Telkom Satellite Challenge

Even though maby road races have declining numbers, this race is still growing. This is despite the fact that the last 20km are some of the toughest to be found in Gauteng racing. The continued growth can only be due to the fact that the race is such a well organised one.

The only negative from the race was news of a bad crash apparently in A bunch. From what I heard, there was a fall within the bunch, and a rider swerved to avoid and went onto the wrong side of the road, colliding with a car. I don't know who the rider was, but hoping that he is okay!

The main obstacle in this race is Hekpoort, a climb that starts at about 20km to go, and is just over 3 km long at around 7% gradient. This is long enough that there can be no hiding, and close enough to the finish that if you can get away here, you have a real chance of getting to the finish and winning.

Our plan was for me to get away in a break and make it to Hekpoort with a bit of a gap on the bunch. My race would start at Hekpoort and I planned to try to get away from the break up Hekpoort. Andrew would attack the main bunch at Hekpoort and depending on the time gap, bridge across to me and we'd go for the finish. If I could stay away then all would be good anyway.

Well, that plan didn't happen. I was being well marked and DiData were making all the attacks, trying to force us into a long chase. The pattern repeated a number of times. Didata would attack, if I responded there would be plenty of guys on my wheel, and it would all come back together. So, change in tactic was required. A move went off the front, and I said to Kevin Prinsloo that he should go for it. He went and the bunch let it go a bit. The break got to 4 strong, but did not seem to gel well so it came back after 5km or so.

Approaching the dam, an attack went off, I responded with Danie Marais. As I got across, the break sat up, so I counter attacked and now had a nice gap on the bunch. Two more riders came across, Mervyn Scorgie and one other. This forced a big chase for a few km's as DiData did not have representation. It all came back together going over the dam, and Jackie van Eeden (DiData) attacked. The bunch was already strung out, and a small group responded to Jackie's attack. Andrew was amongst this group, and going up a short drag, he saw that the bunch had broken up. He accelerated away and joined Jackie. Too late for everybody else and they were away. For us this was perfect, as we know Jackie would not be able to hold onto Andrew up Hekpoort, and Andrew was more that capable of staying away to the finish.

Disappointingly, the bunch threw in the towel without a fight. Shane Brown (DiData) did his best to get a chase going, sensing that unless they brought Andrew back immediately, the race would be over. A little while later, Boss Logistics (without Anton Duvenhage), started chasing for a bit, but nobody coordinated anything. I really don't understand this, because there were enough teams to put together a proper chase - DiData, V&A, Boss Logistics, and some strong individuals like Danie Marais, Deon Coetzee, etc. Andrew would have had to do all the work, and Jackie would have been able to just sit in. A 50km TT prior to Hekpoort would have taken some of the sting out of Andrew and who knows?? Seems like the guys are happy to race for second place.

Various people came and went off the front, and after about 20km DiData started chasing a bit more. I was waiting for Hekpoort. I was not feeling good at all, having had some oral surgery this week, I was very flat. Hekpoort duly arrived, and I just set a really hard pace. Gary Beneke and Shane Brown come with, but the rest of the bunch quickly disappeared. Shane eventually popped close to the top, but Gary stayed with. At the top, Gary looked to see if Shane would re-join, but I decided to keep the pace going and prevent that from happening. Gary saw that Shane was not going to re-join us, and started sharing the effort to get to the finish line. At this point we thought we were racing for third place, because we had not picked up Jackie at all.

There is one last opportunity to make a move. A short sharp climb just before the finish line. Getting over the top with a gap would enable me to get into the finish straight in front. There is a short descent and a 90deg left hander into the finish - coming about 100m later. It is important to get into the turn first. I attacked Gary but did not have enough of a kick to shake him. He countered and I got caught out in the wrong gear.

In the meantime, Andrew had solo'd to the finish 6 minutes ahead of us! Catching and overtaking the VA bunch in the process. We also found out that we were racing for second as Jackie had cramped and was still somewhere out on the course.

So, a well deserved win for Andrew, Gary taking second and I got third.

Power numbers for the day were better than I expected - averaging 354w NP for the race. But I was not feeling sharp at all.

Just heard that the rider involved in the accident is Anton Pretorius, and Cyclelab Pretoria member. He is in a critical condition in Sunninghill hospital. Thoughts go out to his wife Roanne and family!!

Amashova

The Amashova is the cycling equivalent of the legendary Comrades Marathon. But although the two races share much of the same route, I would far rather do this on a bike than in running shoes!

Although this event has been running since the mid-90's, for some reason this year the organisation was absolute chaos! First indications that things were going to be a bit different was the start order. Junior ladies categories were starting off before the Vet's categories, and with the weather conditions the way they were, along with some of the very serious descents on this route, it is a wonder that there weren't any serious accidents en route!

My race entry had been lost in the works somewhere, and I was told that the licensed categories were absolutely full, no more entrants allowed. Fortunately some intervention from Dave Bellairs got our team sorted out, but I was not surprised to see riders lining up next to me with boiled potatoes in a little bag on their cross bar, and rearview mirrors! Fun riders (i.e. riders on hybrid bikes and flowers in their hair) were lining up in the ladies elite start pen!

Forunately, the main selection point in this race comes in the first 15km or so, so we wouldn't have a mixed ability group for very long. I have absolutely nothing against people that take their riding a lot less seriously than I do, but this situation was plain dangerous!

Anyway, having a look around the start pen, there were definitely a few guys who we would have to keep an eye on. Our plan was to try to get away (Andrew and myself), right from the first climb. The second selection point (Inchanga) comes about halfway through the race, with plenty downhill after that, so we decided that getting away early would cause a lot of indecision in the bunch as to chasing hard. Guys would be reluctant to go too hard so early in the race and risk not having legs for the windy sections approaching the finish.

Andrew had been feeling very tired the whole week, and I had not been too sharp either. We also had Colin Germs from the team, and a welcome guest appearance from Gary Marescia (Cyclelab Cape Town). Jorge Faria (V&A), Martin Saunders (DiData) and Garth Schonewolf (Bring It On) were two of the danger men present.

On the first slope of Fox, Andrew surged, and a few riders followed and the bunch got strung out. Things came together, and Andrew went again. This time, Garth Schonewolf, Martin Saunders and another Bring It On rider went with. The bunch did not react, so as soon as the gap got to about 30m, I jumped across and nobody came with - perfect.

We went really hard up the rest of Fox, with Andrew doing most of the work. Martin popped off quite quickly, but Garth and his team-mate were hanging in there. Sensing this was the move, Andrew tried to force the Bring It On guys to come through, but he was putting on a lot of pressure. At the top of Fox, Garth started to come through but his teammate was not. Andrew surged and I let the gap open. Garth jumped across but his teammate stayed. I let the gap open again, then went hard, getting rid of him.

The gap was now just under 1 minute, and the three of us started working hard to open it up. Next came Inchanga. Andrew drove the first half of the climb, then I took over for the second. Andrew dropped back to see how Garth was doing, and decided the time had come to attack him. So, on the next climb, just before Botha's Hill, Andrew jumped clear and Garth stayed with me. Once the gap was a reasonable size, I attacked Garth and bridged across to Andrew. Not an easy feat because the road was windy and Andrew did not see I was coming across initially, so he kept his head down and was going hard.

Now it was just the two of us, and the gap was up to about 2 minutes. No holding back, we went as hard as we could. Coming on to the M13, we got a time check that the gap was now 3:40, so we just needed to keep a good solid rhythm and baring any mechanical problems, we could do it.

On a couple of the rolling hills, I was struggling to hold Andrew's wheel he was going so well. No problems for the rest of the race, and we came across the finish about 7min ahead of the bunch. Andrew taking first place, and I took second. Gary Marescia took third place to round out the podium for Cyclelab.

Power-wise, this was my best ever race effort. We finished the race in 2h31, at a speed of 42km/h, and Normalised Power of 354w. Peak 60min NP was 377w.

Ride Magazine Crater Cruise - 101km MTB

This is one of the biggest MountainBike races in the country, and attracts plenty of roadies as well. It is relatively non-technical and fast - with much of the race on open sand roads.

This being the case, it is actually a very tough race. Long sections of corrugated dirt roads are incredibly draining, and the last 10km just seem to be 10km too far!

I did this race last year, and spent the following 3 days recovering! Having done the Epic this year, I was hoping that I would handle it a bit better. I hadn't ridden the mountainbike for a couple of months, so I wasn't really sure what to expect.

The start is a bit chaotic, with a long neutral zone. Everybody wants to be near the front when the sand roads start, so there is plenty of nervous braking and tyre touches going on. A short section of Jeep Track comes quite early in the race, which tends to break up the big bunch a bit. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a collision as the bunch hit the bottleneck and I got a bit delayed. Coming out of the Jeep Track section, I was in a small group not far from the leading bunch. We hit the first small climb at about 20km and the front bunch shattered. Things were getting a bit easier now, as the number of riders thinned out. The lead bunch was a lot smaller, and my chase group was about 8 riders at about 300m from the front bunch. It stayed this way for the nect 10km, until we hit the KOM climb. Right after this climb we turned off the road onto some narrow farm roads and Jeep Track and could no longer see the front guys.

The main climb comes at about 45km and is quite technical. Very steep and lots of loose rocks - not something I am very good at. I managed to stay with most of the guys in the chase group, but had a mechanical on the way down. My rear derailleur cable popped out of the frame cable guide and I had no rear gears. I had to stop and get it sorted out - losing touch with a lot of the guys in the chase group.

Fortunately, about 5km further there was a neutralised feed zone which a lot of riders stopped at. I was able to catch onto a group coming out of the feed zone. Now the tough part of the race began. A long section of single track (actually a quad bike course) along the river is very tough. Lots of short twists and turns, with plenty of humps which drain all momentum.

After the singletrack, there was planty of rocky dirt roads and undulating terrain, before finally popping out on the sand roads back to Parys. These roads are badly corrugated and the choice is between riding in soft sand on the sides, or corrugations in the middle.

A short section of tar precedes the last 10km of predominantly single track. At this point I was riding with a few of the DCM Chrome guys - Brandon Stewart having suffered a puncture and now just wanting to get home! I was actually feeling quite good, but we took a wrong turn, and ended up in the middle of a large field not sure which way to go. We could see some riders in the distance riding along the fence, so we headed that way over the veld, losing a couple more minutes.

By now I was really tired. The wind had picked up and I found myself alone, just trying to get to the finish. The last few km are all single track, but I was too tired to enjoy it. Finishing in 4h02 according to my Garmin. Would have been a good result had I brought my timing chip along.

BestMed Campus 2 Campus

I have never raced the Campus 2 Campus, so I was quite excited about this race. Even though I had a function the night before and only got home at 12:30am!

The race starts at the Vaal Triangle Technicon campus, heads out west, goes over Ertjiesberg, and the returns. So, it is predominantly flat, with the short sharp Ertjiesberg at about halfway. I was hoping for the wind, which could have a significant impact on this course, but it was not to be.

Getting to bed late the night before meant that I spent what little time I did have, tossing and turning and worrying that I would not hear my alarm. I had Issy's race numbers with me, so I was concerned that I would oversleep and he would drive al the way to the race and not be able to race!

Anyway, all was well, and I did not oversleep, but didn't feel on top of the world when I headed out at 5:00am.

The Vets 40+ category had a strong field, with Dimension Data, Boss Logistics, V&A all present and accounted for. Notable absentees were Anton Duvenhage and Andrew Mclean, but the field was certainly strong enough that this would not be an easy race.

We were missing Andrew Mclean, Kevin Prinsloo and Mark Thijs, but welcomed back Colin Germs and had unexpected support from Jurie Krige as well.

Once again, we had to make sure we had representation in every break, because we did not have enough riders to bring back a break containing guys like Jorge Faria, Gary Beneke and Martin Saunders. All went according to plan, with Issy getting into a 5 man break, containing Jorge Faria as well as one of the Dimension Data riders.

For a long time the break had only about a 40sec gap, and Dimension Data made a number of attempts to attack and get a rider across. I needed to make sure Gary or Martin didn't get across and that would be the end of the race for me. Fortunately I was able to respond to all their moves, and almost got across myself when I counter attacked Gary. After this, the race settled down and the gap grew to about 1m30sec.

My plan was to try to get away on my own over Ertjiesberg, and bridge to the break. This would take Gary and Martin out of the race. I attacked on the climb, and only one of the DiData riders responded. He dropped before the top and I was away on my own, with about a 1min gap to the break. Gary kept his team together up the climb, conserving resources for the chase on the other side. The descent had a bit of a headwind, and after 10 minutes I realised that the bunch was catching me faster than I was catching the break. I sat up and allowed the bunch to catch me, hoping that the chase would end and give the break (with Issy) a better chance of staying away. I bought the ticket, but didn't win the lottery.

Gary kept the chase going, putting pressure on the break, and soon we caught the VA bunch. Unfortunately, the VA bunch also influenced the break and soon everything was back together and the race was now maybe 15 riders strong.

A few half-hearted attempts to get away were made. Martin Saunders was always willing to have a dip, and a chirp as well! But it all looked like it would end in a bunch sprint.

Coming into Vanderbijlpark, plenty of attacks and counter attacks. The finish was a downhill tailwind, so I decided to go early and see if I could make it to the line. Looking at my power meter data, I clearly went too early (376m) and the sprint was quick. Reaching just under 70km/h! 4 riders came over me at the line, with Gary taking the win.

MTN Zoo Lake Crit 40+

The MTN Zoo Lake Crit is one of the very few crits we race, which is such a shame, because it is a spectator friendly form of road racing, and it's really intense as well.



We checked out the course the day before the race. This year the route would be raced in reverse. This meant that there was a shorter descent, and a longer drag. We were concerned that the speed of the drag would make it hard for anyone to get away, but fortunately on race day there was a nice tail-wind up the drag, taking away the draft benefit and forcing everyone to work hard.



The vets 40+ race was 25 minutes plus one lap. The plan was to make it as hard as possible right from the gun. Then, towards the end of the drag, attack when everyone was really hanging on. We knew that if we could get Andrew away, even with one or two other riders, he was more than capable of staying away to win.



The first lap started hard, with Kevin and Issy setting a hard pace. At the planned spot, I attacked and opend a gap and went really hard. The next section of the route had a headwind, but once I had a gap, the others would be forced to close it into a strong wind. Eventually, the gap got closed, but a lot of damage had been done. We applied the same recipe on the second lap, and this was enough to launch Andrew with one of the DiData riders. This was perfect for us, because it meant that DiData (one of the strongest teams in the field) would not contribute to closing Andrew down initially. A small chase group also formed, containing Issy Zimmerman, Bruce Reyneke, Jorge Faria, Gary Beneke and one or two other riders. I was in the main group.



After an easier lap, I saw that the chase group was only about 30sec in front of the main group, and nobody in the main group was keen to drive the pace. So, on Lap 4, I attacked the main group again, and got away on my own. I bridged to the chase group quickly. With no single team dominant in the chase group, there would always be some tactical games being played. So, I waited for one lap then attacked again, getting away with Gary Beneke. I wasn't confident that I would beat Gary in a sprint, but odds of getting a result were much better if I got away with him to the finish. By this time Andrew was 1 minute down the road, and had dropped the DiData rider so we had the win in the bag. Gary and I stayed away to the finish. With Gary taking second and myself third.