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
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