Out of the starting gates and up the first hill, it was David Leiman (Fullimput) who put the hammer down and gave us a little glimpse of what was to come. That was countered by Brendon Davids (Jeep) and I but it was waaay to early on. We all entered the first single track piece with about a bunch of 12 and it was clear that the racing was going to be a whole lot of fun. After 5kms of flat cane roads, we hit the first real climb and David attacked again like a man possessed. He strung the field out and again Brendon and I were chasing him down. We came out at the top and David had a good gap with four of us chasing. It was Brendon and I, Shan Wilson and Shaun Peschl. The group was not very co-operative as everyone was thinking about the length of the race. Brendon and I did the lion's share of the pulling and it bore fruit as we almost caught David at the 20km mark. Shaun Peschl then very cleverly jumped the gap and provided David with the horsepower he needed to carry on. Unfortunately Brendon and I were left to chase as Shan Wilson, a very well know roadie who won the Masters section this year at the Cape Epic, was very unco-operative.
Towards the 10km to go mark I sensed the other two were tired and so I went for it up a short incline and got the gap which I maintained to the finish, finishing just under a minute behind the two in front. I was happy with the result. Well done to Brendon who managed a good 5th with a few mechanical incidents.
Howick Super Classic
Then this last weekend I competed in the Howick Super Classic, a local race which was pretty much all single track through the recently burnt forests. Everybody seemed either sick or scared off by the weather or else racing the Dusi Mfula, a stage race being held on the same day. Nevertheless, I was up for a good two hours of racing. Through the neutral zone and away through the first climb I attacked and again it was Brendon Davids who followed with Travis Walker (an ex-teammate and now racing for DCM Chrome) just behind. I led for 10 kms and then was caught by both of them in one of the many, many technical sections as I was not riding comfortably. It became clear that it would become a three way battle between the youngsters. I lost my water bottle in an early tumble and this would cost me slightly in the end. Throughout the middle of the race it was a ping pong match between us three with each of us taking turns trying to get away.
Then disaster struck for Brendon Davids (Jeep) as he punctured exactly when Travis and I decided to put the hammer down harder. He soon fell out of sight and then it was just two of us left fighting for it. Into the mist and rain we raced, higher and faster, the two ex-teammates trying to edge each other out for the win. At the main climb of the day Travis drove the pace, but I was going nowhere and attacked near the top. I desperately wanted to win and at 10kms to go I was flying trying to get away. Travis was not letting me me out of his sights and we raced closer and closer to the end. Then disaster stuck me, and while cornering on wet tar I felt the front wheel slide and caught a glimpse of Travis ducking into the final single track section to take the win. I picked myself up with a few sore roasties and came into the finish second, just over 30 seconds behind Travis. Disappointed to not get the win, but happy with the way I rode.
I'm building up for African Champs, so these next few weeks should be fun. The Induna Marathon Series is this weekend so we'll see how that goes. Till then,
Ciao
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