MTN National MTB Series driven by Nissan, Barberton #1

Barberton is widely regarded as the start to the season and one can always be sure to see a strong field competing for the coveted top spots and series points at this event. As it is the first leg in the MTN National 

MTB Series everyone comes to test their form and see how their preparation has gone.

 I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the woman’s field that lined up at the start of the 75km marathon event.  Not only did the field include all the top names in woman’s mountain biking, but also a few top road cyclists who decided to try their hand at mountain biking.

The race route was tailor made for a climber. Basically you climb for the first third of the race, then for the 2^nd part you ride alongside the escarpment and for the final stretch you slowly start making your way down the mountain on very fast jeep track, traversing several water crossings before you finally reach the finish.

The weather also played its part with overnight rain making the course quite muddy in places. This also meant you had to be on your toes as any loss of concentration could result in a crash on the rutted course.

After the neutralized start things got a little bit hectic as we had to navigate our way through some muddy and technical jeep track. With all the girls knowing that position was important, it was quite a fight to stay amongst the leaders. I steadily moved up the field and by the start of the day’s main ascent I found myself climbing next to my teammate Leana de Jager.

At this stage we were riding in 6^th and 7^th position and because we were of similar strength we decided to stick together. It was nice to have Leana alongside me as we motivated each other to keep pushing right to the end.  

At the end Leana and I crossed the finish line together in 5^th and 6^th place. At first I was disappointed with my result but looking back I know where I can improve and I look forward to upcoming races.

 As always I enjoyed racing my bike in the hilly terrain of the Lowveld. The area has some stunning scenery and riding through the lush green forests and mountainous terrain always adds to the racing experience. 

Race results:

1^st           Candice Neethling

2^nd          Roben de Groot

3^rd           Ischen Stopforth

4^th           Catherine Williamson

5^th & 6^th Leana de Jager and Yolandi du Toit

7^th           Ariane Kleinhans

USN MTB CUP Series #1

Saturday saw the start of the USN CUP SERIES for 2013, with the inaugural race held at Stoke City Wakepark in Midrand. With rain starting to fall a day prior to the race and continuing through the night we were left to race on a very wet and muddy course. Who says you need a wakeboard to ski around Stoke City. Just bring your bike and come join in on the fun J

The only drawback was that my new bike, a Rocky Mountain Vertex, was barely a week old and we all know what mud can do to a bike...

My teammate Nicci Grobler joined me for the race, and under grey skies we set off to do two 30km laps of the 60km event.

The first 5km of the route was on jeep track followed by long sections of winding single track. Once exiting the single track we had another 5km left on jeep track before going onto our 2^nd and final lap.

In order to find out where my form is at the beginning of the season, I went pretty hard from the start. Halfway into the first lap it was only Nicci and myself out in front. Nicci and I started to work together in an attempt to establish as big a gap as possible on the rest of the chasing ladies field. The 2^nd lap took us a bit longer to complete than the first as the muddy track was churned up by all the preceding riders. We also encountered some traffic while catching the 30km riders and the back markers on the 60km race, but generally they were very considerate and would let us pass without too much hassle.

Nicci and I rode together from start to finish and crossed the line together to take 1^st and 2^nd place. I can’t think of a better start to the season for Team bizhub and for me racing alongside a good friend and teammate taking the top honours on the day.

Well done to the Velocourse Team for putting together a very well organised event with a great route despite the challenging weather conditions.