MTN Ride Crater Cruise

On Saturday morning team bizhub lined up for the MTN Ride Crater Cruise held in Parys.

Clear blue skies greeted the big field with a slight breeze which was sure to pick up later on and influence the race.

A very competitive ladies field took to the start which meant the battle out on course was going to hurt a little bit more than usual.

The ladies started alongside the Elite men and there was a lot of fighting for position as we headed onto the first section of gravel district roads. Around 15km into the race the route detoured into a single track section which spat us back out on to the main district road a short while later.

This piece saw the big bunch splinter into small little groups. The leading ladies managed to form a small group of seven which included me, Ischen Stopforth (bizhub), Leana de Jager (bizhub), Ariane Kleinhans (Contego), Yolande Speedy (MTN/Qhuebeka), Cherise Taylor (USN) and Karien van Jaarsveld (USN). Once this leading ladies group was established there was no more bunch riding as we weren’t allowed to sit behind any of the men or receive help from them during the race.

At about 30km the route took us off the district roads onto a short steep single track climb leading to the Queen of the mountains hot spot. Ariane was first to turn managing to open a small gap on Yolande and myself who in turn managed to open a small gap on the rest of the girls. Looking back I actually still can’t believe that a single corner caused so much damage.

With Ariane up the road Yolande and I were forced to help each other in trying to chase down the lone leader.

Our ‘alliance’ was still intact upon reaching the well-known handmade technical single track section on Baskop farm. This came about 65km into the race. I tried my best to stay with Yolande but her superior technical skills proved too much as she raced away through the thick sand and dense bush. I settled down and tried my best to get a good rhythm going in an attempt to make contact with Yolande and Ariane again.

This was where I relied on my Polar Heart rate monitor to gauge my effort. It was still a long way to go and I didn’t want to exceed my limits, but at the same time I really wanted to get to the front of the action. Despite my best efforts the race situation remained unchanged and Ariane maintained her lead to win the race gifting herself a very nice birthday present.

Yolande took 2nd on the day and I managed to round out the podium with a hard fought 3rd place.

I was happy to stand on the podium alongside two world class athletes who just happen to be some of the nicest girls currently racing on the mountain bike circuit.

Final results:

1st Ariane Kleinhans

2nd Yolande Speedy

3rd Yolandi du Toit

4th Ischen Stopforth

5th Cherise Taylor

This coming weekend I will be partnering up with Leana de Jager for the Mankele 3 Towers held in the Lowveld. I am looking forward to getting to know her a bit better as this will be our first time riding together.