The 4 day Marrick mountain bike stage race took place just outside the diamond rush town of Kimberley in the Northern Cape. Ischen Stopforth and I partnered up for the event, which proved to be the ideal race to get to know each other better for stage races to come.
The event kicked off at 8pm on Thursday evening with an exciting 35km night stage. The route consisted of jeep and single track on the Marrick game farm.
The only illumination riders were allowed to use was the single light strapped to your handlebar. I was amazed at the things I was capable of riding during the night. Ignorance is bliss I suppose…
If I had to race the same route in daylight, I am sure I would have ridden it much more cautiously.
Every stage had its own unique experience. During our night ride we missed one of the reflective arrows which marked the course. We were going ‘full gas’ so we weren’t aware off our mistake until we saw lights coming towards us. We continued riding towards the oncoming lights because we didn’t know how far we had actually strayed off course. The only thing we could do was fall in with the rest of the riders and continue racing. On reaching the finish line, we were welcomed home as the first ladies which was quite a pleasant surprise and a big relief for not losing any time to other ladies teams.
Unfortunately the timing mat was defective and we were all giving the same time in the end.
The second 118km stage took us from Marrick Lodge to Douglas where we were to finish at Broadwater Camping ground.
From the start Hannele Steyn Kotze and Leanne De Jager (Team Sludge) stuck to us like glue. Both teams went flat out to see who would crack first. Our legs held out and it was Team Sludge who had to drop off the pace around 40km into the stage.
From there it was just survival to the end as the rocky corrugated district roads started to take its toll on our feet, hands and bums (ouch!)
When we reached 118km there was no finish line in sight. We continued on not knowing how far we still had to go. We ended up doing only 4km’s extra, but after 118km the additional kilometres felt much longer!!
Our suffering was rewarded as Ischen and I managed to gain a 14min lead over our rivals at the end of stage 2.
Broadwater Camping ground is situated right next to the Orange river, which definitely made up for the extra 4km. Race organiser, John Filmalter, decided to add something unique to the day’s end and arranged a sunset boat cruise for all participants on the Orange river. Everyone forgot about the hard racing behind and ahead of them and enjoyed the tranquillity of the trip.
The next day stage 3 took us back to Marrick Lodge on a 110km course.
This was said to be the most challenging day and I won’t disagree.
Ischen and I had a good start and we led from the beginning, gradually gaining more time on our competitors as the kilometres flew by.
Halfway through the stage we came across the feared deep sand sections which we had to portage through. Looking back it was actually a funny moment as we both tried several times to ride and ended up skidding across the road barely managing to stay upright.
The heat was another factor playing an important role and at 60km we came across the last water point. Not knowing that it was the last one, we run empty around 90km into the stage. A few kilometres later we passed some farm houses and out of desperation we stopped at the first one where we spotted people and asked for water. The people kindly helped us and without them I doubt we could have reached the finish line.
Despite our unscheduled pit stop we managed to add more time between ourselves and team Sludge ending up with an overall lead off 41min.
The last stage consisted of 75km’s single and jeep track and proved to be mountain bike heaven after the previous day’s rough terrain.
Everyone seemed to be enthusiastic for the last stage and their eagerness showed as they sprinted off the start line. As the race settled we found ourselves riding with Team Sludge once again. They tried everything to get rid of us, but Ischen and I were determined not to be dropped. Eventually Team Sludge got tired and started to fall back. We pushed on in an effort to put the result beyond a doubt.
Another pleasant surprise came around 65km into the stage when we approached the finish line much sooner than expected. The shortened stage was a relief and meant Ischen and I had won our first Mountain bike stage race as team Bizhub.
It was a great experience to see this beautiful part of our country and a pleasure to compete in such a hospitable atmosphere.
Next for me will be Crater Cruise…
