bela Bela Classic and hopefully some warmer weather racing.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Vaalwater
Saturday, 9th May
This weekend the team did a race in Vaalwater, Nystroom. We had an early morning start leaving from Midrand at
We were fortunate enough that driving to and from the race it was raining a lot, but at the event it was dry.
The race started at
The Konica Minolta men’s team dominated the race and basically rode away from everyone else handing the victory to Paul van Zweel.
It was an out and back race and the Konica guy’s aggressive racing as of the turn around point caused the bunch to split up. I managed to stay in the chasing group wile the other girls were caught up in the bunch behind me.
I managed to stay with them until the finish to take the win, with the girls from
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tour D ‘urban
I’m back! Tour D’urban was my first race back with my ‘brand new’ (old) team. I am happy to announce that I will be riding with Konica Minolta for the remainder of this year.
It’s great to be back with the team that I had a lot of success with. I hope to pick up where I left off and go on to even greater things. It will be good to repay them with some victories for the faith that they have shown in me!
On Friday I travelled down to Durban with the team. It is a wonderful feeling to be part of a team again, especially when everything is well planned and organised.
Just to give you an example we had all our food prepared for us over the weekend. We even got lunch boxes for the trip down to Durban. On race day, our race food and water bottles were prepared, our bikes were ready, and all we had to do was concentrate on the race. All this and much more behind the scenes work was done by a management team of only two people – John (manager/mechanic/directeur sportif etc) and Nicolene (soigneur/PA/motivator etc). Thanks guys!!!
We are only 2 girls on Konica Minolta this year, Michelle Corbett and I. By being only two it makes things really special; you get to know one another well and have to trust each other more, because you only have each other to rely on during races. She is still very young, but really talented. Only 18 years of age, a time in one’s life where you can only learn....
Our race started off at 6:30am Sunday morning. The Elite woman, junior woman and under 16 boys all started together. The group stayed intact until the main climb of the day (around 20 km into the race). There it got broken up in bits and this was where a small group of 5 girls got away and stayed away until the finish. I missed the split and ended up in the chasing group and sadly couldn’t take part in the sprint due to my handlebars that came loose. I am the only one to blame, because I received a new bike and didn’t check if everything was properly tightened – never too old to learn I suppose!
I haven’t been racing much on the road this year. Tour D’urban was only my 3rd road race for the season. I am looking forward to getting back into racing…on and off road!
I’m back! Tour D’urban was my first race back with my ‘brand new’ (old) team. I am happy to announce that I will be riding with Konica Minolta for the remainder of this year.
It’s great to be back with the team that I had a lot of success with. I hope to pick up where I left off and go on to even greater things. It will be good to repay them with some victories for the faith that they have shown in me!
On Friday I travelled down to Durban with the team. It is a wonderful feeling to be part of a team again, especially when everything is well planned and organised.
Just to give you an example we had all our food prepared for us over the weekend. We even got lunch boxes for the trip down to Durban. On race day, our race food and water bottles were prepared, our bikes were ready, and all we had to do was concentrate on the race. All this and much more behind the scenes work was done by a management team of only two people – John (manager/mechanic/directeur sportif etc) and Nicolene (soigneur/PA/motivator etc). Thanks guys!!!
We are only 2 girls on Konica Minolta this year, Michelle Corbett and I. By being only two it makes things really special; you get to know one another well and have to trust each other more, because you only have each other to rely on during races. She is still very young, but really talented. Only 18 years of age, a time in one’s life where you can only learn....
Our race started off at 6:30am Sunday morning. The Elite woman, junior woman and under 16 boys all started together. The group stayed intact until the main climb of the day (around 20 km into the race). There it got broken up in bits and this was where a small group of 5 girls got away and stayed away until the finish. I missed the split and ended up in the chasing group and sadly couldn’t take part in the sprint due to my handlebars that came loose. I am the only one to blame, because I received a new bike and didn’t check if everything was properly tightened – never too old to learn I suppose!
I haven’t been racing much on the road this year. Tour D’urban was only my 3rd road race for the season. I am looking forward to getting back into racing…on and off road!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
SUBARU SABIE CLASSIC
This year’s edition of the Subaru Sabie Classic race started at the York Timber Sport grounds in Sabie. In addition to the traditional 3 distances that the race offers, this year they added a 100km ultra marathon distance to the event.
This year’s edition of the Subaru Sabie Classic race started at the York Timber Sport grounds in Sabie. In addition to the traditional 3 distances that the race offers, this year they added a 100km ultra marathon distance to the event.
I took part in the 70km Monster marathon which was the main event in previous years. The route was challenging over very mountainous terrain with relatively steep downhill’s and the recent rainfall in Mpumalanga caused some sections on the quad trails to be a bit slippery. But still it was a very enjoyable route.
On the start line, I knew it was going to be a challenging day. Strong competitors like Marissa van den Merwe, Chrissie Viljoen (Team -MTN), Carla Rowley, Leticia Botha, Sanet Small etc were also participating.
The first part of the race Marissa, Carla and me were fighting amongst each other for the leading position. And it was only after 40km, when people started cheering “This is the leading girl “that I realized that I moved into 1st position.
I was still under the impression that Marissa was out on front. But the thought lifted my spirit and I kept on racing as hard as I could. I was very happy when I realized that I was home in 1st position.
What pleased me even more on the day was what I’ve achieve regarding technical skills. Since I’ve been shown how to handle my bike on technical terrain, I’ve been enjoying MTB more. But it still stays the toughest sport I’ve ever participated in.
Results
1st Yolandi du Toit
2nd Carla Rowley
3rd Leticia Botha
4th Marissa van den Merwe
Monday, February 16, 2009
For this past weekend’s racing I travelled to Bultfontein, not the one in the Free State but just outside Pretoria...
At a place called Babba’s Lodge, they host a series called the Vi-T-Go series, where a race is held monthly. The racing offers three distances you can choose from, a 10km, 35km or 70km (2laps). It’s a small event mainly focused on a fun day out for the family. Professional riders also enjoy the race, giving them the opportunity to race a bit and in my case improve technical skills.
The day before the event I went for a MTB ride to brush up on some technical skills. I got some advice on how to ride rocky downhills, single track and mainly how to handle your bike off road. It gave me a lot of confidence for the race and it was great to apply what I’ve learned the day before.
To make my day even more rewarding I managed to get first place for my team (DCM -Chrome).
At a place called Babba’s Lodge, they host a series called the Vi-T-Go series, where a race is held monthly. The racing offers three distances you can choose from, a 10km, 35km or 70km (2laps). It’s a small event mainly focused on a fun day out for the family. Professional riders also enjoy the race, giving them the opportunity to race a bit and in my case improve technical skills.
The day before the event I went for a MTB ride to brush up on some technical skills. I got some advice on how to ride rocky downhills, single track and mainly how to handle your bike off road. It gave me a lot of confidence for the race and it was great to apply what I’ve learned the day before.
To make my day even more rewarding I managed to get first place for my team (DCM -Chrome).
Friday, January 30, 2009
New year, new team, new me!
It’s the start of a brand new season and this year I’m riding for Team DCM Chrome, a mountain bike team that’s focused on developing young riders. And in my case road riders crossing over to the “dark side” J
Over the past weekend I participated in my first race for the year, the MTN National Marathon Series that was held down in Barberton.
After all the time and effort spent coming back from my accident and sorting out my knees, I was mainly hoping to finish the race without knee pain or concussion related head ache. There was also the normal nervousness for the first race of the season. And to top it all off, I received my brand new Cannondale Taurine MTB only two days prior to the race. That meant I only got time to test out the bike the day before the event. Luckily my Specialized bike fit combined with the awesome Taurine made the transition fairly easy.
The day turned out great. I was really impressed with what my mountain bike can do. My technical skills and confidence have improved substantially by riding with a lefty fork (Cannondale’s suspension fork design). I am also happy to say that I achieved my first goal of the season. I was able to complete the race without serious knee pain and even managed a top ten by finishing 7th!
It was a great experience. It’s only from racing that you can see where your form truly is and where your training is lacking. I have 4 weeks until my next race, Sabie Classic. It gives me enough time to finish my last block of base training as well as getting used to my new bike.
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