I stood on the start line for my first MTN
Barberton Half Marathon with shaky legs hearing stories about the beastly climb
just outside of the Neutral Zone. It was a rough week recovering from a bad
crash and concussion at last weekend’s USN Cup #1. My expectations weren’t very
high... never the less, we (me, Jacques Pretorius, Catherine Colyn and Michelle
Benson) were prepared to challenge the Barberton Beast in our brand new a[s]g
PY-cycling kit.
It was a relief to get the race started.
Neutral Zone was warm up and mental preparation time for the climb to come. I’m
glad I used my first High5 gel sachet in that time. Within the first 500m of
the never ending 12km climb, four of us had already broken away. The three
29inch wheels started disappearing ahead of me. It is hard to keep your
attention focused on riding in such pretty terrain when you are all alone in
the Pine Woods of Barberton. Hoping and praying after every switchback that
this would be the last, the High5 kicked in halfway up! Every sip made me feel
stronger and I caught my first 29er at the top of the beast, moving into 3rd
position. Happy to have made it to the top – Feeling sorry for my team mates
making their way up!
The descent was some good hair raising fun.
Stoking it down as fast as possible to make up as much ground as I could to
stay ahead of the 29er’s with my tiny 26inch Pinarello. Staying focused and
keeping your fingers on the brakes were of great importance! Never before have
I come across downhills with 6 arrows pointing downwards (warning boards). It
was a nice surprise finding the Epic Sports crew halfway giving some needed and
appreciated support. Still in third and going strong. Without noticing, I
emptied my bottle of High5 2:1 around 25km into the race and had a hot and
thirsty mission to the finish.
During the mission to the finish, the Beast
provided us with some mud (which I got stuck in). Luckily I had some newly
fitted Crank Brother egg beater 3 pedals and with no hassle clipped my SiDi’s
back in after the muddy excursion. The Beast was a little gracious too, giving
us river crossings to cool down the burning legs. Having an empty bottle caught
up to me 10km from the finish and entering the last stretch of bumpy single
track just made it worse. By 5km I had hit the wall. Hunger Knock! Sadly I lost
my podium spot by a sip of supplement. Just shows how important it is to have
enough to eat and drink during a race for sustained energy!
It ended as a great weekend with some good
positions for the team (well done to Catherine with her win), some bad luck for
others but still an enjoyable, yet short camping trip bonding with the new
a[s]g PY-Cycling family. Thanks to ALL. Looking forward to and incredible year
and tackling the XCO Provincials this coming weekend!
Nicholas Popich
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