The MTN National MTB series is once again the biggest mountain bike
series in the country consisting of 8 events in 2011.
The Attakwas was first in line and is also the first event in South
Africa to carry UCI Marathon points.
The UCI points which were allocated to the top 15 finishers made for
very competitive racing as it attracted not only South Africa’s top
mountain bike riders but also a few international heroes.
The race started at Chandelier Game and Ostrich show farm on the
outskirts of Oudtshoorn .
From here riders had to follow an extremely challenging 121km route,
which included passing through the Attakwas kloof 4x4 trail, to the
finish in Groot Brak.
Saturday morning dawned with sunshine and clear skies as all the
riders started to gather around the starting blocks in their new kit
for the 2011 season.
The Ladies category started 5min after the Elite men and set off with
the veteran men.
Yolande Speedy and Eszter Elderlyi (Team MTN/Qhubeka ) set a furious
pace upfront which saw the group splinter within 5km. I decided to
settle in my own manageable pace as Yolande Speedy, Ester Eldarly,
Ariane Luthi (Contego),Ischen Stopforth (Bizhub), Karien van Jaarsveld
(USN) , Jane Seggie and Christine Jansen van Rensberg took off on the
first climb.
During the first 10km jeep track I managed to pass Jane Seggie and
Christine Jansen van Rensberg and rode up to Karien van Jaarsveld
(Team USN). Karien stayed with me until the bottom of the steep climb
just past the first water point (around 30km). Here I managed to pull
away from Karien to continue alone in my pursuit of the leaders.
It was a spectacular sight to see the surroundings change on entering
the picturesque Attakwas kloof. Through the kloof the riding became
more technical and the climbs a lot steeper. I managed to pass Ischen
just after the 2rd water point on the 2nd steep rocky climbs (around
55km).
On the 3rd and last steep climb through the Attakwas Kloof, leading up
to the King of the mountain prime (KOM), I managed to stay on my bike
all the way to the top. It might sound silly but I was very happy with
myself as during last year’s event I had to push my bike in the final
meters to the KOM. Although afterwards I wasn’t that pleased anymore
as my legs felt heavy from the hard effort.
After the 3rd water point the route became slightly easier as we went
onto district roads but the riding still stayed tough with the
unrelenting climbs all the way to the finish. As I got onto the
district road I saw Eszter Elderlyi in the distance and managed to
pass her on one of the rolling hills (around 70km).
As I was pacing myself on the wide gravel road between the pine
forests Ischen’s diesel engine started to kick in as she passed me
just before the 4th water point (around 80km).
I continued on my own into the growing headwind, counting down the
kilometres to the finish.
It was my first time competing in such a long event and I could feel
it as the last 30km was definitely the hardest for me. What made the
pain even worse was when Jane Seggie passed me within the last 10km to
the finish line.
All’s well that ends well and I was happy to finish such a gruelling
event and gain the valuable experience which is sure to count for a
lot in the coming races. The race was won by Swiss rider Ariane Luthi
with Yolande Speede in 2nd and Ischen Stopforth rounding off the
podium in 3rd place.
My next event will be Barberton, hope to see you all there...
