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Nissan Trailseeker Diamond Rush, 6 July

The 2^nd leg of the Nissan Trailseeker Series was held in the small, historical town of Cullinan. In earlier days miners rushed to this location to find diamonds, but lately the town rather attracts mountain bikers, outdoor sports enthusiasts and people looking to get away from the rat race.

It was my 3^rd time lining up for the Diamond Rush event and with that experience under the belt I thought I knew what to expect, but boy was I wrong?

This year’s 75km event had a completely new route on offer to keep the experience fresh and interesting year on year.Last year's hilly course was replaced by a fairly flat route that required constant pressure on the pedals. This made the racing extra tough as there was nowhere to catch your breath and recover from hard efforts.

I had a good start, putting me in the lead position from the opening kilometres of the race. I knew the fast course would favour the likes of An Li Pretorius and Lise Oliver who race mainly on the road. In a way this forced me to concentrate on applying constant pressure to my pedals because the time gaps would be a lot smaller than it would be on a hillier course.

Just after the 2^nd water point which was situated around 2/3 into the race, my rear tyre hit a stone whilst I was descending a rocky trail. My tyre deflated on impact but luckily I managed to stay upright. I stopped to assess the situation and was able to inflate the tyre with a CO2 canister. Up until that point I was in the lead but because you are not aware of the riders passing you while  fixing a tyre, I didn’t know which position I was in once I got going again.  

All that was left for me to do was to put my head down and race as hard as I could to the finish line. This might sound simple, but it’s quite the opposite. Once you have been forced to stop, it's tricky to get your racing rhythm and mental strength back.  When I finally crossed the finish line I was very happy and relieved when I heard the commentators call out my name as the overall ladies winner on the day. It was a hard fought victory and that makes it so much more enjoyable.

My team mate Nicci Grobler had a great ride finishing in 2^nd place with Janine Kind rounding out the podium in 3^rd place.

The Nissan Trailseeker Diamond Rush event is a favourite of mine. There is something magical about the race that draws me back ever year. The tranquillity of the place, the historic museums and the cosy coffee shops that line the main street all add to the uniqueness of the race. So if you find yourself wondering what to do in the beginning of July, head out to Cullinan for a treasure hunt. You never know what you might find.

Final Results:

1^st         Yolandi du Toit (bizhub)

2^nd        Nicci Grobler (bizhub)

3^rd         Janine King

4th        Lise Oliver (VeloLife)

5^th         Amy MacDougall (Epic Sport-ASG )

Stonepark MTB Classic,29 June

Being a professional mountain biker our weekends mostly involve racing and the travelling that comes with it. We rarely get time to catch up with friends and family but when the odd “off” weekend surfaces, we make an effort to spend our time with the people close to us.

For the last 2 months my dad has been asking me to please let him know when I have a free weekend as he would like me to participate in his local mountain bike race. This past weekend I didn’t have any racing obligations and so hit the road to my hometown of Riebeeckstad, situated on the flatlands of the Free State.

On Friday afternoon my dad was adamant to give me a preview of the course and we went on a scouting ride checking out Saturday’s race course. I was pleasantly surprised to find a well designed course filled with hand built obstacles and some fast, sweeping singletrack.

On race day I was even more amazed when I arrived at the race; the event organisers, who built the trails themselves put so much effort into hosting the event that I actually felt guilty just showing up to enjoy their hard work. The venue was professionally hosted and the trails even received a water dousing in preparation of the race. The race might have started off fairly small but with all the effort the organisers put into staging the event, it can only grow in the future.

My biggest competitor on the day was of course my dad. We’ve been racing against and with each other since I was 12 years old and this time around would be no different. The 70km marathon event consisted of 6 laps, each 10km long with a short opening lap at the beginning to split up the field before heading onto the more technical segments.  The entire course was laid out on single track with small sections here and there making it possible to pass fellow riders.  

After the opening lap I found myself riding alongside my dad in 3^rd and 4^th place overall. On lap one and two we had a local young man for company but the technical terrain and distance proved to be too much for him and he lost contact with us. My dad and I stuck together from the beginning to the very end giving him a 3^rd place overall finish and me 1^st place in the woman’s category.

 To say that I was impressed by my dad’s riding would be an understatement. He is still as strong as I remember, so much fun to be around as ever and has bike handling skills which made me look like a beginner. Luckily I have his genes (or at least that is what I am telling myself) and still have all my good years ahead of me.