The highs and lows of a professional athlete

The first part of this was written two nights before the french world cup, I read over it now and it overwhelms me how it relates to my world champs result. 

Many people including myself ask the question, why are the Europeans so much faster then us?! Last night whilst driving in circles looking for my accommodation and today riding 3km up a pass with my bag of shopping strapped to my shoulder. It was clear this isn’t normal, I didn’t see any europeans doing shopping, carrying bags full of groceries, worrying about budget.

So I ask, how much of a advantage is it to be in your comfort zone off the bike. In my opinion thats pretty much all it is, this separates us from them. Its uncomfortable for many traveling in foreign countries. The cost of living, language barrier and so many factors make most of us feel uncomfortable. Not much is being done by responsible parties to make racing our bikes in Europe the priority.

We have so much talent in our country it frightens me. The numbers we do in training are on par with some of the best in the world. Yet we seem to struggle?

Today on track I saw several national teams training. All with the sole purpose of gathering olympic points for their country. Keep in mind olympics is two years away. Plans are in place, the belief in there athletes is there.

It seems a little unfair that my sponsors pay for me to gather points for our federation. Parents spending there life savings on there kids dreams. In my eyes thats not a pretty picture.

Im fortunate I have worked hard and never given up on my dream, my sponsors understand all my concerns and collectively we are working around these problems, we understand the importance of being comfortable so when the time comes to be uncomfortable on the bike we are mentally and physically ready.

I was confident all week leading into the french world cup, its difficult to explain but when you on it, you most certainly know it. I had been doing some great numbers since joining since2sport, with Johns help I knew exactly where I was physically.

The start was no different to the rest, the only thing on my mind was fighting for the next wheel. You get to the point where your mind, body and pain either get the better of you, or you over come it and realise the possibilities. On lap three I knew I was having a stormer, I was ticking them off one by one and soon in the twenties. I have always believed I could do it but not as a first year elite. On lap five I could see a group of nine riders 20sec up the road. Only a cyclist would understand that feeling. 

AND YES I FLATTED, it wasn’t a side wall cut but the valve core had come loose. I didn’t realise that was the problem so as soon as I used my Co2 the valve core blew completely off. I managed to ride a lap on the rim and put a new wheel in at the tech zone. I finished the day in 34th. I can honestly say I am proud of this result. 

This is where the first part of my blog comes into play. Leading into world champs I was out of my comfort zone, off the bike. I know many of you wont understand it but cyclist are best described as a well made swiss watch, all it takes is one lose part and we are out of sync. Gone are the days off putting a bad result down as experience. We need to understand why and make sure it never happens again, not on the big days, but on the days that really count. 

Far too much was out of sync leading up to World Champs, a big crash in training left me in pieces, too much travel time, the list goes on. I could sit writing for hours explaining but whats done is done and we will make sure we control the controllable next time. My end result was 56th, far from what we believed was possible. 

Looking back there was so much positive that came out of my final European trip, Friends, Family and sponsors now believe its possible to ride through the field and soon into the teens. I cannot wait for the new World Cup season.

The trip home always seems a lot longer when things don’t go your way.

I was back 24hrs and Trav and I were off to PE for the four day stage race, Plett2Pe. I knew Trav was in great condition, you can see the glow of confidence in a athlete when he knows he is on good form. It was almost like he couldn’t wait to pay me back for how much I hurt him at Sani2C. Day 1 was long and we both suffered. We didn’t go there just to win, we went there to race our bikes and that we did. Everyday we climbed on our bikes and raced them as if we only had a 10 second lead.

Early on in day 3 we had a mechanical. It was amusing watching Trav get his panties in a knot. After calming him down and fixing our mechanical it was a simple case of patience. Trav wanted to go harder and I had to talk him though it. It was truly a great event and I know why Victor created the Vipa. The bike was built for those conditions.

A huge thanks to the Momsen crew for sorting us out each day. 

Till Next time 

Learning to love the science of cycling

Learning to love the science of cycling. Each to his own but at this level, who we surround ourselves with makes the difference. 

I thought whilst I have a bit of time on my final flight to Geneva, I'd give you a short recap on the past months racing, and travels up to now. 

I know reading race reports can be boring, so I'll keep it short and sweet. Eston Classic is a big one for the team, being a KZN based team we take pride in the event. It almost seems as we have to win it. I knew I was in good form, a slight change in metal approach and coach has made a huge difference. The sport has become a science. You see athletes pitch up on a start line and think all they do is train, race and maybe win, I wish! Each and every day is analyze. Tweaking certain elements to gain a watt or two. Yes even I think that's crazy!

Getting back to the event, impyEvents has to be a leader in there field. Understanding the importance of keeping the professionals as well as the weekend warriors happy is a job I'd hate to do. I think they hit the spot every time. Thank you👍

Again there was a massive turn out, if I'm not mistaken 4000 riders😳. The golden rule of winning Eston is to win the KOM. It's almost a given if you win the KOM you will win the race..... Almost😁

I had a big block of training in my legs (thanks to John) I couldn't get away, I tried my luck several times but each time Brandon and Max were there. I couldn't let Brandon beat me in a sprint again😉...  In the last 10km, roughly 20 different ideas of how to win ran though my head, over and over again. Luckily I picked the right one😁 and happily defended my title🏆. 

Next up was the Clover road tour, I must say I hadn't been that excited to race in years. That soon changed after day one I seriously doubted my road riding ability. After data analysis I realized the cadence destroyed me. On the MTB our AV rpm is roughly 80. On stage one I averaged 97 rpm, by the time we hit the climb I had nothing. 

After day one the engine was ready, I haven't felt that good on a bike in years and it just got better day after day. I loved every minute of it and it left me feeling confident heading off to Europe. I must say I'm pretty bleak about missing out on the points jersey by ONE point.

I'll try my best to write something small each day, while I'm in Europe.  

✌️✌️

ELITE NATIONAL CHAMPION.

The not so glamorous side of a professional athlete, seven hours drive home. On the up side, I am the elite XCO champion😁 and I have more then enough time to give you guys a short recap of how I felt.

First off we were pretty stumped as to what bike to ride. The Vipa was built for those conditions and the SL929 weighed in at sub 8kgs. We didn't take the decision lightly, beating James on this track was going to be tough. 

Let me briefly explain how we went  about choosing the correct bike for the day. We did four laps on track with a Power Tap, two on the SL929 and two on the Vipa. Went home and compared the data, after lots of questioning and analysis we decided that less weight was more beneficial.

A good start was important setting the pace on the first lap has many advantages, I did just that. I had the control, exactly where I wanted to be. James rolled though on lap two, I knew if he didn't ride away here the race would go all the way to lap six. James is a great athlete, fitness wise we are on par. This race I believed would be won in the mind. Who ever wanted it most would win. 

Half way though lap 4 things were neck and neck we were throwing everything at one another. I could feel his pain and and sure he could see mine. I clipped a rock on one of the descents and heard I had cut my rear tire. I stopped right away and made sure the cut had sealed 100% before I climbed back on the bike, a spectator shout " James was 15sec ahead" around the next corner I saw him on the side of the track wheel out trying to fix a puncture. 

To be honest I had mixed emotions, I wanted to beat him fare and square but at the same time I was now in a commanding position. 

Going onto lap five I had over 3:30 lead, that's when I knew it was time to ride well within myself. Follow the same procedure I would on any other day.

Before I knew it I was coming into the start finish straight for my first elite National Championship title. Believe me, it hasn't taken a year or two to get here, I have been doing this my whole life. Through the good and the bad my dream nor dedication hasn't changed. 

Part of a great athlete is his support crew, sponsors, parents, coaches, girlfriends and most importantly a team manager. All these people add to the success of a athlete. 

Thank you to everyone that has been there from the start. I will wear the Green and Gold with pride. 

FINAL ROUND OF SA CUP series "Hayterdale"

After a consistent first half of the season, I was confident going into the final round of the SA Cup series. We arrived to a cold and wet PE on Thursday morning, unpacked our bikes and went for a short ride. Thanks to Marco and his family for having us over on Thursday evening. The rest of the team arrived Friday morning, we had the privilege of meeting at the TWT warehouse. Victor gave us the low down as to how things work and then headed out to the track for a few practice laps.

The track hadn't changed from the pervious year. Tight turns, narrow single track and not much climbing. We would be racing seven laps of the 4,2km course. I didn’t have a great start, fourth wheel into the single track. Phil first, Gert second and Beukes third. Gaps opened and I was left 20seconds off the pace after lap one. On a good day it would be hard to chase down Phil, but on this track it seemed impossible. Juniors were on course at the same time and passing large groups was a nightmare. 

By the end of lap two I had moved into 2nd place with only Phil up the road. I believed I could close down the gap, but it didn’t happen. He took his opportunity when it counted most. I ended the day in second place. I can’t be unhappy with a podium in all three rounds I competed in.

It was a good outing for the Kargo Pro team. The only concern was the lack of spectators at the event, not only for the athletes but for the sponsors. In order for our sport to grow CSA need to work hand in hand with the athletes and teams. It doesn’t help having national event 100km away from the nearest town.

I look forward to this upcoming weekend where I turn my focus to the world Marathon Champs…...

First Euro trip for KARGOPROTEAM.....

World cups #3 #4

It's that time of the season again, when you pray for those magical four open seats on your flight to Europe, When you spend more time is hotels and planes then you do on your bike and far to much time worrying about training. 

It's really difficult to find the balance between sleep, travel and riding. Overdo either one and you will pay the price. The trip started out with a flight to Prague, followed by car rental and a short 1hr drive to Nove Mesto. As usual upon entering the town you get the World Cup vibe. In my opinion one of the best World Cups on the calendar. The only down side of the town is the lack of healthy food,other than that it's beautiful.

Thursday was my first day on track. Not much had changed from 2013 and what a cracker of a course. The long straights didn't suit my riding style but  still one of the best courses on the WC circuit. I had more then enough to get over the flight and practice the course before Sunday. I was confident going into the race. Mentally I felt strong and my body was prepared to suffer. 

The start was crazy, they say the U23 age group prepares you for elite level racing, I felt like a fish out of water. Everyone looks bigger, faster and fitter. You could feel the tension going down the start straight. Brakes burning, tires screaming and the odd sound of carbon and aluminum hitting the tar. 

Making it round the start loop unharmed is a relief, but looking up at the start finish banner and seeing six laps to go takes every little bit of relief away. The opening lap, is the hardest part of any WC. Everyone is fighting for that one position better, do the math 160 athletes all fighting for one position better. It's carnage out there and yes, I wouldn't change that feeling for the world. 

It took me two laps to get into the race and by lap three my heart was out my mouth and I was part of the race. One long line separated myself in 57th till 30th. Now I know why they say every second counts. 15seconds and you move up from 57th to 50th. 

I ended the day in 57th. I know a lot of you might think it's not that's great. 57th in the world as a first year elite, not a bad way to start the season.

Next up on the schedule was Albsadt Germany. 190m of climbing in 3,9km sums up the track perfectly. I have had one of my best World Cups on this track, so you can imagine how much I was looking forward to the fight come race day.

Unfortunately this time it went horribly wrong from the start. I was taken out by another athlete jumping off his bike, it wasn't a high speed crash but I fell awkwardly on my knee. I tried standing up and my leg collapsed underneath me.  That was It, game over for me. Very disappointing, so much hard work goes into this and to be taken out on the start loops sucks. 

Looking back a at the trip I realize the significance of what we accomplished, the first African UCI MTB team alongside some of the best teams in the world. A huge thanks to Shaun and all involved.

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.