MTN National #2 - Tulbagh

Finally a "home" race, apart from the 1hr30min drive and a one-night stay over on the Friday before the race, this weekend was personally well anticipated after the endless traveling over the past month and because it was also the second leg of the National mountain biking series. This would be my first time racing in Tulbagh of which I've heard endless mountain biking stories about. There is something about racing in the winelands that I really enjoy. I'm not sure if it because I simply feel like I'm on home soil or if its the privilege of riding on some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world amongst the fine wine producing vineyards.

The start was as usual for the National series events jam packed with the whose who of South African mountain biking and everyone was possibly a little more at ease after the racing season had already began a few weeks ago MTN National #1 Barbeton. Although there was a former world champion and Olympian, Burry Stander in the mix to shake things up!

Hence things got out of hand early into the race and the first King of the Mountains (KOM) climb saw the race split up. The almost "vertical" gradient composed of loose rocks made the riders look like we'd all enjoyed one too many bottles of the regions fine wine before the start as everyone swerved back and forth across the path trying to find traction to stay upright. At this point my chain unfortunately slipped off and got stuck between my cassette and spokes forcing me to hop off and put it back on. However, the steep gradient made it difficult for me to get back on the saddle and peddling again and I was left to run most of the way up. There after it was tough going with the constant change in pace navigating all the tight corners through the vineyards coupled with the short sharp change in gradients. The rough terrain was as unforgiving on the bike as to the body. A number of riders experienced mechanicals through this section before the first tech zone and unfortunately my Blend Property team mate Charles crashed out. I was welcomed to the first tech zone by my number one supporter to refuel positioned just outside the top ten.

Later in the race soon after the second tech zone in which I had roughly held my position and time gap to the leaders I then had to stop twice to inflate my front tyre. From here on the conditions became even harder as the heat became an additional factor to this already grueling race and the time gaps began to multiply. I had finished all my drinks and was desperately looking forward to the next oasis of tech zone 3. These ultras are all about pushing through various physical and emotional stages to get to the finish and this is what I did as we encountered some tough climbing in the last 30km. I saw quite a few riders ahead of me and managed to slowly overtake a few and by the time I reached the third and final tech zone to receive a much needed water bottle from Jayde I had worked my way back into the top ten. Unfortunately that wasn't to last as my body had given in within the last 5km and I experienced some leg seizing cramps and had to watch as our new Blend Property team mate, Ruan and Waylon Woolcock (RE CM) rode past me with 2km to go to the finish resulting in me crossing the finish line in 12th place.

Burry Stander (Specialized) managed to just overcome Kevin Evans (360Life) by a wheel length in the finishing sprint to take the win in an exciting fashion clearly displaying the healthy state of South African mountain biking at the moment. This is also due to the awesome work the Advendurance crew do in putting on these events for us to compete against each other in.

Next up its some worth while traveling to the other side of the country to Sabie, one of my favorite stops on the National calendar for the third round of the National series doubling as the first leg of the World Marathon mountain biking series. Expect some big names and even more exciting racing!