MTN Hilton Dirt Festival

This year the Hilton Dirt Fest marathon formed part of the MTN marathon series.

The fact that it was also the penultimate event of the series made for very competitive racing. Everyone was trying to collect the remaining points available in order to secure their spot or move up in the overall series standing.

The event was hosted at Hilton College just outside Hilton, KZN on the 24th of September.

The route and venue was spectacular to say the least. The 80km distance took us through Hilton’s surrounding forest and also provided us with breathtaking views over the Albert Falls Dam and the Umgeni Valley. Added to that, the course also had plenty of singletrack to enjoy!

The women’s race was a double bill as victory on the day and series honours were on the line. Yolande Speedy (MTN/Qhubeka) and Ischen Stopforth (Team bizhub) were both in the running to secure the overall MTN series title and therefore set out to gain as much points as possible to cement their positions.

On the start line Speedy was the wearer of the pink leader’s jersey with a narrow lead of 105 points over Stopforth.

In the first quarter of the event Speedy and Stopforth took to the lead while Candice Neethling (Team bizhub) and I were set to chase in 3rd and 4th place respectively.

Conrad Venter who was with the team for 5 years during the teams ‘Konica Minolta’ era has rejoined the team. He was waiting for us at the waterpoints located along the route with an ice cold waterbottle in one hand and energy gels in the other. I am sure I speak for everyone in the team when I say that he saved our lives a few times during the race. It’s great to have him back onboard.

Candice and my position stayed the same all the way to the finish while Speedy managed to open a small gap on Stopforth in the final kilometres to take the victory at the MTN Hilton MTB Dirt festival.

Final results:

1st Yolande Speedy
2nd Ischen Stopforth
3rd Candice Neethling
4th Yolandi du Toit

Our other teammate Nicci Grobler also had a great ride to finish 3nd in the senior ladies category.

This coming weekend Nicci and I will be teaming up for the Ride the Rhino 3day MTB event in the Western Cape.

Jeep Tribune Hill2Hill, 18th September

This event follows quite a different format than most MTB races as it is point to point race which takes place between Pietermaritzburg and Durban.
This 105km Marathon started in Hilton and finished at the Shongweni Polo Club grounds in Hillcrest, hence the name Hill2Hill.

Riders lined up early Sunday morning for the 6 O’clock start. Later during the day when the sun was scorching down on us it became clear why riders were set of so early. War stories after the race revealed that some riders who weren’t racing even stopped at some river crossings to swim just to relieve themselves from the heat.

The woman’s race set off at quite a fast tempo as Cross Country specialist Mariska Strauss (Team Contego) set the pace from the start. The first few kilometres of the race was mainly on single track through forest before heading onto a small section of tar in Pietermaritzburg. Until this point Candice Neethling(Team Bizhub) was on her own in front, I was chasing a few meters behind her and a few meters behind me were Mariska Strauss and Ischen Stopforth (Team Bizhub). We all regrouped before the Queen of the mountain sprint 25km into the race. On the crest of the Climb the group was reduced to 3 riders as Candice was tailed off slightly. Soon after passing the 2nd water point at around the 30km mark, Mariska also slipped off on a short steep climb. The climb was followed by a descent which led into some technical single track. Once out of the single track I was on my own and just set into a comfortable rhythm.

Ischen and I reached the 5th waterpoint together at around the 87km mark. Ischen was very intent on winning the race and surged on the lower slopes of the climb leading away from the waterpoint.
I decided to stick with my race strategy and ride at a steady pace as there was still a hard 15km stretch to the finish line.

Ischen Stopforth took the Victory at Hill2Hill with me following just behind to take 2nd place. Candice Neethling was set to finish in 3rd place, but unfortunately suffered a mechanical failure within the last 6km. She had no choice but to watch other riders pass her while pushing her bike to the finish line. Mariska Strauss also had a great ride coming off her European campaign to finish in 3rd place.

Nissan TrailSeeker #3, Down &Dirty

This past Saturday team bizhub took part in the 3rd event of the Nissan Trailseeker Series.

The event was held at the Cornwall Hill College in Irene, Pretoria. The cycle friendly venue made for a pleasant atmosphere as riders started and finished on the school’s athletic field. This gave family and friends the opportunity to cheer riders on while sitting on the grand stand, or underneath an umbrella, next to the field whilst sipping on a cold beverage -Yes summer is (finally!) upon us!

The Nissan TrailSeeker Series is currently the biggest series in Gauteng and this was quite evident when looking at the strong field who took to the start line.
The fairly flat 70km route consisted mainly of jeep track and district roads in and around Centurion. Despite it being a great summer’s day, the strong August wind was sure to make for a challenge out on course.

During the first 5km of the race I found myself racing alongside Yolande Speedy (Team MTN/Qhuebeka) and Theresa Ralph. On a long drag into a head wind I managed to open a small gap on them and it only grew from there as I managed to sustain my pace whilst battling the blustery conditions.

At the end I managed to maintain my lead over Yolande and took the Victory at Nissan Trailseeker Down & Dirty. I was really pleased with my performance and very happy to capture my first win at a Nissan Trailseeker event this year.

Yolande Speedy had a great ride coming back from her injury to finish in 2nd place with Theresa Ralph rounding off the podium in 3rd place.

Final Results

1st Yolandi du Toit (Team Bizhub)
2nd Yolande Speedy (Team MTN/ Qhuebeka)
3rd Theresa Ralph
4th Samantha Saanders (Team Mankele)
5th Nicci Grobler (Team Bizhub)