First MTB Race - Bekker Bundu Bash

I have been asked to coach the DCM Chome MountainBike team, so I decided I had better do some races to get a better feel for what this sport entails. I had been thinking about doing some mountainbiking for a while now, so this was the perfect reason to go out and do it.


The team arranged a bike for me, and I have a disc version of the powertap, so I was really looking forward to seeing the data that comes from this type of racing.


The race was 60km, which much of the race on dirt roads. Perfect introduction to offroad racing for a roadie like me.


The first 20km were predominantly single-track with some very rocky climbs and descents. Riding in the middle of some experienced offroad riders, I could not believe how fast we were going through this terrain, I was just hanging on and concentrating on the guy in front of me.


Most of the race was sand roads, so I was able to really push it.


Overall, it was great fun. MTB races have a very festive atmosphere and a great vibe. I'm looking forward to doing more of these events.


Power stats are very interesting. RPE is definitely a lot higher vs. power output. I found that my back and arms were feeling really tired towards the end of the race, and that was limiting me more than my legs.

Powerade Dome2Dome - SuperSeries

This was the final event in the SuperSeries calender. Overall I think the series has been successful, based on the snall resources used to put it together, and the positive responses received from the riders!

Dome2Dome is one of the more challenging events on the S.A. calender, it it was a fitting finale to the SuperSeries. The race is 116km long, over undulating terrain through the Cradle of Humankind area.

The VS category was well supported, with at least 60 riders present in the start pen. Most of the big names and teams were there, including Andrew Mclean, David & Johan Labuschagne, Graeme Cronje, Colin Germs (Toyota SuperCycling), Stefano Madies, Gary & Mark Beneke, Jackie van Eeden, Martin Saunders, Graham Parker (Dimension Data), Donovan Jackson & Jeffrey Kriel (MTN/Club 100), Philip Fourie (Team Computer-Smits), Jock Green and myself (Absolute Systems/Bulk Pack Meat), Werner Moolman (Mr. Price KZN) and Donovan van Gelder (Greenoffice/Cybercoach). Some of the guys that don't have big teams have been in the mix as well - Francois Ebersohn (Velo Cycling Club) and Rynard van Hoven (Select Cycling Club). Hopefully with some of the proposed rule changes next year, some of the guys that have had to ride alone will be able to ride for teams during the SuperSeries.

The first part of the race had the Labuschagne brothers taking turns to try to get away, something had to be watched as they are both strong. Dimension Data also attacked plenty. The first opportunity to really split the bunch up came on the Kromdraai Road, leading up to the Cradle Restaurant. Jock Green attacked early, and Andrew Mclean countered as well. This was the first selection point of the day, and about 25 riders made the split. Including Anriette Schoeman as the only lady. This put her in a very strong position for the win, as it would require significant collaboration between the MTN Ladies team and the Toyota SuperCycling Ladies team to get back to the lead bunch. This didn't happen, so Anriette just had to stay in the bunch and would take the win.

The next split point in the race came on the Hekpoort Road, heading up towards Maropeng. Once again, Jock went hard and only about 8 riders were able to stay with him. This group was a little too big so not all of the riders would commit themselves. The pace slowed a bit heading towards the Tarlton Road, and the lead group came back together.

The Tarlton road has a long drag, which gave Jock the opportunity to attack again, this time going with a smaller bunch. At some point, the Dimension Data also went away for quite a long period of time, but everything came back together at the bottom of Sterkfontein Hill.

Another attack came on the climb up Hendrik Potgieter, but the long descent brought things back together. The telling move of the day came a short while later, heading up to the Kloofzicht Circle. Again, Jock and Andrew went away. This was less that 20km from the finish, so there was little chance the bunch would bring them back.

Over the last 20km, riders that still had a bit of strength left rode off the front to secure minor positions. The bunch slowly disintegrated, and I decided to put in one last effort to get away and get 8th place.

Hats off to Anriette Schoeman, for mixing it with the men. She must be feeling good going into Worlds next week.

I personally had a really difficult time. I couldn't make a number of the splits and had to work hard to get back into the bunch on a number of occasions. My CTL still hasn't reached my mid-winter levels, so I have plenty of work to do!

It was a pity that the MTN Ladies Team and Toyota SuperCycling Ladies couldn't combine to chase Anriette. I was hoping that this race would be at a very high intensity for Lynette and Yolandi going to Worlds - it would be good preparation.

Power levels weren't bad, but still about 20w off my peak of last year!

The speed of the VS group was very high, not much slower than the UCI Elite category. Vets racing is very competitive!

Meyerton Cycle Challenge

No major races this weekend, so I headed to Meyerton for one of their 'Mass Start' events. All licensed riders start together and it is usually a fast and furious affair.
One of the primary goals for the race today was to give Lynette Burger an opportunity to race at the speed and intensity she will be encountering at World Champs. I was keen to see how she would go.
None of the big pro teams were present, but some of the U23 guys were there - notably CycleLab Academy. Plenty of other riders from teams like Liqui-Moly, Club 100 etc. Some of the Wadeville Steel vets were there as well.
The wind was blowing really hard and conditions were not very pleasant, just what is needed to prepare for Dome2Dome next weekend.
The start was fast, with CycleLab putting in all the major attacks. I tried to go in a move early, but the Lab rider with me did not want to contribute for some reason. Finally one of the Lab riders got away and built a reasonable gap. More attacks followed until 3 riders went across to him. I couldn't really see what was happening, but eventually there were only 2 Lab riders off the front, and the gap was around 1min.
With the main goal of the race being training - I did a lot of work on the front, along with Wadeville Steel, a Liqui-Moly rider, Donovan Jackson from Club100, and every now and then one of the other riders in the bunch.
By the time we reached the turnaround point, the group had been reduced to about 12 to 15 riders, including 2 Lab riders. The out leg of the race had a wind from behind, so at the turnaround, the wind come from the front and I thought that the Lab riders in the break were going to struggle to stay away.
We continued rolling through, with Lynette doing plenty work. The gap stayed fairly constant with nobody committing 100% to the chase given that the 2 Lab riders in the chase group were sitting in comfortably. With no team in the chase, nobody wanted to do all the work for the other individual riders.
About 10km out, Lynette attacked and went with one of the Lab riders. Surprisingly, he did not want to contribute to the move so it broke down quite quickly.
From my side I just kept pushing hard to try bring the break back. Eventually one of the riders in the break popped, but the other rider managed to hold off the bunch and take a well deserved win!
Looking at the power numbers, I was very satisfied. I doubt whether I would have had the motivation to ride for 2 hours at an IF of 0.93 had I gone training on my own. I'm still about 20w off where I'd like to be, but a normalised power of 316w for 2 hours was not too bad.
Well done to Lynette, she stayed in the front bunch the whole way, and did her fair share of work on the front as well! Great preparation for Worlds!

Worlds 2008 Road Race

Congratulations to Lynette and Yolandi

For being selected to represent SA at the World Road Race championships!

Lizanne Naude just missed out, but I'm sure she'll be there next year!!

Threshold Test

Based on my power output during the Crit on Sunday, I decided to go out today and do a proper threshold test. I had estimated my FTP to be 320, but the results of the crit indicated that it was probably underestimated.

Today's TT proved that. 340w NP for just under 50min puts my FTP at 335w-340w. Still plenty of work to do though!