Nissan Diamond Rush

The Nissan Mountain Bike Series consist of 5 events held mainly in and around Gauteng.
It’s extremely popular amongst the local riders and is quickly becoming the second biggest mountain bike series following the MTN Series.

The 3rd round of the Nissan Series was held in Cullinan, just outside of Pretoria.
The venue was quite unique as the start and finish line was placed in the main street of this little town, surrounded by quaint restaurants and coffee shops.

As always the start was very fast thanks to the elite men who were fighting for position at the front of the race. We were left to pick up the pieces in the wake of their vicious pace.

Leatitia Botha (Team Ghost/BBT) had a great start and managed to get herself into the slipstream of a small group just in front off me. I tried to ride over to them but they were going just to fast on the flat, twisting single track.

Soon I was joined by a small group of 4 which included Sanet Smal (Team Ghost/BBT). The group stayed together until we got to the real technical section on the course around 10km into the race.

On this section I got stuck behind some slower riders who decided to dismount and walk rather than ride. I lost contact with Sanet, as I struggled to pass some of the riders on the narrow hiking trail.
During this section Theresa Ralph also caught up with me but luckily I managed to continue on my own once through the demanding section.

This part of the course mustn’t be mistaken for a ‘bad’ section. It only tests one’s skill and was actually a very scenic piece to ride. It took us over and through river crossings, over narrow wooden bridges and through a spectacular cave.

I lost a bit of my motivation because of how things were going for me during the first quarter of the event. I tried my best to stay focused and continued at my own pace.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted Leatitia Botha in the distance. When I finally caught up to her around 30km into the race, she was very tired and didn’t even attempt to jump on my back wheel. I realized that she was exhausted from her effort at the beginning. She took off like a rocket and rode so impressively that I honestly thought I wouldn’t see her again.

3km further I also managed to ride up to Sanet Smal. We rode together until we got to a gradual ascending climb where Sanet started losing contact with me. Once I was on my own, I gave it my all to stay in the lead.

It was a battle all the way to the finish as I knew my pursuers were not about to give up without a fight. At the end I was very happy to cross the line in 1st place ahead of a strong finishing Theresa Ralph.

Results

1st Yolandi du Toit (Bizhub)
2nd Theresa Ralph
3rd Sanet Smal (Team Ghost/BBT)
4th Leatitia Botha (Team Ghost/BBT)

South African Cross Country Championships & Medsceme Walkerville MTB Classic

There was no time to gradually adjust from training to racing as my first weekend back was packed with competition…..

First off I participated in the South African Cross Country Championships held at Groenloof Nature Reserve in Pretoria.

I decided this year to give cross country a go and after my first race at George I had discovered a great new challenge. My next XCO event was the one over the past weekend at Groenkloof.

I didn’t really know what to expect on Saturday as everything is still fairly new to me. The course at Groenkloof also requires a fair amount of technical skills which I am still acquiring.

The week before the event I was still struggling to get enough confidence to ride the entire course, therefore I went into the race with the aim of trying to ride the difficult sections (3 hair raising drop-offs) without crashing!

I am happy to say that I achieved my goal and also that I managed to finish in 4th place Overall. Yolande Speedy delivered yet another world class performance and won the event by a country mile!

I waited for Prize giving before heading home and only arrived back around 18:00. Given that I had left that morning at 7am for my 9am race start, it was quite a full day which wasn’t about to end yet. Back home there will still a bike, cycling accessories and bottles to wash before finally falling into bed.

Sunday I participated in the Medscheme Walkerville MTB Classic held at Lapeng Hotel and Conference Centre on the outskirts of Alberton.

My approach for the day was based on “feeling”. I went for a quick warm up before the 60km event started and unfortunately there wasn’t much “feeling” left in my legs. Luckily with cycling it can go both ways. You might just find your legs again or you might find yourself in even more difficulty.

My main competition on the day came from Letitia Botha, Sanet Small (Both Team Ghost) and Catherine Roberts (Specialized). Our group quickly splintered as the front guys showed their class and quickly disappeared in a cloud of dust.

A few kilometers into the event I managed to get myself into the leading position. The course gradually ascends during its first half therefore I knew I had to use this opportunity to try and extend my lead as much as possible.
I had to fight hard throughout the race which I think was caused by a combination of my legs being a bit fatigued after the previous day’s effort, the wind and the demanding route that didn’t provide any sections for recovery.

I don’t know how far or close my rivals got to me during the race but I managed to stay away till the end and crossed the line in first place.
(I have to mention that this year’s event was well marked and we didn’t overlap with the shorter distances much, which always makes for better racing)

I am happy with my results over the weekend and hope I can continue to have some good results in the months to come…

Newsletter 13: July 2010
Du Toit holds on to make it two in a row 

20 July 2010 -
 
Team bizhub's Yolandi du Toit shook off the after-effects of the previous day's national cross country championships to successfully defend her title at the Medscheme Walkerville MTB Classic just south of Johannesburg on Sunday.The 25-year-old from Heidelberg in Johannesburg, who placed fourth on a technical course in Pretoria on Saturday in only her second cross country race, led from start to finish on a wind-swept day to finish the demanding 60km race in 2:27:51.Hot on her wheels were Catherine Roberts (Specialized/Mr Price) and Sanet Smal (Team Ghost), who stopped the clock on 2:31:30 and 2:34:04 respectively.The men's race delivered a surprise when unknown Columbian Ricardo Gilardo, a new signing by DCM Chrome, won the men's section in a fast 1:56:39.Ben Melt Swanepoel (Specialized/Mr Price) was second in 2:02:07 and Renier Bellingan (USN) third in 2:02:19."I went as hard as I could from the start to try and establish a gap and probably paid for it in the last 10km," said Du Toit, noting that the previous day's effort had taken its toll."Because it's such a fast course, I wanted to use the drags in the early parts to lay a foundation for possible victory."However, her tactics saw her "blow up" in a big way towards the end and she said she became concerned that her opponents would eat into her advantage."The fact that I didn't have any time gaps and no idea who was chasing made things even worse. It felt like I was standing still in the wind at times."Du Toit said the nature of the course did not allow any recovery time, which made it a tough race - especially in the conditions.Having won the inaugural Fairbairn Capital/Old Mutual joBerg2c and N3TC Greytown Classic before her winter break, she also had Walkerville penned down on her list of priorities for the year."As the defending champion, I really wanted to do well. It is also a nice way to start the second half of the season."Du Toit said she was also "extremely pleased" with her cross country result in Pretoria. "Even though it might not look so good on paper, I’m more than happy considering my level of experience and the technical nature of the course."The race was won by MTN's Yolande Speedy. 

Right2Ride

Roads in our country are sadly becoming more and more dangerous to cycle on.
Subsequently it has become a issue we can’t just turn our backs on or plead ignorance.

A newly formed cycling organization called the Right2Ride is on the cycling landscape.
The main function of this organization will be to protect the rights of cyclist on the road.

On the 4th of July I was pleased to support the official launch of Right2Ride at Valverde Guesthouse in Muldersdrift.

About 80 cyclists were invited to join in on the occasion which included a group ride around the cradle of humankind followed with breakfast at the Guesthouse.

Before departing on the ride, every rider was given an armband to wear and stickers to put on their bikes containing the Right2Right emblem. We rode ordinarily in pairs of two behind one another to be an example to all cyclists on the road and also to show respect towards motorists. Hopefully through sending out this message, mutual respect will be gained between cyclist and motorist, thus creating a safer environment for everyone to live in.

This initiative is formed by Nic White (who is currently riding for team Medsceme) and I hope all of you guys will do your best to support it in order to make more people and motorist aware of ‘us’ also being on the road.

June

This past month has been a rather quite time in terms of racing and formal team requirements.
I completed my first half of the season (January to June) at the Kremetart cycle race. Thereafter the team was given the month off of racing in order to prepare for the second half of the season (July to December)

When I say ‘off’ it doesn’t mean we were given the opportunity to let our bikes gather some dust for a change. It only meant that for the rest of the month we had no racing on our team calendar.

Following Kremetart I actually did hang up my cycling shoes for a few days and then returned to base period in my training. (Base period is the first period in training where one focuses more on quantity than quality.)

My first week in Base period was slightly tougher than usual with the extremely cold weather we had up here in Gauteng. Everyday on the bike I asked myself the same question over and over - am I really gaining fitness from this or am I just fooling myself. For me it felt as if I was going out on my bike to torture myself. After hardly an hour on the bike my muscles started to get sore from all the contractions to keep them warm which only resulted in me taking double the time to cover the same distances.

Luckily the frosty spell was soon over and I could get back to some proper training without too many layers of clothing.
A small training camp in warmer climes was also well worth the travel and a few days of riding in sunny conditions was all my muscles needed to thaw out a bit.

At first it didn’t really bother me not having a month ‘off’ but now I cant think of not having at least one month a year to recover mentally and physically from racing weekend after weekend.

I truly enjoyed the whole of June, I feel fresh and excited for the new season ahead of me.
My first weekend back into racing will be on the 17th and 18th where I will be competing at the XCO National championships in Pretoria and the Walkerville mountain bike challenge respectively.