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
Sunday, September 27, 2009
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)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)