Craft Bike TransAlp, 14-20 July

The TransAlp is a 7 day mountain bike stage race traversing the majestic European Alps.

The event starts in Mittenwald, Germany from where it moves into Austria for a couple of days and then into Italy finishing at Riva del Garda.

Over the period of 7 days riders will climb a total of 20490m. From what I’ve heard you basically climb for a couple of hours and then descend, repeat this a few times all the way to the finish.

It’s been 5 years since I last visited Europe and this year I was very fortunate when a good friend of mine, Aurelie Halbwachs, invited me to join her for The Carft Bike TransAlp. We have completed  the Joberg2C (9 day event) together and also two Omnicane Southern Tropical Challenges (4 day event).  However, it will be the first TransAlp that Aurelie and I take part in, and whatever happens it will be a memorable experience for us.

In the past I’ve spent 4 years racing my road bike in Europe but this will be my first trip racing on fat tyres. Recently I have been doing a lot of hill training to be a bit more prepared for the Alps and will take part at the Nissan Trailseeker Cullinan as my final build up to the event.

MTN National MTB Series #6, Rooiberg

Rooiberg made its debut on the MTN National Series calendar as the sixth leg of the 2013 series.  This little town is found at the foot of the majestic Waterberg Mountains in the Limpopo province.

The event was staged at the Rooiberg Golf Club and from what I had read in the Race-Tech document, we were in for a rough route. What else does it mean when they say: “Bring a full suspension bike”?

With that in mind, the 75km marathon route came as a pleasant surprise. I prepared myself for rocky and bumpy terrain, but instead we got loads of fun single track. Some of it was tricky with loose rocks and thick sand, but all of this was a joy to ride on my Rocky Mountain hard tail. It was one of those courses which required focus and consistent pressure on the pedals which meant it was a proper challenge.

The MTN Series is the biggest mountain bike series in the country and this always ensures a strong ladies field on the start line. With big races comes big nerves, but strangely enough this time around I felt at ease going into the race. I think I put enough pressure on myself for the Big Induna and the USN event that by the time Rooiberg rolled around I didn’t have much nervous energy left J

Early in the race, just after the Queen of the Mountain prime I opened a gap on Robyn de Groot in a sandy single track section which put me in the lead of the race. I put my head down and went for it trying to maximize my advantage.  This lasted for about 30km before Robyn re-joined me close to the second water point. On a steep hill Robyn drew away from me as she powered to keep her single front chainring turning up the ascent.  I kept her in sight, but after stopping at the water point to refuel, I only saw Robyn again once we had crossed the finish line. I was delighted with my unexpected 2^nd place.

It was Robyn’s first win in her National Champion’s Jersey proving that it was no fluke. Yolande Speedy showed that she is back for good after her crash at the Epic to round out the podium in 3^rd place.

Final Results

1^st           Robyn de Groot

2^nd          Yolandi du Toit (bizhub)

3^rd           Yolande Speedy (ASG Epic Sport)

4^th           Kendall Ryan (Jeep)

5^th           An-li  Pretorius (BestMed- ASG)

I’ve had the opportunity to do two of the MTN Series events so far this year and on both occasions I was impressed by the professionalism of the Advendurance Team in hosting an event. They give attention to small details and sometimes it’s that small details that can make or break an event.  If there is ever an MTN event in your area, be sure not to miss it.

USN Cup # 4, Big Red Barn

The fourth round of the USN Cup made a return to the Big Red Barn, a venue we had visited before in the current series. It is found in Midrand and has heaps of fun and fast flowing single track on offer, making it the ideal setting for a mountain bike race.

The 50km circuit is largely laid out on single track with short pieces of gravel road connecting all the trails. A floating bridge, an intimidating drop off and sweeping corners all added to the enjoyment out on course.

As is customary, the shorter the race the higher the intensity and this race was no different. As soon as we were given the word go, riders were sprinting off for that desirable first place into the opening single track.  

My “sprinting” earned me a 4^th spot behind leading ladies Samantha Sanders, Yolande Speedy and Amy MacDougal. I’ve ridden the course before during the previous USN Cup race and knew there was still plenty of time to make up lost ground and just focused on setting my own race pace. I managed to catch and pass Amy and Speedy around 10km into the race putting me in 2^nd place out on course.

I kept on racing to catch up to Sam but to my surprise I caught up to Yolande and Amy for a 2^nd time instead. In the heat of the moment they had missed a turn and unintentionally took a short cut. I knew there was nothing else to do except put my head down, race as hard as I can and sort out any issues afterwards.

As it turned out Sam stayed ahead winning the race with me finishing in 2^nd after 2h30min of flat out racing. True to her character Yolande immediately informed the judges of her detour and let them decide about the official results.

Results:

1^st            Samantha Sanders

2^nd          Yolandi du Toit

3^rd           Amy MacDougall

It is nice to see that despite the strong competition the girls could still show some sportsmanship and race in good spirit. 

First Ascent Big Induna Mountain Bike Race

The Big Induna is an event I look forward to every year. The race has a great course on offer in beautiful surroundings and a warm winter climate. What more can a rider want?

This year’s edition of the Big Induna presented some extra excitement for both rider and spectator as it incorporated the SA National Marathon Championships.   Seeing that Induna Adventures has put together a world class route over the years, the event proved to be an ideal match to crown  SA’s Champions.

The 73km marathon route consisted of 2 loops. The first loop was 36km long and took us through the start/finish area before the final 39km long loop.  A large proportion of the route was laid out on technical single track. This truly puts one’s bike handling ability to the test as it wasn’t on open, flowing single track but instead very twisty with sharp corners. 

The race started out well for me. On the first lap I was part of the lead group together with Robyn de Groot, Samantha Sanders and Candice Neethling.  We missed one of the direction arrows along the route and lost quite a bit of time as we made our way back onto the course. (Hope that answers your question to, do you guys get to see the views when you’re racingJ) Once back on course we found ourselves back in 5^th- 8^th position. This also meant the battle for the lead had to start all over again.

We really put the hammer down as we tried to make up the lost ground. Luckily just before completing the first loop we were back into the leading positions.

Throughout the first loop though I felt like a yo-yo as I couldn’t stay with Robyn, Candice and Samantha on the tricky single track sections. For some reason I didn’t feel as agile and in control of my bike as I normally do. Eventually the chasing back got the better of me and I lost sight of them for the last time during the 2^nd loop as they yet again disappeared on one of the technical sections.  With Yolande Speedy and Amy MacDougall chasing just behind me there were no time to take a breather and I had to force myself to keep pushing hard until the very end.  It was a mixture of emotions when I crossed the finish line in 4^th place at the end. One of them was definitely relief that the suffering was finally over.

Robyn de Groot had a sterling ride taking the victory on the day, thus making her the SA Marathon Champion for 2013. Local hero Samantha Sanders finish in 2^nd place with Candice Neethling rounding out the podium in 3^rd place proving that her European racing is paying some dividends.  

Every year I enjoy the route so much that I convince myself that the route suits me quite well only to discover that I had more ambition than ability.  I’ll have to add some cross country racing to my race program to be more prepared for next year’s eventJ.

Final Results:

1^st           Robyn de Groot

2^nd          Samantha Sanders

3^rd           Candice Neethling

4^th           Yolandi du Toit

5^th           Janine King