13th – 14th February 2010: Wartburg and Blythdale Super Classics

The weekend promised to be a busy one, with Wartburg and Blythdale Super Classics back to back on Saturday and Sunday. It was going to be a tough weekend, but also a good opportunity to get some racing into my legs before Sani2C (in an attempt to limit the suffering Craig is going to inflict on me!).

Wartburg had a good turnout of over a thousand entries, and a good Jeep presence on the start line, with Ryan, Matt Craig and I. The pace was furious from the line, with Matt demonstrating some of his residual road racing speed and power, heading up the pack. A group of about 7 of us stayed together for the first rolling 10kms or so, before Craig got serious. I had obviously gone far too far over redline on one of the short steep hills when the group split up, and found myself off the back – breathing blood. I was left in an unexceptional 6th, behind CP, David Lieman, Carl Calverly, Matt and Ryan respectively, and slightly worried that my Sani partner was setting the pace!

Over the next few kms I managed to get into a rhythm and reeled back Ryan, and then Matt on the only notable hill on the course. I could see Dave and Carl about a minute ahead with 5kms to go, and took a few risks on the epic final dual singletracks. I managed to bridge the gap to Carl by the line, but was spent from the chase, and had to resign to 4th in the dice to the line. Dave was about 20 seconds ahead in second, and CP about 1.30 up the road, taking the win.





Getting out of bed on Sunday morning at 5.30 was a bit of a mission after the long day on Saturday, but managed to pull myself out and get on the way down the coast to Blythdale. The event was a first timer on the calendar, but looks like it will be a regular feature in years to come with a special and diverse course, and Max and the A-Team in control of organisation.

Craig, Ryan and I were the only ones who had made it to the start line from the day before. Andrew Warr, Roan Exelby, Shaun Merridew, and juniors Brendon Davids and Luke Roberts shored up the compo. The pace was hot from the start, with Brendon making the rest of us slow starters hate him. After the first 10kms Andrew and Brendon were off the front, with CP a bit back – in Shaun and my sights. Shaun is always is always a good guy to be around in fast rolling classics with his huge power on the flats, an unselfish work ethic. We combined well together and reeled in Craig with 15kms to go. Quite surprisingly, Luke and Roan also popped into the group out of nowhere with 10kms to go. With their inclusion, the racing started in earnest, with attack after attack launched off the front.

Craig and I managed to forge a small gap off the front of the group in the hill last 5kms, which we held to the line. I finished 3rd, with CP 5 ticks back in 4th, and Shaun just behind in 5th. The high paced ending had brought Brendon into our sights, and he was 10 seconds ahead in 2nd on the line after a solid performance. Andrew Warr was the well deserved victor by about 2 minutes.

I was quite encouraged by my form on the second race of the weekend after a bit of a lacklustre performance at Wartburg, and a little less scared (stress on a little!) of the prospect of CP burning me at Sani2C. Next up is Sabie Ultra-Marathon Champs after a free weekend, which should be the next big test.

30th January - Barberton Ultra-Marathon

Craig, Brendon, Carl Calverly, Ryan Ellis up and I drove up to Barberton on the 29th of January for our first race of the season. We found our accommodation just outside Barberton at about midday and went off for a ride to loosen up our legs. For the rest of the day carbo-loaded commenced, and we ate huge quantities of food, always a bonus of doing 120kms the next day. The absence of any mothers or girlfriends was felt though, as Carl and I managed to grill the premade lasagne, making it a mix of plastic lasagne container and mince. We managed to salvage what we could, and topped up on anything else we could find.

For the first time Barberton wasn’t the opening round of the MTN National Marathon season, with the Attakwas in Oudtshourn being held 2 weeks earlier. Nevertheless, the race still seemed to have all the pressure and competition it’s had in previous years. All the big teams were present, and MTN and DCM’s numbers were even boosted by some of their best road riders. We were off at 7am at the usual furious pace ultra-marathons start at – always tough to hang in when you know you’ve got over a 100kms of hills to come! Craig and I managed to start the first hill (which is a mammoth 15km-1000m ascent bleed) with the front group, but were out the back about 200 meters up! With about 7 guys up front, we rode a steady pace up the hill.

Up the hill, our group’s numbers swelled as we caught some stragglers from the front group and other joined from behind. After what seemed like endless climbing, we hit the 15km technical downhill that took us to the 75km mark and feed zone. Craig decided to put the pressure on down the hill, making full use of his full suspension Epic. I followed him as best as I could, relying heavily on my full-sus, which gave me a competitive advantage, and a bit of misplaced bravery! Craig and I came through the feedzone with Rourke Crouser and Paul Cordes, and I think the four of us filled positions 6-10. Unfortunately we had arrived a bit earlier than expected, missing Ryan and Brendon whose race had just finished, who had planned to give us more juice and water.

Ride through the backroads of Barberton to the final 45kms, Craig popped of the group, closely followed by me. The murderous 15km hill (which really doesn’t end!) then finished us off, both of us hitting the wall. About 2 minutes in front of Craig, I just limited the damage, trying to find a steady tempo. On the hill the compo streamed past, and I was very relieved when I finally reached the summit. On the last undulating 30kms, every little drag seemed like a mountain, and it good to reach the finish line after 5h36 minutes. After the blow up on the climb on the final loop, Craig and I ended in 16th and 17th. Carl was just back in 18th, finishing strong. Upfront, Max Know destroyed the field, finishing 7 minutes ahead of Burry, who edged in front of Kevin in the final sprint.