With the dreaded sound of rain on the roof of the camper, the last day of the Pioneer dawned upon us. I however had the most awesome surprise with my girlfriend Ash and her family arriving, to support us on the final day, with me not knowing a thing about it! I think this helped us with an added bit of extra motivation.

The stage would be tough one, going straight up Montaqu pass at the start and then a fast run in to the finish.

Getting ready for the start.

Driving the pace.

The pass was amazingly beautiful (and hard!) and Oli and I found ourselves in a strong group including the Robert Daniel Momsen pair and Patroon (Petrus). As we went over the top I drove the pace and we soon picked up the Austrian Cube rider.

Oli and I now needed to put in a solid effort to the finish as with two teams ahead and many chasing, we wanted to make the podium on the final day. It was a big effort indeed with the rain and mud making matters bitterly cold, we also went straight through the feed stations to save time.

It worked! We came over the line in 3^rd place on the day, we had left it late but it was really worth it. It also meant that we would be on the podium for at the final Prize Giving dinner which would be great exposure for our sponsors Asrin Property Developers.

Stoked to be finished.

Bromance?

Stoked to be finished!

I must say I really enjoyed the Pioneer this year. The Dryland team really seem to be doing some right and it makes for a fantastic event. Thank you for having us.

I must also say a huge thank you to Asrin for really looking after us so well the whole week, our priority was to ride our bikes and we didn’t have to worry about much else with a great team around us. The vibe within the team was great and we had so much fun throughout the whole week!

To my partner Oli, thanks bru, you went deep this week and I think we made a great team, here’s to many races together in the future.

Also for the behind the scenes support from Nizaam and Hasi for advice and motivating us each day, to my parents for their wonderful support, to my girlfriend Ash and her family who supported me greatly and to all my friends for their sms’es and messages each day.

To all of my other fantastic sponsors namely Black Spade Racing, Dulce Café, PVM Nutrition, Squirt Lube and Sludge Sealant, thank you very much.

Sounds like a Grammy music award speech? Sorry about that 😉

TV Interview.

Celebrating 3rd place with the boys, Oli had trouble counting.

Stage Prize Giving.

Images Credit: Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek and Ash Smit