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