SA National #1 - Cascades, PMB

I always look forward to races in Pietermaritzburg. The tracks are generally a ton of fun and there is always a good vibe at the race.  This time we were racing the 1^st round of the SA National Series. The track we were racing on used about 60% of the World Cup track.

The track is very physical and has lots of pedaling, so I made sure that I didn’t do too many practice runs. Luckily we had amazing weather the entire weekend and so track conditions were perfect. I felt really good on track, and was very comfortable with my bike setup – I was trying a few new things in preparation for the World Cup in PMB in April.

I wanted to stay as fresh as possible for my race run so I only did one practice run on race day. I planned on conserving myself during my seeding run so I sat and tucked most of the pedal section. I seeded 3^rd, just 3seconds behind current World Champ, Greg Minnaar, who was 1^st. My seeding time was 3min:25.

I tried out a new warm-up to see how I felt after doing it, ahead of World Cup. I had a really solid race run and I felt great on the bike. I ended up 3^rd again in the finals with a time of 3min:20 just 2.5secs off the winner Greg.

Overall I was really stoked with how the weekend turned out – I managed to work on my bike setup, try out my new warm up, and get a solid result. Cycling SA and the race organisers really did a great job, and put on an awesome event. Next up, the opening round of the UCI World Cup Series in PMB from the 8-12 April.

Results:

Elite Men

1 Greg Minnaar 03:17.631

2 Stefan Garlicki 03:18.982

3 Samuel Bull 03:20.203

4 Tiaan Odendaal 03:20.661

5 Timothy Bentley 03:22.035

6 Adi van der Merwe 03:28.232

7 David Hogan 03:28.723

8 Ryan Frerichs 03:29.136

9 Gregg Brown 03:29.482

10 Travis Browning 03:31.632

IXS European Cup #5 - Chatel

I had managed to ride the Chatel race track once, earlier in the year, and I loved it, so I have been waiting for this race for a while. We decided to stay in Morzine at Riders Refuge because we had enjoyed it there so much a couple of weeks before. This meant that we had a 45min drive into Chatel each morning, but this was a sacrifice we were willing to make to stay in really comfy accommodation.

After track walk on Friday, I quickly got on the lift to smash out some runs. Conditions were perfect and I was loving it. There were a few rain drops that afternoon, but it didn't look too serious. The track was a bit wetter on Saturday morning, but it was definitely ridable, and pretty fun actually. The weather managed to hold out a bit for seeding runs and I rode a cut spike up front and a dry tyre on the rear. I had a good seeding run on the whole, I made a few mistakes in the rooty sections in the woods, but other than that it was a solid run. I was stoked to see that I was seeded 25th, just 3.5secs off a top 10.

On Saturday evening it poured and so things got pretty interesting come Sunday morning. The rain didn't let up the whole morning. I got my IXS rain suit and decided the brave the cold, wet chairlift and do a run. I had such a good time, even though it was sketchy in places. I did a second practice run, and was blown away with how difficult it had gotten. The ruts were deep and all over the show and it was a lot slipperier. I knew then, that race runs would be rather tough.

The rain stopped a bit over lunch, and I made the decision to take my dry goggles up with me - BIG mistake! About 5 mins before my start, it began to rain again. I accepted that my vision probably wasn't going to be great, but I was still hoping to put together a good run. As soon as I got into the first few corners, I got sketchy, with the track being a lot more churned up and muddy than I had expected. A big off-track, a stall against a tree, and a crash later, I was finally out of the steeper, more technical root sections and into the open section. I just tried to have some fun until the bottom. That run wasn't the best end to a great weekend. To top it all off, the only gust of wind that weekend managed to break a leg right off our gazebo/pits when we were at the bike wash.

I decided that I will give Hafjell WC a skip and rather head to Schladming to get some riding done and prepare better for Leogang WC which is up next!

IXS European Cup #4 - Wiriehorn

After two consecutive races with mechanicals, all I was hoping for going into Wiriehorn was to have a clean race run. Straight after Ilmenau we went to Christian Textor's place. Christian is a good friend and top German rider, and has some really good riding right in his area. We got to ride some dirt jumps, do some flips into a foam pit, shred pump track and send some massive downhill jumps. After a week of riding almost every type of bike, it was time to get back into race mode for Wiriehorn.

After my pedal mishap in Ilmenau, I decided to change pedals. I was really battling to stay clipped in during practice on Friday and Saturday. I thought it was just because I wasn't used to the pedals yet, but after I uncleated a number of times, one time right before a big jump, during my seeding run, I had to change something. I put new cleats on my shoes that evening, and straight away felt better during Sundays practice - I still don't know what the problem was with the other cleats because they were also brand new. My seeding run obviously wasn't that good due to all of my problems. I seeded 38th.

My practice runs on Sunday went a lot better because I actually felt confident that my feet would stay on the pedals. I didn't make any costly mistakes during my finals run, but as I rode sections I knew that I should and could be hitting them faster. As a whole I had a very mediocre run, which reflected in my result. I finished 37th which is far from what I was hoping for. I think spending some time is Morzine, just riding, chilling and training will really do me some good as I have been getting pretty frustrated with all of my bad luck with regard to mechanicals and my race run in Wiriehorn.

I am really looking forward to tackling my last 4 races here the best I can.

IXS German Cup - Ilmenau

German Cups always seem have the craziest crowds, but Ilmenau fans were on another level. After switching accommodation on Friday morning because the place we booked wasn't what we expected, we got practicing straight away. The track was pretty flat and you needed to pump a lot for speed. It got more difficult as practice went on, with the turns getting more blown out as hundreds of riders came through.

An unexpected rain shower, right before seeding on Saturday, didn't affect the track as much as expected and the track was pretty much dry for most of my run. I had an alright run in seeding, but made a couple of costly mistakes which reflected in my time - I seeded 27th.

The next day I finalised my lines, and got ready for my race run. My bike was prepped and I was ready to go. I had a good start, but managed to make a small mistake in one of the turns up top, but I quickly got back into the swing of things. About half way down, my pedal snapped off at the spindle and sent me over the bars. After that, I rode down to the bottom of the track on one pedal and seat bounced most of the bumps to the bottom. I couldn't believe my luck. This was my second race in a row affected by a mechanical, which isn't ideal. Hoping my luck will change soon!

IXS European DH Cup #3 - Pila

I had heard so many good things about the Pila/Aosta area, leading up to the race, that I had high expectations about the riding. When we arrived, I took a little evening jog up the race track, and it looked awesome.  After the first day, I can safely say it didn't disappoint. The race track was really fun, but the really good riding was the long 13km DH trail from Pila down to Aosta. 

The first day of practice on Friday went really well. I learnt the track pretty quickly, and managed to get most of my lines dialled in. The track was was loose and dusty, but all of that changed on Saturday afternoon right before the Elite men's seeding runs. The weather turned so suddenly and a massive hail storm with extreme wind forced race organisers to postpone the seeding runs to sunday. In the mean time I was getting soaked while trying hold our pits down and stop them from blowing off the mountain.
After drying and cleaning my kit, even though I didn't even ride, I prepared for sunday.

The weather was beautiful on race day, and the track was drying out as the day went on. The first run or two down the track was a bit sketchy in the rocks and on the roots, but it got better each run. My seeding run didn't go as well as I had hoped, and I made a few mistakes. I also didn't push that hard in the pedal sections, because I knew that my race run was coming up next and I wanted to be fresh for that. I seeded 30th.

The top section of my race run was going a lot better than seeding and I was feeling really good until one of the wooded sections where I felt something go wrong with my rear end. I also couldn't really pedal, and I thought that my derailleur had snapped off and gone into my spokes. I slowed down a lot so that I could have a look and see what the problem was. I looked and couldn't see a problem although I knew something was wrong. I carried on to the bottom, pumping where I could and still attempting to put some pedal strokes in. I crossed the line in 50th, 14 seconds off the win. I then worked out that problem was a spoke from the left side of my rear wheel, which snapped and somehow wrapped itself around my cassette, under my chain. I am super disappointed that my result didn't get to reflect the way I felt I was riding, but a mechanical is out of my control. 

Although the race didn't go according to plan, I had the best week of riding in Europe so far on the trails in the area. We even stayed 3 days longer to do more riding. Ilmenau is next, for a round of the IXS German Cup. 

UCI World Cup #3 - Vallnord, Andorra - 28 July

The Andorra World Cup track definitely lives up to the stories that I heard before coming here. Things like "it's one of the steepest track around" and "bring your brakes" come to mind, and after walking the tack on Wednesday afternoon, I have to agree with what was said. The track is very interesting and starts off pretty mellow at the top, with a few off-camber sections, and some bridges over the roads. It gradually gets steeper and more technical, until the bottom third, where it just gets ridiculously steep and tough to ride. I suppose you know its a gnalry track when Sam Hill describes it as "the best downhill track he has ever seen" after track walk.

I was really excited to start riding the track after raising my front end a bit more to make the steeper sections a little easier. Missing out on some of the national races back at home at the beginning of the year due to my shoulder injury, I don't have enough UCI points to part of A group practice, which is the top 150 elite men based on UCI rankings. So basically my first day of practice was spent just trying to learn where the track went, because the lines only form properly after A groups practice. I managed to get a few runs in, and in my last one, I slipped out and dug my shoulder into the ground. The bottom of the track was still pretty muddy and slippery from a storm a few days before, but gradually started to dry out as the day progressed. I walked the track again, later that afternoon, and was pretty surprised and how the lines had formed and changed. I scoped out a few new lines and went home to ice the shoulder and prep my bike for qualies the next day.

I was up early for start of practice because I had quite a few things that I wanted to try on track before my qualification run. The track was a lot drier but I still decided to keep my full spikes on just so that I could have as much traction as possible. I managed to get 3 runs in, and then the five and a half hour wait for my qualy run began. I sat in the van trying to pass the time a bit but I just wanted to get out there and do my run. 

Finally it was time to start warming up, and before I knew it I was in the start gate. A slip of my gears right out of the start gate didn't help much but I was soon back on it and pedalling as hard as I could up top. I was feeling good, not as as good as I felt during some practice runs, but a loose rock or two  just before the open section caught me off guard and I went down hard in a cloud of dust. I got back on my bike as soon as I could, and when I got the chance I hit my brake levers straighter, so that I could at least ride to the finish. I ended up having another crash, this time less high speed, as my brake levers were not where they were supposed to be. 

I am very disappointed with how my qualification run turned out because I really wanted to qualify at this track. I was really beginning to enjoy myself on track and I would have loved to make it to finals on Sunday. Sometimes things just don't go according to plan I guess. Its onto Pila next week and I am really looking forward to that one.

Austrian National Champs - Schladming - 14 July

If there is anywhere in Europe that feels like home away from home to me, it would have to be Schladming. After the WC in Val di Sole, Schladming became our go to spot in between races like Leogang and Spicak. The people there are great, and it is an awesome place to get some training done. Not to mention that the track is amazing!

I decided to base myself in Schladming for the first 2 weeks of July because I didn't have any races and I wanted a bit of downtime. However, I couldn't not race the Austrian National Champs when I found out that they were being held at Schladming when I was there.

The weekend started off really well, and I made some changes to my suspension on Friday which made a huge difference. I then took part in the whipoff competition later that evening which was a ton of fun. I feel that I was robbed to not make the final haha - kidding.

The weather was very unusual for a race in Schladming, and the track was super dry and dusty. I was loving the conditions but things got a bit wild in the turns when you pushed the limit too much. I felt confident on track and after some runs with Schladming's adopted son, Johann Potgieter, we went back to the apartment and rested up. I was so excited to see that the sun was shining on Sunday morning and it didn't look like there was any chance of rain. Practice was short and it was soon time for seeding runs. I had a good run and was seeded in 7th.

The long wait for finals was on and after prepping my bike multiple times and getting some food in the system, the only thing to do was sit around and wait for my run. Finally it was time to race, and I managed to have a good, solid run. I was so stoked to cross the finish and go into the hot seat because I knew that I was going to get 7th or better. I ended up 6th, quite a few seconds back from 5th but all in all I am very pleased with how the weekend went and I had such a good time. Next up, Andorra World Cup!

Photo by: Raffi DieWaldfee