Vodacom Tour De Soweto
The event was held in the township of Soweto, with the background of the race being that the route was on the same roads that the Soweto Township residents protested on back in June 1976.

Secure parking was offered at Soweto’s newly built mall (PRIMI BAZALLA MAPONYA MALL) with the start located 2km from there on a stretch of open field.
The 40km race route included historical landmarks such as Orlando stadium, Soccer City Stadium and Orlando West (recent home of Winnie Mandela, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu). There was a unique vibe with hawkers, the occasional shebeen and live entertainment such as Zulu dancing along the route.

The woman and Veteran 50+ men started together in the 80km race, consisting of two laps of the route. Only 4 Veteran men participated, giving us the opportunity to generally ride our own race.

As we left the start Lylanie Lawrence (MTN) launched the first attack. None of the other teams made an effort to respond and eventually Arien Torsius (Team Delila), Roben de Groot (Nashua) and I took turns in attacking trying to close the gap.
This led to some aggressive racing and eventually Marissa van den Merwe, Carla Swart, Cashandra Slingerland, Lylanie Lawrence (all MTN) and I (Konica Minolta) got away. MTN tried to force the pace, but couldn’t get all the team members to contribute equally and this led to the chasing bunch catching up again.

As we started our second lap, Marissa attacked on one of the climbs. Nobody responded immediately. I waited a view seconds and then followed. On reaching her, I looked back and saw that we got a good gap. The two of us worked hard together taking turns to pace in front. We managed to extend our gap on the rest of the field. I enjoy riding with Marissa as she doesn’t mind sharing work equally and always gives her best.

Back in the group, Johan Spies (Cycle lab) attacked and Roben de Groot (Nashua) was the only one to respond. The two of them rode across to Marissa and me, catching us with only 3km to go to the finish line.

Marissa won the sprint, with Roben in 2nd and I finished in 3rd position.
I enjoyed the winding route with all its exciting turns, climbs and descents. This made the racing hard and interesting. During the event one also had to be careful and watch out for vehicles, dogs, people etc in the road. One thing that caught my attention in all the confusion was how clean the township was. Even in the mall one couldn’t find a paper lying around. Tour de Soweto truly gives you an opportunity to experience the South African Townships vibe!!


Race Results:
1st Marissa van den Merwe (Team MTN) 2:09:25
2nd Roben de Groot (Team Nashua) “
3rd Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta) “
4th Cherise Taylor (Team MTN) 2:09:37
5th Altie Pienaar (Team Nashua)
6th Arien Torsius (Team Delila)
7th Cashandra Slingerland (Team MTN)



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Sungardens Carousel Classic 2009
We kicked of the second part of the season at the Sungardens Carousel Classic north of Pretoria. It was a great opportunity for all cyclists to test their level of fitness after the cold winter months. For everyone else it was a public holiday, celebrating Woman’s day.
The Elite men were the only category allowed to participate in the 150km event, while the rest could decide between the 110km or 40km event.
Four ladies teams were present at the race (6 girls from Cycle Lab, 7 girls from MTN, 2 from Nashua and me riding for Konica Minolta). Unfortunately Cycle Lab’s girls decided to ride with the Veteran men, reducing the field to only three teams and a few individual riders.
The ladies race (110km) started around 7:30am. It was a typical cold winter morning, but luckily it warmed up soon after we left the start line. The flat race route was made very treacherous by huge potholes in the middle of the road and traffic passing the riders regularly from both directions.
Early into the race MTN started launching attacks one after the other. They had the numbers and dominated the race completely. Roben de Groot and I tried hard to make our presence felt but MTN just had too many riders. Once hey had 3 girls in the break the rest of the team just covered all the counter attacks and kept the bunch together.
The only counter attack that stayed away consisted of Roben de Groot, Altie Clark and me with Chrissie Viljoen sitting on as a ‘policeman’ for MTN. We rode hard in an attempt to catch the 3 leaders, Marissa van der Merwe, Cashandra Slingerland and Carla Swart – all MTN. Our disorganized chase wasn’t making an impact on the MTN team time trial and to rub salt into our wounds Chrissie sprinted us all at the finish line after sitting on the whole way.
It wasn’t a great day, but I was happy to reach the finish in one piece. Let’s hope next week’s racing at the Tour de Soweto is a bit more positive and not just all about tactics.
Race Results:
1st Carla Swart (MTN)
2nd Cashandra Slingerland (MTN)
3rd Marissa vd Merwe (MTN)
4th Chrissie Viljoen (MTN)
5th Altie Clark (Nashua)
6th Roben de Groot (Nashua)
7th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)

The N3TC Dirty Harry
SA Mountain bike Marathon Championships

The event was hosted at Platberg Stadium in Harrismith, together with the town’s annual "Berg Bohaai" festival. This created a warm, friendly atmosphere with most of the town’s people not only coming to the fair but also supporting and cheering the riders as we crossed the finish line.

The morning while we were driving down to Harrismith on the N3, I notice the bill boards at the side of the road flashing “MTB SA championships/ Good luck cyclist”. N3TC is a sponsor of the event, and it was great to ‘see’ their support!

The event started at 8:30am. At first I thought it was going to be a ‘cool’ day out on the bikes, but luckily it turned into a great day with sunshine and no wind.

The Elite men in the ultra marathon (120km) and the Elite ladies in the marathon (75km) started together. We had a neutralized start through town until we reached a gravel road that lead the riders out of Harrismith towards Platberg.

The first part of the gravel road was on a slight drag and it was here when Yolande Speedy made the first move for the day, trying to slip away. I tried to get across to her but Yolandi de Villiers wasn’t going to let any break go away and jumped onto my wheel. I decided to rather sit up and wait instead of tiring myself before the single track.

Speedy was first to go into the single track section, with Ischen Stopforth and me chasing hard. Around 7km into the race Ischen and I managed to close the gap to Speedy. The three of us rode together until we got to the bottom of the Platberg climb.

On the climb I passed Speedy and Ischen, reaching the top first. I didn’t have an idea of the time gap between me and the other girls. I was only thinking of keeping calm, concentrating on the circuit and riding as hard as my body would allow me to.

Halfway down the climb Speedy passed me using her exceptional bike handling skills.
On the next climb around 26km into the race I managed to catch up to Speedy again, passing her and opening a small gap before the summit.

Reaching the top, I realized that although I’m in the leading position for now, Speedy is very well known for getting stronger into the event. So if I wanted to stay away I would really have to concentrate more than ever.

Fritz Pienaar came past me in his ‘bakkie’ around the 55km mark and said I had a 1min gap over Yolande.

As the finish line came closer, so did Speedy. She caught me with 8km remaining. I had nothing left in my body and couldn’t do anything except watch her ride away from me.
It was a very rocky and bumpy course and the challenge at the end wasn’t only Speedy, but also trying to hold on to my handlebars with my arms and hands hurting the way they did!

I am more than satisfied with my result. I went into the race not really expecting a medal, although hoping for one. I knew I would give my best, I always do. At the end finishing with a Silver Medal at the South African Marathon Mountain Bike championships was an overwhelming feeling!

Results:

1 Yolande Speedy - IMC Momentum
2 Yolandi du Toit – Konica Minolta
3 Ischen Stopforth

Illovo Eston MTB challenge



The event was held in Eston, Pietermaritzburg. With rain pouring down throughout the whole of Saturday, we were in for a tough challenge.

I was surprised by the number of woman that turned up to participate in the 60km Marathon event despite the challenging weather conditions.

It was quite a spectacular sight as we left the start line. With all the rain falling on the open trails it was very slippery and one only saw girls sliding across the trail from one side to the other.

It was only for a short 200m section and riding on to more compact ground Speedy used her technical skills to open a small gap on the rest of us. The Queen of the mountain was situated only 3km into the event, which made the racing aggressive from the start.

Samantha Oosthuisen made the first move to try and bridge the gap to Speedy. I reacted immediately and went with her. We caught up to Yolande 1km before the Queen of the mountain. At this stage the pace was uncomfortably high for me, and I decided to rather back off a bit. I didn’t want to dig to deep at the start and then blow up only a few kilometres later.

Tanya Raats bridged up to me and the two of us rode together on the first flat and windy part of the course.
As the climbing started Tanya was unable to keep up with me as I chased hard to catch up with the two frontrunners (Samantha and Speedy).

The mud on the trails made the event truly challenging and I had to jump off a few times because of chain suck. My gears also suffered in the muddy conditions and it was a challenge just to keep the wheels turning smoothly.
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Luckily I had mud tires on, which meant the riding on technical trails was made a bit easier. I actually enjoyed the route in the wet conditions. It meant your approach to a situation had to be calculated. You had to think how to handle it without slipping or where to ride to get the most traction in the mud and on top of that still concentrate on pushing your pedals as hard as possible.

After leaving Tanya around 10km into the race I was left to ride alone throughout the remainder of the event. It was hard at times being alone with no one in sight behind or in front of me, never quite sure if I was still on the correct route while doing a 3:30h effort.

As I approached the 5km to go sign, I was completely finished. I don’t know how I reached the finish line, but I eventually did crossing the line in 3rd place.

Results for the day
1st Yolande Speedy
2nd Samantha Oosthuisen
3rd Yolandi du Toit
4th Shawna Thunder

Mountain2mountain
(25thJuly)

This road race was held in Tzaneen (Limpopo Province), a beautiful part of our country with its hills and green forests. The weather forecast for Tzaneen predicted very cold conditions over the weekend. Unfortunately it turned out to be correct!

On Saturday morning it was really freezing outside. Luckily we stayed less than 1km away from the start. This meant we could leave our warm hotel rooms fully dressed for the race, skipping the usual routine of getting race ready next to the team car in the cold.

My start group consisted of only 4 Cycle Lab girls and me starting at 6:45am.
The first 11km were the deciding factor of the event. Starting on a downhill and then reaching the bottom of the first and only major climb after just 2 km.
Agatha Mountain is a 9km climb and it was here where Ashleigh Moolman showed off her talent climbing away from the group.

I had to dig deep to stay with the other 3 Cycle Lab girls (Lynette Burger, Joanna van der Winkel and Lizanne Naude) on the climb. The cold weather conditions caused my legs to feel heavy and slow.

At the top Joanna vd Winkel, Lizanne Naude and I opened a small gap on Lynette. Lynette showed that she was determined to get a good result. She quickly caught back up as her team mates waited for her over the top of the climb. She attacked immediately after getting back on. I responded and as I reached her with the 2 Cycle lab girls on my wheel, she forced an echelon.

The next few kilometres were gradually downhill and Lynette tried several times to get away. I followed so that at times we opened a gap on the other two, but they managed to get back every time.

Next, we reached a T-junction where I was the first to turn left. Lynette attacked again with her 2 team mates sitting on her wheel. I tried to respond but I had nothing left after following all the earlier attacks.

My race was over and I continued riding on my own with only the wind and the occasional ‘funrider’ as a companion. It was a long, hard day in the saddle for a 5th place result.

The Mountain2Mountain is a very well organised event. Each rider received a big bag of oranges plus a goody ‘box’ with his/her race number filled with orange juice, nougat, cherry tomatoes, onions and some other local delicacies.
The 107km event had countdown markers every 10km, with 8 water points spread over the racing distance. At the finish venue there was plenty of food stalls and prize winners received their cash prizes, trophies and some more local treats.

This event is definitely worth adding on your race program for the future.

The Jock Cycle Classic

(18th July)



The event was held in Barberton, in the Lowveld. In the past it was 3 stages held on one day. The first stage was from Barberton to Nelspruit going over Hilltop, a 4.5km
climb just before Nelspruit. The second stage was from Nelspuit to Kaapmuiden going over Boulders (7km climb) and the last stage from Kaapmuiden back to Barberton on a very hilly course. Now the event is one long ‘stage’, passing through Nelspruit and Kaapmuiden, finishing back in Barberton.



The woman started with the Veteran Men (40-49) leaving Barberton just past 7am.

Because the Lowveld’s temperature is normally quite pleasant this time of year, I knew the day would warm up and decided to take a few layers of clothing off before the start. As we left the start line I realized that it was the worst decision I made for the day. For the first 20km my body was frozen.



It made me smile seeing the climb coming closer, not because of my climbing abilities but knowing it will help my body temperature increase. The group went hard on the climb splitting into pieces quickly. The pace was too high for me and I decided to rather ride up and ride at my own pace. It’s still a long way home and a lot can change in between. I caught up to a few riders on the climb, reaching the top I was back in the convoy of motor vehicles and road back up to the main bunch.



Going through Nelspruit we went over a few very steep hills, reducing the peloton even more.



Boulders was the 2nd major climb for the day. My legs weren’t feeling so good and I decided to ride as hard as my threshold ability would allow without going ‘into the red’. Going over Boulders there were 6 girls up in front, while I was chasing by myself.



Going down Boulders, four other Veteran Men caught up to me and we formed a small group . I still felt comfortable going past Kaapmuiden, with the front group just in sight.

We formed an echelon, each taking a decent turn upfront and managed to get ourselves back in the main group. We were now the first chasing group as 3 girls and a few Veteran Men got away over Boulders.



The finish line was on a slight uphill and I decided to make the first move going for a long sprint. It actually worked very well. The other riders in my group reacted too late and I managed to open a small gap on the rest taking 4th place. I am satisfied with my result. I didn’t feel at my best, but riding steady and saving strength wherever I could helped me to still finish strong at the end.



Results for the day



1st Ashley Moolman (Cycle Lab)

2nd Andriette Schoeman (Nashua)

3rd Jenny Stenerhag (Alpha Pharm)

4th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)

5th Isabel Moolman (Cycle Lab)

6th An-Li Pretorius (Nashua)

7th Joanna van der Winkel (Cycle Lab)

8th Robyn de Groot (Nashua)

9th Lylanie Lauwrence

10th Lizanne Naude (Cycle lab)

Walkerville MTB Classic

The Walkerville Classic is held at Lapeng Hotel and Conference Centre to the South of Johannesburg. Race distances were 60km and 35km.

Normally the race is a very cold race in the middle of winter, but this year we were lucky with the temperature reaching 16 degrees. The wind definately made up for the cold, blowing strongly and bringing with it the cold front from the Cape.

The 60km started at 8:45am. There was a large field due to more road riders taking up MTB during the cold winter months.

The first 10km with single and jeep track on a slight ascent caused the group to break up soon after we left the start. I managed to place first lady going into the open single track. Next we reached the bottom of Platberg, the first Climb of the day.

At the top the riders had a beautiful view of the Witwatersrand and looking down I couldn’t spot any girls chasing. The route down the mountain is on a slippery jeep track with two short rocky sections. I got into a comfortable pace hoping to keep my lead to the finish.
Just before the third section, where everyone had to dismount, the 60km joined the 35km making it impossible to move past on the single track. At the portage section, I managed to pass a few riders. Unfortunately a few more sections followed where one couldn’t go past. Making it quite stressful cause I didn’t know where the other girls where lying.
The last 13km we rode straight into a head wind, where I had to use up the little energy I had left at that point!
As I crossed the finish line I believed I made it home in first place. The organizers and time keepers seemed a bit confused and I actually had to tell/ask them if I was the first lady in…..
At prize giving I was happy to find out I did indeed finish in 1st place.

Parys Island Dirtmax

After the busy first half of the year, I took a few days off at the end of June . I am sure I will be thankful for the break during the coming months. From now on until the end of November my race program is full with at least one race per weekend.

On Monday (29th June) it was time to face the freezing cold air again. It wasn’t only the Tour de France that added motivation but also my new Focus hardtail mountain bike. It feels great to have a MTB that feels like its only been built for me personally.

With only a week of training in my legs, I didn’t have any plans to race over the past weekend. At the last moment I changed my plans when I heard about a small race in Parys. With Walkerville on this coming weekend it was the perfect opportunity to get used to my new bike and do a bit of off road riding.

It was a lap race situated next to the Vaalriver, just outside Parys. The circuit was over a distance of 10km. Riders could choose between the 10km (1x10km), 30km (3x10km) or 60km (6x10km) events.
One can truly see all the effort that’s gone into building and designing the course. It was one of the most enjoyable MTB races I ever participated in. The circuit included some technical singletrack, rocky sections, across bridges, through streams; up and down bumps- I really had fun! And my bike was handling excellent over the terrain.

The race organisers were very welcoming, with their small 2year old boerbull (Sasha ) running around greeting everyone with her delightful 'smile' and friendly eyes. Making sure she gets max attention, she is really cute. If she was up for grabs, I would've raced EXTRA hard!!!!

I completed the 60km event in 3:32 finishing in first position.
On our way home we drove through the main street of Parys which was packed with small stores, coffee shops and restaurants.Every so often there would be a parked car with a bike rack and a few drty mtb's hanging off the back. My only thought was if you’re not a professional rider that would be a nice way to spend your Sunday afternoon. Do a short 10/ 30km race then go into town and enjoy spending time with your family in Parys!

FOUNTAINS ROAD RACE
(June, 16th)


For most people yesterday was a public holiday, but for cyclist it meant another opportunity to race.

The race was held at Rynfield church in Benoni with the main event being the 96km. Cyclist could also participate in the 56km fun ride.

The woman started separately with a time gap of 10min following the men.
Standing on the start line looking at my competitors I quickly realised that I was out numbered against team Nashua, who had 4 girls in the race.

Team Nashua used their numbers to their advantage by attacking continuously. I was the only one to react, but couldn’t respond to all their attacks. Ann-Li Pretorius (Nashua) was the first to eventually get away. Nashua just repeated their tactics and soon Joanna van de Winkel (Nashua) also got away. I tried counter attacking but with one, sometimes two, Nashua girls constantly sitting my wheel I weren’t able to do anything.

Plan B - I decided to let all the girls from Nashua ride away one by one, because they made it quite obvious that that was what they were planning on doing. Then I can get away from the group on my own and catch up to them to get at least a 5th place finish.

With the whole Nashua team riding solo following each other in the wind I knew I had an advantage over them as I was sitting the first part of the race in the bunch saving some energy. Luckily my plan succeeded as I first caught up to Sanet Small (Nashua) and then Altie Pienaar (Nashua) leaving them to chase me at the end. . Lying in 3rd position I continued pacing myself trying to get closer to the 2 Nashua girls still out in front.

I didn’t see them until I crossed the finish line to realize that Joanna (Nashua) took the wrong turn just before the finish line which moved me a position up finishing 2nd on the day.

1st An-Li Pretorius (Nashua)
2nd Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)
3rd Altie Pienaar (Nashua)

INDUNA MTN MARATHON SERIES no. 3
(13 JUNE)

The 3rd leg of the MTN mountain bike marathon series was held at Induna adventures, just outside Hazyview.

I feared a wet and muddy course after all the rain that fell during the week leading up to the event. Luckily it cleared up on Friday, and I took the opportunity to go and train on parts of the course. The rain actually washed away most loose sand, which made the course compact with only a few wet forest sections.

At 8:00am Saturday morning the 75km (which I participated in) and 105km (newly added ultra marathon for elite men) were the first groups to start.

The Lowveld is well known for its climbs and the race route didn’t disappoint! As the neutral zone ended, we turned off on a dirt road and straight up a 4km climb with gradients of up to 12%.

I found myself struggling up the first hill and lost contact with the leading girls. I tried my best to get back to the leaders on the downhills, but with all the climbing in between, I started to lose motivation and just settled into a comfortable speed, pacing myself to the end.

Despite the fierce argument I had with myself on the climbs, I enjoyed the beautiful singletrack, and took the opportunity to work on my technical skills. This year I managed to ride all the technical sections and even rode smoothly over the hanging bridge! (I still had vivid memories from last year when I almost fell into the river, but luckily caught one of the cables to save myself!!!)
I am still new to the sport and it’s truly satisfying to see any little improvement from one race to the next.

It was evident that the team from Induna adventures put in a lot of effort designing the route. This year they added newly built bridges and interesting parts in the course taking the riders through some spectacular surroundings like the banana plantation etc.


I didn’t do as well as I wanted, but managed to finish as the 3rd elite lady and 5th overall on the day behind Ischen Stopforth and Samantha Oosthuizen (Garmin).
Yolande Speedy showed her class again by competing in the 105km event.

Rooiberg Echo Challenge
(6,7 June)

Rooiberg, a small settlement to the west of Bela Bela was the venue for a 2day MTB stage race held this past weekend.

On Friday I left Heidelberg just after lunch, hoping to miss traffic on the N1 but as unpredictable as the traffic can be, I drove straight into it. A normally 1hour drive took me more than 2hours. I felt relieved as I drove out of Pretoria leaving the busy city behind me heading out onto the open freeway towards the bushy landscape of Limpopo province.

As I left the freeway at Bela Bela off ramp, the road to Rooiberg was filled with game farms and I was even lucky enough to see a few different species of antelope.
I arrived well after dark at Etosha Nature reserve where I stayed for 2 nights. The lodge is situated deep in the bush, which gives you the opportunity to experience the sounds and beauty of nature.

Day 1, 70km
Etosha Nature reserve is a 30min drive from the race start. I left at 6:30am, just in time to see the sun rise!!!
The race started at 8:00am. I am always glad to get on my bike and start, it gives my nerves time to settle down and I can concentrate on the race.

On the first flat part of the race I worked my way into the leading position. We got to a very steep hill which forced us to get off our bikes and push. It was here were Samantha Oosthuizen (Garmin) came running past me while pushing her bike. On the downhill I tried to make up some lost time but on one of the corners I slipped and fell. Yolandi de Villiers( Cycle Lab) then made her way past me. I struggled to get into a rhythm again and lost a bit of confidence. Yolande Speedy caught me half way through the stage, and with her experience and technical skills I wasn’t able to follow.

The race had ± 60 km of single track, with some sections being really technical. We also had to cycle through a fire which had only just started when I came past. The marshals had to redirect the rest of the field behind me around the fire. I never manage to make up time on the 3 girls out front and finished in 4th place for the day.

Stage 2, 85km
I started my day with another beautiful sunrise, and this made it worthwhile getting up so early.

In a repeat of the previous day, we were off at 8am.
The first part of the course consisted of singletrack with river crossings and rocky climbing sections, where you had to carry or push your bike most of the time. I struggled to carry my bike and was laying 4th coming out of the “hike a bike” section.
Although the stage had less singletrack, it wasn’t any easier than day 1.
The first day’s technical singletrack was replaced by loose rocky descents and ascents, thick sand and river crossings, which required just as much skill and concentration.

The two stages were long and tough. After riding for almost 10hours in 2 days, I managed to get a podium place in the end by finishing 3rd overall in the ladies category.

Results
1st Yolande Speedy
2nd Samantha Oosthuizen
3rd Yolandi du Toit

BELA BELA CLASSIC & Vi-T-Go
(23, 24 May)

Travelling on the N1 North is becoming a habit for our team these days... This weekend we headed off in that direction again, Saturday for the Bela Bela Classic (road race) and Sunday for the Vi-T-Go MTB race.

Bela Bela Classic
The woman started with the Veteran Men 50+. Being a bigger group helped to keep the pace high on a fairly flat circuit of 95km. With the pace being so quick no one could get away and the group stayed together to the finish. My team mate Michelle Corbett, who is still a junior, surprised everyone on the day by outsprinting the rest of the Elite ladies field and taking the win for Team Konica Minolta.

Results
1stMichelle Corbett (Konica Minolta)
2nd Sanett Smal (Nashua)
3rd An-Li Pretorius (Nashua)
6th Yolandi du Toit (Konica Minolta)

Vi-T-Go
The race started a bit later (8:30am) and after yesterdays early 7:00am start I appreciated the extra sleep. It also meant the day had a bit of time to warm up and we could start the race in conditions that suited me more.

It was my second time doing this event and I still think the race is good for developing and practicing bike handling skills with the loose sand, tricky corners, rocky climbs and descents.

I got into a nice steady tempo from the start and managed to pace myself until the finish, taking Konica Minolta’s second win for the weekend.

MAGOEBASKLOOF & INTERPROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP
(16, 17 MEI)

We had quite a busy but successful weekend. Personally, it’s great to have a race schedule and organised team again. It seems we’re racing every weekend and also getting the opportunity to see new places.
On Friday we travelled to Tzaneen, a small town east of Polokwane (Pietersburg). I was fascinated by the sudden change in landscape. The flat and dry area of Polokwane was replaced by mountainous forests and lush greenery as we got closer to Tzaneen.

Although the scenery was beautiful, I found the racing very tough. We started with the men and 30km into the race we reached the bottom of the Magoebaskloof climb in a small group.
The 10km climb served as the launch pad for the Konica Minolta men’s team to ride away from everyone else.
I went over the climb at my own tempo and made contact with a small group on the downhill, which should have made things easier for me. Unfortunately one of the 3guys I had caught up to felt intimidated by a ladies presence. He attacked several times in an effort to get rid of me.
With 10km to go I had enough and let them go, leaving me to ride in for a victory alongside the men’s team.

On Sunday the team headed to the Interprovincial which was held south of Johannesburg. The course consisted of 3x 30km loops.
Cold and windy conditions made the racing difficult on a very flat circuit.

I started with the junior men and after some tough racing, I managed to get another victory for the team.
This coming weekend the team will head north again for the Bela Bela Classic and hopefully some warmer weather racing.

Vaalwater

Saturday, 9^{th May}

This weekend the team did a race in Vaalwater, Nystroom. We had an early morning start leaving from Midrand at 4:30h.

We were fortunate enough that driving to and from the race it was raining a lot, but at the event it was dry.

The race started at 8am and the elite women were to start with the men. This suited me as it meant the racing would be hard and fast.

The Konica Minolta men’s team dominated the race and basically rode away from everyone else handing the victory to Paul van Zweel.

It was an out and back race and the Konica guy’s aggressive racing as of the turn around point caused the bunch to split up. I managed to stay in the chasing group wile the other girls were caught up in the bunch behind me.

I managed to stay with them until the finish to take the win, with the girls from Nashua taking 2^nd, 3rd and 4^th place.

Tour D ‘urban

I’m back! Tour D’urban was my first race back with my ‘brand new’ (old) team. I am happy to announce that I will be riding with Konica Minolta for the remainder of this year.

It’s great to be back with the team that I had a lot of success with. I hope to pick up where I left off and go on to even greater things. It will be good to repay them with some victories for the faith that they have shown in me!

On Friday I travelled down to Durban with the team. It is a wonderful feeling to be part of a team again, especially when everything is well planned and organised.

Just to give you an example we had all our food prepared for us over the weekend. We even got lunch boxes for the trip down to Durban. On race day, our race food and water bottles were prepared, our bikes were ready, and all we had to do was concentrate on the race. All this and much more behind the scenes work was done by a management team of only two people – John (manager/mechanic/directeur sportif etc) and Nicolene (soigneur/PA/motivator etc). Thanks guys!!!

We are only 2 girls on Konica Minolta this year, Michelle Corbett and I. By being only two it makes things really special; you get to know one another well and have to trust each other more, because you only have each other to rely on during races. She is still very young, but really talented. Only 18 years of age, a time in one’s life where you can only learn....

Our race started off at 6:30am Sunday morning. The Elite woman, junior woman and under 16 boys all started together. The group stayed intact until the main climb of the day (around 20 km into the race). There it got broken up in bits and this was where a small group of 5 girls got away and stayed away until the finish. I missed the split and ended up in the chasing group and sadly couldn’t take part in the sprint due to my handlebars that came loose. I am the only one to blame, because I received a new bike and didn’t check if everything was properly tightened – never too old to learn I suppose!

I haven’t been racing much on the road this year. Tour D’urban was only my 3rd road race for the season. I am looking forward to getting back into racing…on and off road!