Karkloof & Sani2C

Hey ladies and gents, sorry for the late recap on what went down at Karkloof. We got a last minute entry into Sani2C. Before I get started on that, let me tell you about Karkloof.

For those of you that have never ridden the event, you are losing out on one of the best one day events in the world. I was asked what makes this event so special. To put it simply, the event caters for everyone, finding the balance between families and the professional athletes is a must, we get to race some of the most amazing trails in the world whilst the rest can enjoy the beauty of the Karkloof.

Getting back to the race. It was awesome to see all the big names ready and hungry to win. You would think with 60km of racing ahead we would ease into it. The pace was on from the gun, Brendon (TREK) and I set things up and by the top of the first climb we had opened a 20second lead. 

Then the fun started Brendon and I threw everything at it going down the Gauntlet. When we had reached the bottom we had just over a minute lead.

The major climb lebanon always decides the outcome of the race. Brendon and I crested together, unfortunately he had a mechanical at the top of the climb, I was left with a clear road ahead and a group of 5 chasing. 

I really wanted to win this event, ever since I was a kid watching Burry out sprint a group of seven riders to win his first Karkloof. Not much was going to stop me.

I ended the day with just over a 3min lead and most certainly one I will never forget.

If you haven’t done this event, DO IT.

Till next year!

Next up was Sani2C, I got the call Tuesday morning from our team owner asking if I wanted to race. Not many would turn down the opportunity to race arguably the best three day event in the country, if not the world. 

It was Trav’s first stage race and believe me I understand the nerves. This year saw the strongest field yet, every South African professional team was there. I believe Trav is one of the best talents this country has and the belief of a podium was by no means a far stretch of the imagination. 

Stage one was fast, Trav and I just missed the front split, we didn’t lose to much time on the leaders and the race was far from over. That evening we discussed how we planned to get back time on Stage two. Its easy making planes but implementing them is much harder then you would every believe.

Things turned out pretty much how we planned, against all odds. We had opened 3min gap down the famous umkomaas valley and stretched that lead to just over 4min with 10km to go. We were virtual leaders of the tour. All the hard work had been done, there was not a climb in sight. Then Trav hit the preverbal wall. It happens to the best of us and having a team mate who understands that is important. It was rather funny when I told Trav to grab hold of my pocket, he reply “ I can’t I’m to f#@$d” we ended the day in  5th. 3min 20 off 3rd overall

I was told its impossible to pull back that amount of time on the final day. I guess it was one of those “challenge accepted” moments. I went from the gun and got away with the TREK team. They didn’t do much work but, I guess thats racing. We didn’t end up winning the stage but we did move into 3rd overall. I am super chuffed with the result and thank you to my team mate and good friend, he left everything out there.

A big thanks to Shaun for making it all happen and for the continued support not only from him but the rest of my supporters.

UCI Marathon World Series.

Its not often that there is space in our schedule to race an ultra marathon and with the opportunity to qualify for world marathon champs later on in the year, I was pretty excited to race. Being a XCO racer the endurance would always be a factor. Trust me, 120km on a mountain bike at 2800m above sea level is tough.

The first 20km was fairly flat and fast, and the racing really started going up KOM. By the top, four of us had slipped of the front. The lead group slowly got bigger as riders clawed there way back. Things settled down and a group of ten riders made there way though the 50km water point. 

It wasn't long after that I felt my front tyre going flat which seemed strange as the marathon tyres we ride are pretty much puncture proof. I thought id ride it and hopefully the tyre would seal. It wasn’t long after that I lost all pressure. Thats when I realised the valve-core had come out. 

After removing a valve core from a spare valve I got going, I had lost the lead group and a fair bit of time. The race was far from over, surprisingly as the race went on I got stronger. Going through the 75km water point Renay Groustra and I started pushing on the pace. One by one we started catching riders. With 30km to go I was by myself and still pushing the pace, eventually I caught Arno in 6th. 

The last 5km we could see Andrew and Adriaan in 4th & 5th just up the road. Unfortunately I couldn’t close the gap and ended the day in 7th, most importantly qualifying for World Marathon Champs.