Cherry MTB Challenge:

This past weekend it was time for Ficksburg, my home town to host the 45th annual Cherry Festival. With this enormous attraction to the town our cycling club, (my parents and I) organised a fun, but tough mountainbike race/challenge through the heart of the eastern Free State.

My job for the two weeks leading up to this event was to make sure the trails were rideable and well marked from start to finish. It might not sound like much, but between building bridges, opening bush tunnels, marking in thunder storms and a 'moerse' lot of grass cutting, I had my hands full.

After nearly four weeks completely off the bike I decided to pre ride our 60km Marathon route on Thursday just to make sure everything is ready and well marked. I died. 4hrs with 2bottels in this:

Friday afternoon things soon got festive as the guests started to arrive. I must admit it probably wasn't the most focused pre race night of my life to say the least, but I managed to give Marcel Marais a few hints about what to expect out there. On paper it looks fine...

In the start chute of the marathon it looked like an Epic Sports outride with a couple of shirts on the front row. Even Jaco du Toit got up there and managed to sit near the head of the field for the first 1.2kms. We soon went into some pretty technical single track and from there on I had the lead bike for company.

Knowing the route like the palm of my hand, I knew what to expect and rode accordingly. Wish this could happen more often! At the finish my gap over 2nd place was exactly 20minutes, but more importantly 50minutes over 8th place - Jaco. Marcel finished in 5th and was also the first junior. A very good and respectable ride for a youngster starting with marathons.

For most riders it was a super hard day in the saddle, but I was happy with all the positive feedback and compliments.

Local is leke!
Arno

Crater Cruize

After some awesome riding and a fun-filled weekend at Mankele with the Epic Sports wolf pack, it was time to start planning for the big dash for cash, the final leg of the 2012 MTN and Nissan National series, Crater Cruise.

Marcel Marais and I decided to go on a roadtrip via Ficksburg, my home town, on Wednesday and then leave for Parys Friday morning with our bikes, a tent, a kettle and a box of oats.

As we arrived the weather suddenly changed and it was soon cold, wet and really windy. Just then Marcel realised that he didn't pack any tent pegs. So after sorting out our entries and searching for a outdoor shop to buy pegs (which we still haven't found), an old tannie at a fishing store could sort of help us, but we still had to pitch our tent in the rain. I'm sure there's no better way to kick off a weekend.

Saturday morning in the start chute for the 106km ultra marathon I had flashbacks of my first day in high school, jitte! The best of the best in South African cycling was there ready to dish out a lot of pain. It was no time to be scared though, so I put on my big boy pants and went all in. Unfortunately I could only mix it up with the big guns for the first 40km or so. At the halfway mark I was in a group with Gawie Combrink, Jacques Rossouw, Dave Morrison and a few other riders, just hanging on to the top 15 at that stage.

The rest of my race was really nothing to get excited about. After hitting the wall a few times and having to dig really deep just to reach the finish line, I ended up in 26th place. Not quite the result I was hoping for.

After completely losing my sense of humour on the ultra, I wasn't really eager for the half marathon on Sunday. Once again beer solved the problem...

Three minutes before start time I snuck into the tail end of a batch, still not convinced that I actually wanted to whack it with the juniors. I soon noticed Fritz was taking this very seriously and as the neutral zone ended I launched a proper attack on the tar road. Luckily I didn't really get away!

The real brake came at about 20km. We smashed it down a loose, rocky descent, and once again the Conti tires were bulletproof! I found myself in the lead group amongst six or seven others, all contributing to the pace-making.

Things started to heat up as we flew past the last waterpoint. I noticed a couple of passengers as we approached the final stages of the race. Ryan Gibbons attacked with about 2km to go and the two of us opened a small gap to the rest of the group. I waited for the perfect moment, took a big sip of Cytopower and then rode past him to take the win. Also a great effort by young Dylan Rebello taking 3rd. For me the victory was bitter-sweet. I never managed to win this event as a junior, some elite always spoiled it and this time round I ended up doing the same. Sorry!

Well done to the other PYCycling athletes, Marcel and Edwill both finishing in the top 10 junior men.

Till next time.

Cheers

Arno

Avianto 12 hour enduro - with Marcel and Edwill:

After a couple of hard training weeks, Marcel Marais and I decided to team up for this 12hour enduro challenge as a two man team for some quality time in the saddle and having fun while doing so. We didn't really discus any team tacticts, but after a chat with coach Paul, we decided to take it on in 2hour shifts at a time. This is propably not the fastest way of doing things, but looking at the bigger picture with a few longer races lined up, it seemed like the way to go.

I haven't done any relay type races in a while, so I was sort of excited about this idea. Well atleast until we had to load the bikes in the rain Saturday morning before heading out to Avianto. It's hard enough to look forward to a normal race once it's wet, but 12hours in mud... Not my idea of fun!

As we arrived there were some nervous looking faces, one of which is also a PYcycling athlete, Edwill O'neill. He teamed up with Ben Viljoen from Epic Sports and also two of the country's fastest juniors, Ferdi Botha and Werner van Heerden racing in the 4 man relay team - Die Frikkies.

Luckily as the start time came closer the rain moved away and the spirits lifted. I knew there were going to be some racing snakes hamering it from the gun, so I let Marcel start while I enjoyed some coffee. I was pleasantly suprized by the consistent lap times he was riding over the first 2hours or 5 laps, not bad for a matriculant currently in the middel of prelims.
　

　
It was soon time for myself to get ready and after a proper route recce with Tiaan, better known as Mr Mountainbiking, I started my 5 lap journey on the 8.5km course with 150m ascent per lap. I soon forgot that I had to do 6hours in total and went out cross country style on the first lap, must have been the excitment of the fast and flowing single track. I tried a new tire, Continental Race King and it was perfect for the course, might just be a new favourite for myself. From the second lap on I settled into a comfortable rythm and managed to keep a decent pace clocking my fastest and slowest lap only 30 seconds apart.

 Meanwhile the game plan for Edwill and the other Frikkies was to go out really hard and then swap every lap. They soon realised that it takes about half a lap to get going or to lose the lactate build up from the previous effert so they changed it to two laps per shift.

''Werner did a great job at the start of the race setting the bar really high on his first lap. Ferdi then didn't have any hassels matching that. Handing over to me the challenge was on to keep the pace high and remain on top of the leaderbord'' Edwill I must admit they were pretty quick!

As Marcel was busy ticking over the laps for us on his second 2hour shift, I had some time to refill. All the tannies did a great job with the food and kept us well hidrated at all times. Fatigue started to show all round, but my partner kept fighting and completed another 5 grueling laps. Once again as I started round 2, I got excited and started racing guys like Bryce Munro and some other fast guys that were doing one or two laps at a time. Even though the legs were burning, I was happy with my consistent lap times.

Back at the base, Die Frikkies called a team meeting '' The interesting part of the race came when the sun started to set. We got ourselves geared for the darkness with all the lights we had. We had a team caucus and changed our game plan again, from 2 laps per rider to 1 lap per rider''

After the first 8 hours, Marcel and I started to lose the second spot over all as fatigue took over. This didn't bother us to much, I mean 4 legs cant really compete against 8 or more.
He managed 3 more laps in the dark and I decided to take over with about 2hr40min remaining in the race. At this point I must admit I was over it, but the adrenalin of riding in the dark kept me going. The first two laps were fun, but then half way thru the third or thirteenth in total the wind started blowing with severe clouds covering the venue. The organisers decided to call it the day after 11hours, just before the storm hit. Unfortunitly for some, they were still out there on the course, including poor Edwill ''I was caught half way through the course in this crazy storm! Everybody was soaking wet and cold but this did not ruin the rider’s spirits. They all waited for the prize giving."

 After all it was a fun day out with good results from PYcycling athletes. Edwill and the Frikkies taking the over all win and Macel and I finishing 4th over all and winning the 2 man relay."It was an amazing experience. A great 8.5km course with a bit of everything. A few sharp but short climbs, some tight corners and fast straights - nothing overly technical but challenging. Our Mountain Bike skills were definitely tested. Fantastic track!" Marcel

Big thanks to all who made it possible
Arno

SA XCO Champs: Race + Build up - Mankele

After a good result at Worlds View, it was time for me to focus on the big one. The fight for the stripes and the title of South African Champion. Being first year u/23 in a really competitive field of riders, I set myself a realistic, but stil very challenging goal at the begining of the season. I wanted to be on that podium!

PYCycling arranged a training camp for us at Mankele two weeks before the big day to get ourselfs comfortable on the course and to all round improve and gain confidence in our technical riding ability.

Seeing that this was during a solid training block we also worked in a couple of hard efforts on the track, wich took its toll on most of us...

Edwill after a little interval session

Paul showing the "girls" how it's done

Marcel and Edwill not convinced by the statement "it's like riding of a pavement"

Back to Pretoria and it was time for the 2nd Nissan Trailseeker at Cullinan. The wind blew us apart and I managed 7th over all in the marathon. All and all it wasn't my best day on the bike, but none the less a good leg stretch before the war.

During the week Epic Sports sorted out my Cannondale and Dimension Sports took care of my legs. Everything was ready and early Friday morning we hit the road with the wolfpack.

As we arrived at Mankele bike park, I did my final prep on the course and then it was chill time. Even though the stress levels were through the roof, the atmosphere in the squad was filled with jokes and laughs. No beter way to calm the nerves!

Paul and I felt this was a good opportunity to try some new things on race day, so after breakfast I did a light roller spin. With the Elite/U23 men only starting at 1:30 I stayed at the guest house, trying to relax as much as possible during the morning. Well that was the plan... The twitter feeds from the lady's race had me jumping up and down for about 90minutes. Thanks Yolande! 

Warming up the engin!

As I started warming up I felt fresh and awake! Even though I had the outside line on the start shoot, I got away nicely and was happy with my position heading into the first single track.

As we came through after lap 1, I was feeling pretty comfortable in the leading group of 6 or 7 riders with the 2 olimpians Burry and Phil setting the pace. Small gaps started to open as we hit the gruelling tar climb on lap 2. Soon Rourke was out of sight for me, but I could still see Luke on the longer open straights. The mentorship of Paul kicked in and I kept telling myself what he told me to remember "just keep it smooth and keep flowing, you know you can"

The big drop!

Half way through lap 5 I noticed Luke was fading a little. Once again I heard Paul's voice "they will fade, just keep it smooth." I took a few risks to get back and managed to catch him and Max just as we started the final lap. Game on! I considered attacking straight away, but I knew my legs wouldn't have survived such an effort. I was also confident in my ability to sprint, so I was happy to take it to the line with a skinny oak.

However Max picked up the pace and I must say I was impressed with his technical riding for someone who hasn't been racing xco in a few years. He had me fighting to stay on the train through the twisty single track, but once we came out onto the BMX track and into the crowd the sprint was on between the youngsters.



POWER!! Trying to sprint while cramping..

Somehow Luke opened a solid gap in the first corner, but then made it easy for me to get back when he made a slight mistake going into the second corner a bit to hot! I was right on his wheel over the jumps and bridges and it came down to a kick on the final stretch towards the line. Unfortunately for me that line came to soon and I finished 3rd u/23 less than half a wheel behind Luke Roberts with Rourke Croeser taking the win.

Photo finish!

Video of the sprint for 2nd and 3rd:

Must say I am happy with the way my xco season ended. Thanks to everyone for the support, especially Paul. Not only did his coaching make a big difference, but also from a motivation point of view he is a great guy to be around.

2012 SA Champs podium for u/23 Men
Luke Roberts : Rourke Croeser : Arno du Toit

2012 SA Cup Series podium for u/23 Men
Jason Meaton : Arno du Toit : Shaun Silver



Fourth and final cup xco:

The fourth and final leg of the 2012 National XCO Cup Series was held this past weekend at Worlds View, just outside Pietermaritzburg. I've raced here before as a sprog a few years ago, but since then they have changed the course completely. It was pretty straight forward with only one or two sections and lines to worry about and not a lot of climbing, however there where some tight and twisty corners and most of them where dry and loose.

View from the "Base Jump"

On race day I was as ready as can be and with some of the big guns racing in Canada, I knew I had to grab the oppurtunity. I had a good start and it wasn't long until Renay Goustra and I managed to open a slight gap over the rest of the field.
The sudden rainy whether on the start line made things interesting over the first 3 laps, with everyone on dry tires, traction was a problem for some of the guys!
It was a ding dong battle with a lot of cat and mouse games going on, but we stuck together for the first four laps. Renay put in a big effort, the same as every previous lap, but this time I just couldn't stay on his wheel.

The gap slowly opened and I couldn't do anything about it, he was on a mission! I dragged myself through the last two laps and managed to hang on to 2nd over all and 1st u/23.
With the Cannondale running smooth this season and with the support from Epic Cycle Shop, I also ended up winning the u/23 Men XCO Cup Series for 2012.

Trailseeker #1 - Tyger valley:

We all know the Nissan Trailseeker series is very popular amongst the Gauteng riders, so for me this was a good oppurtunity to test myself against some of the biggest names in SA marathon racing.

It was a rather chilly start so for once being from the Free State actualy helped a bit. However the racing was soon very hot at the front with a few guys constantly trying their luck. Somehow Gawie Combrink managed to get a gap and everyone thought it would be fine to let him hower infront for a little while.
Gawie had a different idea! While he rode a steady pace at the front, the racing in the chasing pack was a bit negative for mountainbiking. It was like a road race. There were a lot of furious attacks, but with the route being so flat, no one was able to get away.

Even though we didn't have the time to stop at the neutral tech zone, the support from the Epic Sports guys was really amazing! Sometime that extra motivation can really change the outcome of your race.

I must say I was irritated by the way the guys attacked and then sat up and looked at eachother so I went and tapped out a steady pace at the front of the chasing pack. I recon this is a nice way to gain some respect from the bigger names in the business. Unfortuanitly no one wanted to role through and help, but atleast the attacking sort of ended for a while.

In the last quarter of the race, things got pretty aggressive! They realized Gawie's gap was bigger than expected so once again the attacks began, but only this time there were no sitting up inbetween.
I felt really good on the day and even though the race was rather short for a marathon, it wasn't exactly short enough for me...
I got dropped from the chasing bunch of 6 with about 8k's to go. Don't know what happend, I just suddenly had nothing left. Luckily I had a USN Vooma gel so I could get my body over the line without losing to much time.

I was happy with 8th over all.  

Mid year update:)

During the past month or so, I had a couple of good races, but there where a few misfires aswell.. After joberg2c, 9days of breaking my legs, I had to take some time to recover with about half of the season still lying ahead. This is not an easy task to pull of if you want to race almost every weekend! Luckily I can depend on Paul to get this balance just right and if my legs doesn't pitch, I have someone to blame;)

So I did Mabalingwe, aka The Lion Man, and it went pretty well. I tried to make the racing hard after the first 10k's and I was suprized to see that only about 3 guys could follow. Then Lourens Luus destroyd everyone on Vodacom hill! Taking a few risks, I managed to pull him back on the decsent and from there on we rode together for most of the race.
With about 10k's to go he opened a gap on a portage section. Even thou my Giro shoes are really great and comfortable, walking isn't one of my talents... The gap opened a bit, but luckily we were close to the finish, or so we thought! At the last water table we sort of took a wrong turn and ended up doing almost 100km instead of the 70km as planned.
Must say I was happy with 2nd place and after a few USN Spikes, the extra 30k's didn't really seem that bad anymore.

Marathon podium; L-R: Myself, Lourens Luus, Jan Withaar

 
Back to XCO racing! I decided to do a CGC Provincial, thought it would be a good oppurtunity for some high intensity training, just to get back into aggressive race mode. I think it was the first time I ligned up at the start of a xco race without having done a practice lap.
Well let's just say it was pretty interesting. After some amature riding I was lucky enough to leave with minor injuries and a silver medal. Well done to Stephan Reyneke for taking the win.

The Epic Sports wolf pack

All and all it was a fun outing with the guys from Epic Sports!


After living out of a few bags for more than a month, I was happy to get home for a change, even though it was only about 3 days until the next road trip. This time the 3rd leg of the National XCO cup series at Addo Elephant park near PE.
The course had a couple of really nice sections. It was obvious that the organisers put a lot of effort into building most of those trails.
Race day came and everything was as ready as can be. I soon found out that my legs wasn't bad, but they were only going one speed, I couldn't follow the sharp attacks. This is a problem when you're racing xco...
After the first lap it was all still pretty much together, but then we ran into some juniors and the next lap some youth riders which made it hard to keep a steady pace.

Passing slower riders was also a mager problem on this course, espesially if you don't have that kick in your legs! At the end of the day looking at my lap times, the last lap was my second fastest lap which means there is nothing wrong with my fitness, just needs a bit of sharpening!



Gert Heyns leeding us into the first lap!



Joberg2c

I must say I was a little worried about this one... 9days, 910kilos! Something different and new for me! Luckily I had Paul Cordes as my partner, he is also currently my coach so I was sure that he wouldn't try to break me.

Day 1, apparently a neutral day and we were already taking shots. Things didn't look so great anymore. 

Day 2 went even worse with Paul having issues with his pedal just before the last waterpoint. We decided to sit up and enjoy the rest of the day out there. 

Ok, so maybe it wasn't really going that bad, but then we got our act together or maybe rode into some shape, suddenly we were both feeling pretty good.

Even thou we planned a steady ride down to Scotsburg we got invloved in a few serious battles out there. Some beter riding and a bit of luck saw us moving into 4th over all after day 6. Game on!

We came close to jumping on the podium the last day. Itec got us with less than 10k's to go. Our legs wasn't really working anymore by this time. Anyway we made it all the way and finished in 4th place, must say i've never been so happy to get on the beach!

Thanks transact for making this experience possible for us and to Paul for some great riding and motivation when needed and Andre Cordes from Epic Sports Cycle shop, our mechanic / team managment for making sure everything and the bikes ran smooth all the way!

Stuff and 2nd National:

After a bunch of races down in KZN were I managed a few average and some beter results in the Momentum International xco series and also the PMB world cup, I was really excited for the second national at fountains!

I took some time off before this event seeing that it was a good time to rest the legs after a few hard weeks of racing. This was during the Epic and I had the privilege to go on this "epic" journey with the guys from Epic Sports Cycle Shop. Great fun and a very nice experience!

Back to reality! I enjoyed the holiday, but needed some quality time on the bike before the 2nd leg of the national xco series.

On the day I felt fresh and excited, maybe to excited... It's never a good time to crash, but half way through the first lap! Don't really know what happend there, we were flying and all of a sudden, I wasn't flying anymore...

I tried my best to pick up the pieces. It took a while, but once the worst pain disappeared and with the support of the crowd I caught a few guys and managed to pull of 2nd u/23.

SA XCO National #1

It was as always a super long drive down to Cape Town for the first leg of the XCO National series. We only arrived at the venue on Friday afternoon and I was amped to get on the course. Practice went well. I followed Matthys and Gert for a couple of laps and felt comfortable with the dry an dusty conditions.

The confusion before the start made it hard to stay  focused on the race ahead, but when the whistle blew things got real intense. I managed a proper start and even with a few mistakes the first lap flew by.

Half way into the 2nd lap I cut a sidewall on my rear tyre and I tried to plug it. For about 30 seconds it felt fine until the plug shot out. I had to run the rest of the lap or destroy my rim. Running it was! 

In the tech zone Andre Cordes from Epic Sports helped me out with a wheel. The new goal was not to get lapped. Unfortunitly the course was really short and fast and after losing more than 7 minutes...

The legs felt fresh but I just didn't feel comfortable on the day. I managed a steady pace but Rourke passed me before I could start my final lap.

Till next time!

A

How to fix a cut:

Barberton, one of those days...

It was exciting to see who is wearing what on the start line of the first national race of the season. It was my first proper marathon ever and the start was rather easy compared to the shorter xco or even half-marathons i am used to.

Things changed once we hit the bottom of the climb. I knew it was going to be hard, so I stuck to a comfortable rhythm. After about 1h10min of pure climbing my rhythm wasn't so comfortable any more, rookie error!

It took me a while to get the legs working properly again and just as things started looking better with 20kilos to go.... 

Well the photo speaks for it self

I used an empty USN Vooma gel to keep the tube inside the tyre. still had to ride it pretty soft which made the river crossings very interesting.

Glad I managed to finish the race! 

Getting started!

Hey guys

It's a new year with new experiences for me so I decided to start a blog to keep everyone posted on my activities in the pursuite of happiness as a cyclist! 

I am very excited to be joining Matthys Beukes and Gert Heyns this year racing for MTBdestination. I'm sure we will be an exciting team to watch in the future.

keep those cranks turning

A