The start of 2016

It's been a while since I last wrote a blog about my cycling and I must say I am pretty happy to write again. 2016 was quick upon us and the season is already heating up with the 2nd Ashburton Investment National Ultra marathon race just around the corner in the mountains of Sabie. My first race of the year was the usual Summer Fast One near Alberton. There is some positives to take out of a race like that but I normally just race it to get back into action and test the body a bit before the tough hard racing begin.

The 1st Ashburton Investment National series was held at Meerendal Wines Estate down in Durbanville. The 1st one is always a tough one as everyone is trying to get in shape for the Epic and to get their seasons underway. Meerendal was 102km and about 2500m of climbing which is a proper workout. One thing that also played a big role was the extreme heat Cape Town was experiencing over that time. At some point I looked down at my GPS Device and it said 38degrees and it was not even 12 O'Clock yet.

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I had good consistent pace going at the start and rode with a very nice group up until the 50km mark and everyone just kept their own pace going up a very steep section on the course. Every now and then you will ride with someone else as some guys drop from the front or some guys passing you from behind. Close to the 70km mark where the split is I got a very funny annoying noise somewhere on my bike and it sounded like my bike is going to crack in half. I managed to get to the split and stopped there to have a look what the problem is and we couldn't find anything strange but as soon as I am on the bike it starts again, I lost a lot of time in the tech zone but after a while I decided to continue. It was a tough last 30km to go and I was completely on my own now fighting the wind and uphills. After climbing up to the tower we started heading down, but it was trick cause the path was off camber going downhill with some slippery corners and it was not to long when I ran out of talent and found myself on the floor wiping of some dust. Anyone will tell you the scariest thing after a crash is to check if your bike is still okey and in my case I damaged my rear derailleur and struggled to get my gears fixed and couldn't get into my granny gear. Every time there was a steep climb I had to get of my bike. It was very frustrating but at the end I finished the race. It was not what I hoped for but that is sport anything can happen at anytime of the race. I am looking forward to race Sabie in about a weeks time and to try and improve from Meerendal.

 

Thank you for all the support from everyone I see you guys in Sabie
Safe Travels

Pierre

Nissan Trailseeker #1

Just before the winter is on our heals about 3000 cyclists were on their way to bufelsdrift for the first leg of the Nissan trailseeker. A lot of the top guys came out to test their legs before SA Champs This weekend at Van Gaalens that is part of the Ashburton Investment National series.

It was a dry and dusty start and everyone tried to get in a good position. The first 10km you just had to trust your skills,trust to guys in front and back of you and hope for the best because it was impossible to see where to ride. Luckily there was not a big crash just one or two guys here and there. After about 15km a large group formed at the front and the pace was still super high. The KOM was at about 30km and it was on a climb and that sorted the guys out as smaller groups formed along the way. I was with a few other guys in about 10th place as we chased a group of three guys in front of us. The second half of the race was magic with some proper technical downhill singletracks to test your skills. I made up some time going downhill and joined the three guys. Now we are racing for 5th place overall. It was not the easiest race to work as a group because of all the technical sections so it was basically everyone for himself.

There was one or two nasty climbs near the end at some small gaps appeared between us, The last decider was a paved climb that was quite steep. Once again we had some nice singletracks leading us down to the last 3km where it was 5th , 6th 7th and 8th place all on one road about 15-20 seconds apart. That was just the order we finished and I had to settle for 8th place overall just behind Willie Smit from Europe Car.Final results are on www.livetime.co.za . I am  happy with my progress and result and looking forward to the 2nd leg of the trailseeker series in Mabilingwe, but first up is SA Champs this weekend at Van Gaalens!

Thank you for all the support this weekend
See you all on Saturday

Be safe
Pierre

Double Touble

This past weekend was a busy one with a lot of races all over South-Africa. I chose to ride the Winter Fast one on Friday and the Parys Dirtmax on Saturday. I saw it as a great opportunity to get some racing fitness in my legs in preparation for the bigger races later this month.

Friday I realised the winter has arrived! It was a cold morning as everyone tried to warm themselves before the 8am start. The route was flat and fast and was mostly Jeep tracks and some sections of singletracks. The competition was tough and guys like Nic White, Henry Uys, delaney Impey and Andrew Mclean came out to show their form. Flat route or not the racing was on. In the early stages of the race the pace was high and the leading group were big. There was one hill to climb and it was the KOM (King of the Mountain) so everyone expected some fireworks there. On top of the climb I had a quick stop to take some grass out of my cassette and a small gap opened up between me and the leading five.


 I charged down the hill trying to catch up with them again, when I heard a bad noise coming from my back wheel. It was a broken spoke and it got tangled up all over my wheel. I lost a lot time trying to fix the problem just to finish the race. Due to the high pace of the race it was difficult for me to catch the guys again and I just managed myself home. I finished 23rd overall.

Saturday was a different story. The race was a bit shorter but there were more hills to deal with. Luckily the start was 9am so the start was warmer. The first 15km was tough as everyone attacked all over the place trying to reduce the numbers in the leading group. After a few rolling hills the group at the front was ready to race. Not long after the rolling hills we entered a wild reserve with some hectic climbs one which is impossible to ride. Going up that hill three guys made a small gap , following was two other guys and myself. I bridged the gap on the next long drag, just to see one guy left the two of them behind. I passed them and was in pursuit of the lone leader. All went good I had him in sight all the time when I found myself on the ground completely overshooting a dangerous corner. Just after the crash was a technical section and two guys pasted me while I was down. Working my way through the technical section on a island I continued my chase,only this time for 3rd place. With about 5km to go I passed the 3rd place rider to claim the last step on the podium.

 It was a tough weekend on the bike but as they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger! I'm looking forward to race the Walkerville classic ,Nissan trailseeker #1 and the Ashburton Investment national series #4 (SA Champs) . Thank you for all the support and motivational words out there. A Big shout out to all the sponsors for our team it's a pleasure to be in such a good team full of awesome people. Train safe and train hard .

Just a quote for the week: Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well!!!

CheersSmurfie

Ashburton Investment National series #3 Clarens

On Friday the 17th the cream of South-African cycling all headed to Clarens in the heart of the Free State for the 3rd round of the Ashburton Investment National MTB series. following the weather man throughout the week I prepared for a cold weekend, and it was cold but not as cold as I thought so I am rather happy with that.

Saturday was race day and it was a early morning wake up to get into town to be at the start line at 7am for rider call up and to start my 3rd ever ultra at 7;15am. The Ultra distance(110-120km) is still a big learning school for me and I take a lot of positives out of every one and try to improve myself at the next one. looking at the results from my previous ones there is an improvement, starting of in January at Meerendal where I got a 22nd place , then Sabie with a 20th and now at Clarens I got myself a 17th place. I am happy with the improvement but there is still a lot to learn



The pace was not to fast in the early stages of the race as everyone tried to get there legs warmed up for the remaining 118km. It didn't take long for some of the top guys to pick up the pace as we headed for the first big climb of the day at 20km, Before the climb we had some action in the bunch as a "Rooibok" headed straight into us and jumped the one rider of his bike and the rest just missed the rest of us. With the adrenaline pumping we started with the climb and the guys where hitting it up there and the gaps started to appear. I found myself in a group with four other riders and we worked our way to the BIG climb of the day at 60km called the Titanic.

It was n nice route and well marked and it was not long before we arrived at the "Titanic". As soon as we got to the bottom of the climb our group of 5 broke down and it was everyone for himself. I did not push myself to the limit up there knowing there is still about 55km to go after this and I worked myself up there. The single track on the other side was amazing, we went down for about 8km, to go back into town to start our second loop. 

The second loop or the last 45km was a different ball game. It started of nicely with some open district roads leading us to the next big thing on route that was called some slick rocks, it was nasty rocks and I completely lost my rhythm up and down the  rocks. After I dragged myself over all of them it was the last 20km back into town. I regrouped myself a bit and finished another ultra in 17th place.

Next Ultra marathon is 6 Jun at Van Gaalen (SA Champs) I am looking forward to try and improve my position there. There is some races before that like the winter Fast one, walkerville Classic and the start of the Nissan Trailseeker series in Gauteng.

Thank you to everyone out there who helped and supported me , I really appreciate it. and a big thank you to all my sponsors for making this possible

see you all at the next race
Be safe
Pierre


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Ashburton Investment National series #2 Sabie

About 3 weeks ago I posted about my first Ultra at Meerendal and today I am writing about my second one already. Sabie is known as the mountain bike mecca and I can confirm that now. The 115km were pure mountain biking with no easy kilometers you had to work extremely hard on the uphills and concentrate just as hard going downhill. It was a early start to the day to get everything ready for our 6:45am start (UCI Elite).

 

It was once again a star packed line up with all the big boys trying to sharpen their form before the Epic next month so it was a guaranteed tough race. I was mentally better prepared and I made a few changes on my approach to this race and I think it was good changes. The start was not that tough and the group stayed together till about 8km when the real race stated and we stared climbing. I watched the route profile and I knew after 8km it is uphill for a long time with the first real downhill at about 23km , and it was a short steep one before the real climb started. It was called the Mamba switchback climb. I had good legs climbing my way up to 23km in a group with Kevin Evans, Konny Looser, Andrew Hill and my Teammate Thinus Redlinghuys. Unfortunately I got a sidewall cut on that short steep downhill and I did not realize my front tire is getting flat fast and as I tried to change my line my bike decided to show me some other scenic places as I crashed into a bush. Luckily everything was okay and I fixed my wheel, losing a few places but the crucial thing was I lost a nice group and my teammate. Not long after that the

Mamba climb started and I climbed my way back catching a few riders and eventually we formed a group of about 5 riders and we rode our way to the first tech/feed zone on 55km. I still felt good and had a quick change of bottles and headed to tech/feed zone number two at 75km just next to the finish line. I caught my teammate at the tech zone and still felt pretty good as the two of us started the last loop of 45km. It was not long after that tech zone that the sun came out with full force and it was 35degrees in no time and all of a sudden everything changed cause of the heat. we had two extra stops to refill our bottles and on 95km I found myself alone on a long never ending climb and my body was a bit broken. I nursed myself to the finish line but mentally, physically and emotionally I was drained and lost some important time to the guys in front of me. It was the toughest race I ever did finishing in a time of 6Hours and 20th overall. Although it was a really hard race I am still happy with my improvement in some areas. It is a big learning experience for me and every time I compete against the top guys I learn something new and I can go back to the drawing board and prepare for my next  race

I just want to thank everyone involved in this challenge especially my parents and my girlfriend for all the motivation and positives thoughts. And to great sponsors for the opportunity to compete at the highest level of racing I really appreciate the effort from everyone.

Next big one is Clarens but for now I will do some nice training and spend some time in Stellenbosch again. And obviously have a close look at the Epic.















Train Safe
Pierre
   

Dirtmax MTB series

The Dirtmax MTB race is a 5 race series just outside Parys in the Free state. The route goes through parts of the Vredefort Koepel heritage site and consists of a 30 or 60km. It is a good race for some training to test yourself and to get some crucial racing fitness to take into the early season.

It was nice to see a familiar face on the start line with his POC kit named Dan Fowler. I had no idea how my body would respond after last weekends Ultra Marathon at Meerendal so I was a bit unsure how to approach it. The first 20km was tough and my legs felt heavy as I tried to lift the pace upfront. A Group of 4 riders settled up front and shared the pace making up to the 20km mark where we had a change of environment. We entered a wild reserve and it got rocky with some technical climbs. I went to the front and gave it a shot trying to reduce the group and I succeeded in my plan. As we left the reserve again at about 30km it was only myself and Dan left at the front.

We chased each other around the course for the next 25km testing and trying stuff to get away. Soon we entered a technical section on a island with some hand build bridges through a forest section and nice single tracks and knowing Dan he has some proper skill I had my hands full trying to stay with him as we hammered it to the finish. as we finished the section he had a gap of about 15 secs on me and the chase started. It took me about 2km to close the gap again and games started again. about 5km to we got to a very rocky steep technical climb and I saw the opportunity to get away, and I did. I went downhill like a mad man and just tried to maintain the gap to the finish line. It was a big relieve to see the finish line after a few kilometers knowing someone is chasing me for 1st place. I took the win in 2H 16mins about 2mins ahead of second place rider Dan Fowler.

I am very happy with the win and thank you for all the support out there I really appreciate it. Next stop is Sabie for the second leg of the Ashburton Investment National series. 

Train safe Train hard
cheers

The Ashburton Investment National series #1 Meerendal

It was a few month ago when I only talked about my first Ultra Marathon race and this past weekend it got real. The 1st leg of the Ashburton Investment National series was held in Durbanville at the beautiful Meerendal wine estate. It was a early rise with the start at 6:30 and no time to waste, soon the top UCI riders were called up Alban Lakata, Robert Menen, Erik Kleinhans ,Konny looser just to name a few and just after that it was the rest of the UCI riders(myself) that got the opportunity to get in the start shoot. It was a very special moment in my career to stand on the start line with probably the best Mountain bikers in SA and the world. At first I had no idea what to expect from a Ultra Marathon for example how fast is the pace? How many times must I stop at water points? But soon I realized it was going to be a fast start with a even faster finish.

 With 2900m of climbing it was always going to be a tough race but the downhills was worth all the effort to get on the mountains, it was smooth hand build singletracks with some nice berms to take you down the hill even faster. It was very nice to race in our new Jeep team kit (left & right)) for the first time and it looks so nice and it is very comfortable so look out for this kit all over SA in 2015.










It was a big learning experience for me and I'm looking forward to race In Sabie for the 2nd leg of the series on the 21st of February. I want implement all the things I have learned over the last few weeks training and racing in Stellenbosch to perform better as the series goes on throughout the year.


I finished 22nd overall in the UCI elite category and looking to improve my result. For now I am back in Gauteng to prepare for Sabie and doing a race or two for some training to give my best when the 21st arrives. Thanks you for all the support from everyone leading to my first ultra it was special to read all of the messages and receive all the calls. Thank you to amazing sponsors supporting Jeep team so that we can race all over the country and to Metro Cycle Works here at home for fixing and tuning by bike before every race to make sure I don't have any unnecessary problems.



Till next race
train safe train hard

Smurf