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

The start of 2015

My 2015 season started with the Summer Fast one on Sunday near Alberton. It is always difficult to predict your first race of the season cause you didn't finish base training too long ago and the legs may just be a little sore after all the kilometers in December. This Race was a good session just to check your fitness levels and to get that feeling of racing back in your system again after more than 2 months without racing. The Summer fast one MTB race is a very well organized and marked race and it is always nice to compete in races without any troubles that can cause extra admin. It was a 70km route full of surprises ,with no big climbs to talk about it was mostly full gas all the way dodging mud puddles and rocks through all the single and Jeep tracks. it was a fast start and soon everyone's heart rates went into the roof and the gaps appeared. It was a tough start for myself trying to maintain a suitable heart rate. after about 10km it was a leading group of 3 , myself, Kallen and my new teammate for 2015 Thinus Redelinghuys .Unfortunately Thinus suffered some mechanical problems and it was only the 2 of us left. we paced ourselves through the race just trying to hold the chasing group back. The gap stretched up front and soon I realized its going to be a sprint for 1st place. we soon reached the final few kilometers on a tar road where Kallen attacked me and I couldn't keep up with him and had to settle for 2nd place. I am happy with the result but there is still a lot of work left before the Ashburton National Series in Meerendal the end of January.There is a lot of positives to take from the race. With my studies finished in 2014  I am really looking forward to race all over the country in 2015 representing Jeep Team SA.

Good luck to everyone racing in 2015 keep it safe and keep it fair.
Thanks for all the support from everyone

Pierre

Nissan Trailseeker #4

The Nissan Trailseeker series is scheduled till late in the season and will keep the standard of racing high till the end of the year. The 4th leg called #bundubash was a new venue for this year and everyone was excited to race a new route. I had no idea what to expect from the route until someone said keep some energy in the tank for the last 20km, that person was correct! The start was extremely fast and hard and very dusty. The first 15 to 20km the leading group was still huge with about 30 to 35 riders and it was a race inside the race to keep a good position at the front of the race.



Not long after the first tough section with a climb and some bumpy roads the group finally got reduced to about 12 guys. Two riders tried to slip of the front and that was a hard chase to catch up with them again. After that chase we were only about 6 riders left at the front,everyone trying to hold on and catch your breath at the same time.

We got some very nice single track sections on the route and a very lengthy one about 5km before the Hotspot on 45km. At that stage 5 of us entered the singletrack at almost the same time, unfortunately I entered the singletrack behind a guy who couldn't keep up with the guys up front and at the end of the singletrack the three guys in front wasn't even in sight and it was a very tough chase after that to catch them again and I used a lot of energy not to catch them at the end and with all that effort I forgot about that "last 20km" and I paid for my efforts! I suffered with about 10km to go riding all on my own for about 25km after the hotspot.  

From 5km to go there are indications telling you how far to go, with about 4km to go I pushed myself to the limit cause a chasing group of about 4 riders were just behind me and my goal was to finish in front of them as I counted to kilometers down 3km to go.....2km to go..... They passed me with a bang I could't even get on the back of the group as I nursed myself to the finish with 1km to go.  

                                                                              

I was disappointed not to finish in the top 5 positions but there is always a lot to learn from races and it is important to take the positive aspects out of a race and to improve in the next one. With only two races left for the 2014 season I hope to finish on a high. Thanks for all the support before,during and

after the race I really appreciate it.

I can't thank my sponsors enough for the opportunity they are giving me to live out my dream , racing every race to the best of my ability. Make a point to follow these great sponsors on social media to see their latest and greatest products (Team Jeep- @teamjeep) (Jeep-@jeep) (Gu energy-@GUEnergySouthAf ) (Salomon-@salomon_SA) (POC SA- POCSouthAfrica)

Till next time

Smurf

MTN National Crater Cruise

The Crater Cruise is usually the last race of the MTN national XCM series. Situated in the Free state in a small town called Parys. Most people have that picture in their minds that Crater Cruise is a easy day on the bike just because the route profile is a lot flatter than most of the other MTN national races, but one can never underestimate the Crater Cruise. The heat, sand and bumpy roads are the main factors that make this race so difficult. Parys is about 50km from where I study and 40km from where I live so I can almost say it was my "home ground" with a lot of friends and family out there to support me on the day.

The start was a 5km tar section through the streets of Parys and with no neutral car the pace was fast from the word go. It was the first Marathon (80km) race held at the Crater Cruise usually there was only a 55km and a 115km so the 80km route was new to everyone and I was not sure what to expect. throughout the race I positioned myself at the front to make sure I don't miss any moves at the front. The real bumpy roads started at about 20km into the race and the King of the Mountain(KOM) was at about 30km so the leading group was still very big at this stage of the race. I went to the front up to the KOM trying to thin out the leading group and I succeeded in my goal. With only a selected group of about 10 riders left things started to move in the right direction. We rode a nice but sandy singletrack alongside the river and I managed to lead us into that section. At the end 3 of us made a gap on the rest of the group and we worked well together trying to extend our lead. It was not long when everything got together again. About 30km to Go Julius Cobbet launched one attack after another and soon there were only 6 of us left chasing the lone leader.

15km later and it was still the 6 of us chasing the leader and we didn't really closed the gap. Next on road was a long bumpy drag and I realized we had to do something otherwise it will be a sprint for 2nd place. I pushed my body to the limit up that climb trying to get myself clear from to group and up with the leader. I managed to get away with one other rider on my wheel, the two of us worked our way to the finish line in pursuit of the leader. 

Unfortunately the two of us could not catch Julius so it was between us for 2nd place. I knew Julius was not a U23 rider anymore so the top step for U23 was still open for someone to take. Philemon a rider from the Exxaro academy was the rider on my tail and also a U23 rider. There was a bridge were only one rider can ride over about 50m from the finish and I just got myself over that bridge in the lead to claim 2nd overall and 1st U23 in the marathon. This is my best result in a MTN national series thus far and it was my last as a U23. It was a great experience and a unbelievable feeling.

 






















Thank you to everyone who supported me I really appreciate it, it makes my effort just that more easier knowing there are people waiting for me at the finish line. I can't thank my sponsors enough for their support at every race and in my preparation. The guys from GU energy , Salomon , POC SA, Jeep apparel and Jeep SA are making it all worth the effort.  Next up is the 4th Nissan trailseeker see you guys there.

Till next time 

Train safe

Smurfie :-)