After a day to forget on day one of the Dutoit Tankwa Trek, to finding my legs on the second stage to a surprising result which I am stoked about the race really has come a full circle for me. I snuck onto the podium in 3^rd place with the Bull’s hot shot profis Urs Huber and Karl Platt grabbing the top two steps. Convincingly I might add.

 

The 3^rd and final stage had somewhat of a different take to it. It was shorter at just 63km but we would ride 26km in a neutral procession, to where the stage proper would start. The poetic side of me related this to the Tour riders leisurely pedalling into Paris on the final stage, sipping on champagne before the final business, laps on the Champs Elysees started, in our case, one last lap in single track heaven around the Koue Bokkeveld.

 

We rode some truly phenomenal single track on the third and final stage. I boxed smart, spending my penny’s wisely. Fortunately I had my super back up team at the 2^nd water point and topped up the energy and morale levels from their support. From here it was a good 30km to the finish line. Racing with teams and individuals adds a somewhat different dynamic to it and it takes a day or two of working out who is involved in which race. I had thus calculated I was in 3^rd on the day but you can never know for sure. Being on my own for the final 30km resulted in me riding a consistent, hard effort all the way to the line. I wanted to eliminate the possibility of having some of the other solo guys catching back up to me, and having to dice in the closing kilometres. The gap which I built would also allow me a minute or two’s respite should I have any mechanical incidents.

 

 

Water point replenishment.

Image Credit: Kirsten Smit

Image Credit: Oakpics

I was pleased to hold the chasing group of 3 solo guys: Nic Lamond, Oli Munnk and Waylon Woolcock at bay and get a foot onto the podium on the final stage.

 

I know I have raved about the exceptional quality of Dryland’s events day in and day out. I can assure you they are NOT paying me to say this and if you have a look at the Tweets they have received it only confirms what I have said. Dryland certainly have set the bar high with this race and hopefully other race organisers can follow suit. A big thank you to the race sponsors notably Dutoit, Wilde and Kaleo Manor, without whom this race would not be as big a success as it was.

 

This coming weekend I head upcountry to Sabie to take on the MTN Sabie Ultra Marathon which also doubles as a UCI World Marathon Series race.

Loving the Merida Big 99 Team.

Image Credit: Oakpics

After a day to forget yesterday I am pleased to report that the legs seemed to have come around overnight, thankfully.

 

Yesterday was a tough one for me, not quite feeling like I know I should and being much further down than I would have liked, it left me questioning what I was doing as a bike rider. The mind games start, as they usually do and I couldn’t quite pinpoint the reason as to why I was feeling like I did.

 

Fortunately I have travelled with Team Bosal and their off the bike their antics have kept the morale high. The rally drive to dinner after getting lost and the constant friendly banter helped take my mind off things. I have mentioned Team Bosal before, although I should probably dedicate a blog post solely to them in the future to bring the readers up to speed, so to speak with the nature of the relationship and how the name of this team was derived.

 

This morning we were once again we were off to a fiery start, with the speed high the front group was whittled down to the usual protagonists. This time, I was there too, not just hanging on for dear life but comfortably. The descent down the escarpment, towards Ceres, was on a newly constructed section of single track. This trail was crafted by local farmers: Mauritz Walters and Fred Lingenvelde and their workmanship was exceptional. I found myself sandwiched between the pairing of Martin Gujan and Ralph Naef… No pressure having a former XCO World Champion hot on your rear wheel…

The lead group early on.

Image Credit: Zoon Cronje

The peak of the Merino Monster at casual 1700m above sea level.

Image Credit: Zoon Cronje

 

The group split and rejoined a couple of times until the decisive moves on the climb back up the escarpment went. The warm up if you will, for the beast, the Merino Monster that hungrily awaited our arrival. The 8km beast saw us ascending 800 vertical metres, on mostly good road but some sections ramping up to 18% in the exposed heat had us begging for mercy.

 

The rugged, technical descent allowed no respite but once we were off it, 10km lay between the finish line and the riders. I had kept Stefan Sahm within 45seconds going up the Monster and now set about trying to close that gap on the flatter roads to the finish. Despite a good effort, if I may say so myself, Sahm held me off and finished some 15 seconds ahead of me at the line.

 

It was not an easy day out by any means but the riders will most certainly agree it was a rewarding one. Hopefully I can carry the good legs through the final stage tomorrow.

 

Results:

Teams:

 

1. Bulls 1 – Stiejbahn & Bohme
2. Trek Racing – Reid & Davids
3. Fairview Elite – Louw & Looser
4. Greenhope – Naef & Gujan
5. Cannondale Blend powered by Red E – Keey and Lill

 

Solo:

 

1. Urs Huber (Bulls)
2. Karl Platt (Bulls)
3. Waylon Woolcock (Cannondale Blend powered by Red E)
4. Chris Wolhuter (Sponsor needed 😉  )
5. Jurgens Uys (Contego)

The lead bunch in the morning light.

Image credit: Zoon Cronje

 

Day one of the Dutoit Tankwa Trek certainly marked the running of the Bulls. A full squad of the German team arrived on the start grid and took matters into their own hands from the gun, controlling the race and keeping the speed high.

 

This translated into putting me in the hurt box and keeping me there for quite some time. Visions of myself sitting in the leading bunch, watching the big boy’s trade punches, ended just under an hour into the four hour stage for me. The lights were on but no one was home today. Essentially, it ended up being a good hard slog through the Koue Bokkeveld. It was however made more pleasurable aboard my new beast, the Merida Big 99 Team issue bike and when the opportunity arose I took in the beauty of the surroundings.

 

Nonetheless, it is fantastic to be back at a Dryland event and be looked after so well. The dining at these races is on another level to their competitors and with hard days of back to back racing I am taking full advantage of this. This is just one aspect of where Dryland have got it right, attention to detail and looking after their customers, the riders, ensures that their repeat business is exceptionally high.

 

One must also consider that this race is only in its second year and having gone from less than 100 riders last year to selling out at 350 riders this year it is phenomenal. Growth has not only been number wise but the quality of the field has improved drastically too. As I mentioned the Bulls arrived with a full squad of some 6 riders competing in an assortment of teams and individuals. BMC’s Ralph Naef teamed up with Martin Gujan and the Euro-African partnerships comprised of Konny Looser together with Adriaan Louw and Erik Kleinhans teaming up with Frantisek Rabon under the RECM-Specialized banner. The South African contingent certainly came to the party too with a full squad from the Cannondale Blend team, Charles Keey and Darren Lill riding as a team and Waylon Woolcock solo. Reid and Davids joined forces under the Trek-Privateer banner. The solo category was bolstered with Cape locals Jurgens Uys and Oli Munnik. As you can see I could go on and on…

 

The bulls took top honours in both the teams and solo categories with Trek-Privateer the second team and the podium rounded out by the Cannondale Blend duo. I mustered up a 7^th in the solo cat, a couple more minutes down than I would have liked to be.

 

Time to put the legs up, reload the engine and tomorrow we try again. Another running of the bulls or will we see another pairing step up and take the role of the matador? Time can only tell.

 

Results:

Teams:

 

1. Bulls
2. Trek Privateer
3. Cannondale Blend powered by Red-E

 

Solo:

 

1. Urs Huber
2. Karl Platt
3. Wayloon Woolcock

 

 

 

 

With bikes loaded on the back of the car and the excitement building, the Dutoit Tankwa Trek start is just hours away now. By excitement I mean trips (yes that’s right with an ‘s’ at the end) to the pain cave. Rumour has it, that as a reward the local boere have built some exceptional single track to compensate us for the suffering.

 

The second edition of this premier stage race sold out last week, and from what I have heard for good reason too. No doubt with Dryland being the event organisers it will surely be another great weekend of racing in the Koue Bokkeveld.

 

I will be taking on the race in the solo category, i.e. if I lose my sh!t out in the Karoo, there will be no-one to help me. I’m a big boy though; I should be fine and will have a front line seat to the battles between the big boys each day. On paper, the first two stages look anything but easy with a shorter, although I’m sure if reputation is anything to go by, not necessarily easier run in to the finish on the 3^rd and final stage come Sunday.

 

Once again we will have a rock star line up on the grid. The rumours of another euro invasion on the race, has not being taken lightly by the South African pros, who will want to prove their mettle on home dirt. It does also mean, scarily, that we may be subject to replays of 90’s euro dance music each night in the race village. Which will cause more suffering? I’m not sure…

 

Many teams will be using the event as their first major test for the upcoming Cape Epic. Thus it will clearly show who is in tune with each other and which partners are no longer on speaking terms at the end of the three day extravaganza in the Koue Bokkeveld. As mentioned the route profiles and descriptions sound anything but easy. Thus not only will team dynamics be tested but fitness levels too, either all is on track or you may be considering selling that Epic entry come Monday morning.

 

With myself and many others being virgins to the event I’m not quite sure what we have all got ourselves into. Surely though, it will be another awesome weekend of mountain biking in the African bush. I’ll keep the news coming each day, relaying our adventures to you lot stuck in civilisation.

 

You can also follow the race action on the official Twitter account here.

What a welcome back to the fat tyres. The Fairview Attakwas Extreme Ultra Marathon was in all respects extreme. With the race being one of the hardest one day mountain bike races in the country, I knew that in some twisted way it would be the perfect way back in. After all, if I did the hardest race first, the others would be easier, right?

 

In all seriousness, the boys came out to play on Saturday morning. I could spend the rest of this post rattling off the names on the start grid and their respective palmeres. I’ll keep it short and sweet though. Team Specialized arrived with Mr Sauser and roadie-mountain biker newcomer, Frantisek Rabon(with something like 10 Grand Tours under his belt), the Bulls with a squad of 5 spear lined by none other than Karl Platt and Urs Huber. A certain Manual Fumic (Cannondale Factory Racing) made the start line but decided some 40km in that it was a bit longer than a XCO race.

 

The local contingent was also strong; Team RECM, Cannondale Blend and Fedgroup Itec all put strong squads on the grid, along with a host of individual riders, all strong and on their given day could throw a spanner in the works. And then I was there, not quite sure what to expect of what was to come.

 

Attakwas before.

 

The front group set off, followed by a dust cloud and slowly ramped up the speed until there were just 10 left, some 20 clicks in. I had just made an exit from the front group, realising that I would not be able to sustain that pace all day and tried to find a group to make the arduous trek through the Attakwas Kloof with.

 

I could not write this post without mention of the Monster Truck. The Monster Truck is my girlfriend’s Dad’s spare bike, an aluminium Specialized Epic, about 3 years old with triple chain rings. The Monster Truck has become my temporarily adopted bike over the last few weeks. It is a trusty steed although I was too nervous to weigh her before the race, trying to fool myself into believing she was lighter than she actually is(Come Sunday afternoon at home I found out she topped the scales at 13.2kg!).

 

Now back to the triple chain rings, some of my compatriots in the Attakwas Kloof section were running the new 1×11 gearing ratio and some the home made 1×10 ratio. I have not yet tried the 1×11 but I can say that I did manage to ride away from them on the steep rocky climbs in the Kloof. The common argument I hear is that if you have to walk (because it is too steep/loose with the 1×11) then you will not be faster riding, if you were to say have a double chain ring (in my case triple). I however rode away from my compatriots while they were run/walking. As I said I have not yet tried it but perhaps for marathon racing it is not perhaps the complete solution, especially if you have not yet figured out your correct gearing ratios.

 

Anyway, back to the action. I emerged from the Attakwas Kloof at the famous Spur Burger water point, politely declined a burger in exchange for a spray of water and set off on my way again. I was cramping badly and trying to manage efforts so as not to go too deep to set off the cramps again, but also hard enough to hold of my pursuers who I figured may be combing on the dirt roads.

 

Through the second last water point and after downing a Red Bull (lifesaver), a huge thank you to my girlfriend Ash who was the best seconder on the day! Ash played a big role in ensuring that energy levels were well managed all while maneuvering the car through tight spots, with a trailer on the back! I was yo-yoing off the back off the RECM pair of Luus and Bell and eventually had Adrian Enthoven for company.

 

I was now in damage control big time with the cramping and could not be of much assistance to Adrian over the last few kilometres. He eventually rode away from me on the second last climb and I managed to pull myself towards the finish holding off the chasing riders to finish 18^th, a somewhat respectable result. I am content, knowing where I am in my training and racing against some of the world’s best.

 

Time to ramp up the efforts and prepare for the next foray onto the dirt.

Attakwas after.

Images credit: Ash Smit

What may have seemed to be weeks away, just the other day, is now upon us. The race season.

 

Gone are the base rides with regular stops to leisurely sip on a couple of cappuccinos, in exchange for the taste of blood in your throat.

 

Yes with the race season on the cards, intervals too are back in full swing. The first road race of the season has come and gone. I have saved my virginity for the Fairview Attakwas Extreme, a wise decision? Maybe not, but it will definitely be a rude awakening.

 

In all seriousness, training has gone quite well. It is still early in the build phase and I am not expecting fireworks come Saturday morning, when I line up on the dirt in Oudtshoorn.   A mighty 121km and 2900m of ascent lie’s between us and the finish line in Groot Brak, hopefully later that day… Did I mention the Attakwas Kloof? Two words which may cause many a sleepless night amongst racers, a: rough, rocky, undulating section of jeep track through a beautiful valley (if you get a chance to look at the view) where the race attributes its name to.

 

The last few weeks, as I mentioned have gone fairly well training wise. I kicked off things again in Cape Town. It was great to be on familiar roads again until I swapped them out for the roads in KZN. I was back in Hilton for Christmas with the family and had a great time.

 

It wasn’t quite back to Cape Town yet before I joined Ash and her family in Knysna over the remainder of the festive season. Knysna afforded some great mountain biking, including the 7 passes road and the new Garden Route Trail Park. If you are in the area check it out, it is well worth the visit. I was also afforded the privilege of riding with a certain Mr James Reid and being subjected to his noteworthy quotes such as: “With this mist it looks just like Narnia bru” on early morning pedals.

Knysna Lagoon.

Mid ride refuel on Mr Evan’s famous Plett group ride.

Image Credit: Kevin Evans

 

As I write I have been back in Cape Town for a good two weeks now, catching up with the boys and logging in a couple of efforts. It’s back on the road tomorrow as we head down to Oudtshoorn for the season opener. As my first mountain bike race, racing at the sharp end in over a year, it should be interesting to say the least. Winding back the clock, Oudtshoorn does however provide good racing memories with the O-Man at the 2012 Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek where we secured 3^rd overall.

 

Until next week, I suspect the next post may require some extra coffee to get out, after the mammoth task that awaits on Saturday morning.

Waking at a time usually reserved for red eye flights or South African road races, Charlie and I loaded his Polo, and I mean loaded with two 29ers, a big gazebo and make up bags, and then were on our way to the Welvenpas Trails in Wellington for the Club Cannondale ride that morning.

 

There was talk of a ride with the pros, free donuts and coffee and I was sold! A few minutes later, screeching up the first climb, with my heart rate hitting a 180 beats. I thought this wasn’t quite what I had signed up for. A certain Manuel Fumic had joined the ride, with him cruising along at a ‘medio’ pace, add a few local youngsters keen to show him how strong they were and the result was me doing an unplanned threshold session!

 

I came to my senses a short while later and cruised along at my own pace, enjoying the rad trails on the new Welvanpas black route. One of the great things about base riding is that with no races on, we are able to go and explore new trails which we are not always able to do in the full on race season. The new route is a tough one, but the climbing is rewarded with flowing, fun trails. In places it can get tricky and when combining the loop with the existing white loop, you are in for quite a tough day’s worth of riding. If you’re busy training for the Cape Epic or any similar such races I would suggest venturing out there for a day.

 

A week later, at a slightly more reasonable hour I was again off to explore some ‘fresh’ trails. Perhaps not truly ‘fresh’ in that I lived in Stellenbosch for 5 years and Jonkershoek was an old hunting ground, but it was great to get out to the Boland again, and have a refreshing change from the usual Cape Town trails. Team Bosal and I rode the Jonkershoek Valley flat, headed through Coetzenburg to the old G-Spot trails, railed some berms and then smashed a delicious brunch along with a couple of green slugs!

 

All in all it was a great two weekends worth of riding awesome trails that I really should make the effort to get out to more often.

 

Riding the rock in Jonkershoek. 

 

                           The Pinner is back, smashing rides around the Point                                and samosas, simultaneously!

 

Efforts of the road have faced some stiff challenges from the Cape Doctor who has been out in full force much more often than I would like it too. Nonetheless with Chappies finally open again, we have cruised a good couple of rides around the point. With less need to do intervals at this time of the year, the riding affords the opportunity to re-connect with some old riding buddies who I haven’t managed to see in some time.

 

As I head home for the festive season to visit the family, I’ll trade the gusting South Easter for the mist and drizzle I believe Natal has been experiencing over the past few weeks. I can’t decide which is better but I’ll get on with the job regardless.

 

With this most likely being my last blog post of 2013 I would like to say thanks to all those that have read my writings over the past year. It has been great to find that I have some ‘fans’ amongst you. Enjoy the festive season, log up some miles on your steed and sleep in to avoid those red eyes!

 

Ciao

 

Chris

 

Cape Town showing off.

 

With a couple of rides in my legs I thought I would cap off the season with one last jaunt. The Chas Everitt Pro Criterium in Stellenbosch over the past weekend. I was taking Oli’s advice to heart, fake it till you make it. I was going to need to do a lot of faking it, with the rest of the Cape crew coming towards the end of their summer season and my only form being my round belly.

 

I was saved by the bell so to speak with the event unfortunately being called off due to road closure issues. A real pity as I would have liked to have raced a real crit on home tarmac. I was however saved a serious trip to the pain cave, something I should probably be grateful for as I may have overestimated my abilities and under estimated how hard the race may have been!

 

Late afternoon beer and motivational chat from the O-man.

 

Nonetheless, training is back into full swing. I enjoy the base rides, it’s great to get out and knock off a couple of hours each day with Charlie (Keey), without having to worry too much about how many watts you’re doing or what intervals you have to suffer through. Cape Town is finally; touch wood, starting to show real signs of summer. The disappearance of the rain has been made up for by the howling South Easter.

 

Coffee stops have been made more pleasurable by the easily available croissants. It was a challenge to find them in the USA this year. Being back on the programme though, means that these are consumed in lesser quantities than what I would like. I have however decided that Tribeca Bakery now serves the best almond croissant in Cape Town! If anyone has any other suggestions to this department, hit me up.

 

Besides racking up some miles I’m still playing the sponsorship game in my free time, attempting to find that elusive ‘big deal’. Wish me luck on that front.

 

Till next time then, I’m sure the South Easter will keep me honest and I’ll play out how the race would have gone in my mind.

 

After a good 4-week break off the bike it’s back to the grindstone, so to speak. But not really actually, the break was a good one, perhaps I may have indulged a bit too much in the sausage rolls and peanut butter milkshakes but I do feel refreshed, motivated and ready to go again.

Now, with just over a week of riding in the legs again I am getting back into the swing of things. It may sound weird but I missed the feeling of coming home with tired, sore legs. It’s quite satisfying in a way. The first few weeks of riding is just to get some fitness back, no worrying about what power I’m putting out but rather leaving the Garmin at home and just having fun.

It is also great to be back on the Cape Town roads and trails with my friends again. Racking up the miles and frequenting our old coffee stops, good times!

Speaking of trails, whilst nothing is final just yet it looks like I may be making a return to them for the 2014 season. Unfortunately with no viable deal for me in USA next year I will return to mountain bike racing on home soil. I explored options in Europe too but our green South African visas can make it tough to do a full season there without being on at least a pro continental team. It left me in a sort of catch-22 spot.

I think South African mountain biking is in a very healthy spot at the moment, particularly on the marathon side of things so I feel my decision will be a good one. Hopefully negotiations over the past few weeks prove to be fruitful and I’ll have some new partners on board to assist me in these endeavours. Speaking of which, if you have a couple of ZARS lying around and want to sponsor a mountain bike team, hit me up!

I’ll try keep these posts coming more frequently now that I am back into the routine again. It has been great to find out over the last few weeks that I have a few ‘fans’ who read them too. So it’s not just my Mom hitting refresh on her browser that’s racking up the hits. Thanks for the support.

Till next time then, I’m cutting down on those sausage rolls and peanut butter milkshakes but the new McFlurry Mudpie Delight is proving to be a tough one!

 

The first training ride back in Cape Town after the off season proved to be an interesting one, it was the day following the big storms the evening before, and Charles and I encountered sections of washed away road and a mudslide which was ankle deep on the Llandudno road for over 50m!

 

                                           Image Credit: www.bakingbites.com

 

My 2013 racing season came to sort of an abrupt end. An unexpected one… I usually have a date towards which I work, the last day of racing for the year, followed by some much yearned-for down time!

This would have been the 26th of October at the finish line of the Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek. Unfortunately due to some unforeseen circumstances I did not take on the Klein Karoo but rather watched the daily highlights-package in Cape Town.

It was disappointing to not be in the there, compounded by watching those daily highlights, but looking back it was in fact an awesome year!

Naturally there are ups and downs along the way and they are to be expected. Living in the USA and racing with the Stan’s No Tubes team was a remarkable experience. I met some great people and made a lot of good friends, saw some amazing places and built up a lot of experience. It wasn’t all hunky dory though; there were times when I questioned what I was doing there after DNF’ing three races in a row early in the season.

Those lows are made up for with the highs, standing on the podium, getting off the front in a big race. One thing I did learn was that when the going is good; enjoy it because when the cookie crumbles, you never know when your luck will change again. Having Ash with me was great, she helped me work through the tough times and I’ve found a journey such as the one we had is so much more rewarding when you can share it with someone.

Coming home I spent a month racing in Joburg with the Bonitas team. It was a testing time for me personally and I perhaps wasn’t riding as well as I would have liked and am able to. Nonetheless I am glad I went there for the month and got to check out the Joburg scene.

I also had a taste of mountain biking late season at the Isuzu 3 Towers, at the time I didn’t know it would actually end up being my last race for the year. However it was one I enjoyed thoroughly. Maybe there is some more of that to come in the near future.

Hopefully some positive news for 2014 is around the corner, at the moment I know as much as you the reader does, gotta keep on hustling! For now I’ll keep on enjoying my sausage rolls and peanut butter milkshakes before the preparation begins.