Being my first race, and second time on my new 29er, I was feeling
quite anxious but excited to see what all the hype about big wheels is all
about. If there was a perfect race to initiate the big wheels in, it was this
one. Flat and non-technical riding is not my biggest strength, and with the
infamous stretches of corrugated sand road, I knew I was in for a lot of pain.
I had seen reports on twitter about it having hailed the day before, but
luckily race day was perfect, not too hot with no dust and only one or two mud
patches.
I was lying in 6th place for the first half, with Therisa, Yolandi, Candice, Mariska and Karien ahead of me.
At +/- 50km in, I caught Karien, a good feeling considering her calibre and I have never been close to beating her in the past! I managed to stick with the bunch and was determined to pass her. After the half way mark, I snatched a lifesaving fresh bottle of USN Epic Pro from Jason. A few km later we reached an awesome single track section next to the river, the coolness of the shade and the enjoyment brought on a second wave. I passed Karien when she got stuck in a section of thick sand and used the single track to get ahead. Back on the district roads a few km later, I found Mariska Strauss in my sights, I closed the gap and latched on to the bunch, the pace was quick but sustainable, so I stayed there for a while. I saw an opportunity at the next single track section and got to the front so I could gain time in the technical bits where I do best.
This pacing myself thing seemed to be working really well, my legs were hurting but I was getting stronger as time went by and the kilometres on my Bryton Rider 40 were ticking away quickly. I was alone for most of the last 20km and pushed as hard to keep the gap on the other two. After a long section of corrugated road, some tar, and then grassy dual-track we reached a short steep climb that is basically just a big rock. More grassy dual track brought us over a railway where the finish was in sight. By this time I was ready for that finish line, my tank was now empty, so to speak. We went back over the railway, through about 5km of windy single track and through a farm to the finish.
I ended up with a fourth over-all in the ladies and third senior
female. I’m really happy with this result as it is my best of the MTN National
MTB series, I am closing the gaps with each race and have come a far way this
year.
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With a super early start, driving from Johannesburg, I was
struggling to stay awake in the car; I was hoping I would snap out of it before
the start of the gruelling 105km that lay ahead of me. True as Bob, the “red
mist” came over about 15 minutes before the start and suddenly I was full of
energy, race face engaged and ready to give it horns!
In the start pen I was standing amongst some of the best riders on
South Africa: Kevin Evans, David George, Therisa Rahlf, Candice Neethling,
James Reid, Brandon Stewert, Mariska Strauss, Adrien Niyonshuti, Phillip Buys, Jacques
Janse van Rensburg, Karien van Jaarsveld to name a few…
The start gun went off and we began the neutral zone which was
about 11km and seemed to take forever! As soon as we reached the dirt, everyone
zooted off at a crazy pace. I knew that if I went too hard in the beginning and
bonked 50km in, it would be a disaster; so I followed the advice of my sponsor
Jason Theunissen and coach, Paul Cordes and kept within my limits, I rode hard
but paced myself which paid off in the end!
I was lying in 6th place for the first half, with Therisa, Yolandi, Candice, Mariska and Karien ahead of me.
At +/- 50km in, I caught Karien, a good feeling considering her calibre and I have never been close to beating her in the past! I managed to stick with the bunch and was determined to pass her. After the half way mark, I snatched a lifesaving fresh bottle of USN Epic Pro from Jason. A few km later we reached an awesome single track section next to the river, the coolness of the shade and the enjoyment brought on a second wave. I passed Karien when she got stuck in a section of thick sand and used the single track to get ahead. Back on the district roads a few km later, I found Mariska Strauss in my sights, I closed the gap and latched on to the bunch, the pace was quick but sustainable, so I stayed there for a while. I saw an opportunity at the next single track section and got to the front so I could gain time in the technical bits where I do best.
This pacing myself thing seemed to be working really well, my legs were hurting but I was getting stronger as time went by and the kilometres on my Bryton Rider 40 were ticking away quickly. I was alone for most of the last 20km and pushed as hard to keep the gap on the other two. After a long section of corrugated road, some tar, and then grassy dual-track we reached a short steep climb that is basically just a big rock. More grassy dual track brought us over a railway where the finish was in sight. By this time I was ready for that finish line, my tank was now empty, so to speak. We went back over the railway, through about 5km of windy single track and through a farm to the finish.
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Even though the Crater Cruise is notoriously flat and corrugated,
the big wheels made it a lot more comfortable and faster I’m sure... I usually
prefer hilly technical races and the terrain of the Crater Cruise was not that
exciting but I loved the speed and learnt a lot during this race, like how to
pace myself and still finish with an empty tank, and that big wheels might just
be the way to go, even for little people… But I will only make my mind up on
that in about 2 weeks once I have experimented on all types of terrain, sounds
like fun!!
Check out my ride here http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView/2?id=1505261
recorded with my Bryton Rider 40.
Next race is the Nissan Trailseeker #4 at Van Gaalens Cheese Farm.
Until then, later!
Amy
Beth
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