MTN Gravel Travel; SA Marathon Champs in Wellington - Amy McDougall

I was in two minds about doing SA Champs as I couldn’t afford flights and accommodation but really wanted to do it. About a week before the race, I found a special on flights, and my aunt who lives in Cape Town offered for Yolande and me to stay with them over the weekend.
I was excited as I had never raced and barely ridden that side of the world. I love hard marathon racing. I was amped for the challenge that lay ahead!

Yolande and I arrived in Cape Town on Thursday morning at 9 20. The weather was nippy but beautiful and sunny. Looked like a perfect weekend ahead! Right..?

Thursday and Friday’s weather was so stunning in Cape Town, it was hard to believe the predictions for Saturday were all: very cold, very windy and rainy. This would add a nice twist to the already challenging course set out for us!

As I opened my eyes at 5am on race day, low and behold, I was greeted by the sound of rain and wind, and the cold was almost audible! I found myself wondering: Uh, what am I doing?? Parting with my bed was a feat in its self. Half of me wanted to roll back over, but no, over 1800m of climbing and endless amounts of Single Track lay ahead… I had a good feeling about this one; it was going to be epic!

My Team Edition Ghost XX fitted with Ritchey, Sram, Crank Bros egg beater peddles and Continental tyres; was packed, and ready for whatever the elements and Mother Nature (who seemed to be on PMS) had to through at us! 

I slipped into my Decca kit, groggily downed a bowl of oats and coffee with Yolande before setting off on our adventure.
The drive from Cape Town took us an hour and a half; it was dark and rainy the entire way, the car swerving from the wind at times. Uh, what am I doing??

Luckily the rain had stopped and it was semi-light by the time we got to the race venue but it was freezing. All the big names in Mountain biking were there, all hungry for that SA Champ jersey! I was anxious on the start line, the field was super strong and I was not quite sure what to expect.

As the whistle blew we immediately started climbing the longest climb of the day. The leading group of ladies consisted of Cherise Stander, Ariaan Kleinhans, Ischen Stopforth and Therisa Rahlf. I found myself not too far behind in fifth. I maintained this position till about 50km in. I was pushing hard; the uphills were steep and painful, but totally worth the effort when the downhills came! The single track was phenomenal, it was super smooth and bermed so you could just fly through it sometimes literally! This course was very challenging but I was in my element!  

Mariska Strauss caught me and I started feeling the beginnings of cramps in my right leg. Putting less pressure on the right leg only started the left leg going… I carried on for about 10 km before having to stop and stretch it out. 

To my relief the cramps stopped, this was about when the rain started properly. With 15km to go, I slipped on loose sand around a corner causing my tyre to burp. For some reason, a faulty bomb adapter or maybe a combination of nerves and frozen, fumbly fingers, I couldn’t get the thing to work. Eventually I got help from a guy with a broken bike. By the time I got going, I had lost 3 places, the chances of me gaining them back in the last 15km were minimal but I fought back as hard as I could.

I was upset about losing those positions, but I rode my heart out and this was definitely one of the best mountain biking experiences of my life!  I have made huge improvements in my performance since the beginning of the year and I am looking forward to new challenges, more exciting experiences and getting better and better!

The race was extremely well organised by Advendurance, the course was exceptional, no problems with the markings and no bottle necking. Big congrats to Cherise Stander for taking the honours in the ladies race, and Max Knox in the men’s Ultra marathon. Also, Kudos to everyone who dragged themselves out of bed for the race, I’m sure it was well worth it!

Until then, keep the rubber side down, later!