Crater Cruise, Race for Victory

So the Crater Cruise has become a really hard MTB race and is no longer a contest between the "roadies" and mountain bikers. This became evident after the first really tough section, where the head of the race contained only the full MTN squad and Burry Stander(GT/Mr Price). It was some what suprising to see only five riders left so early on in the race. It seemed that it was going to be a good day for our team and with numbers like that, it would be hard to loose the race. However this is mountain biking and in the long singletrack section, Dave was first to bow out when a stick caught his rear mech and ripped it clear off the frame. At this stage my time spent on the road bike was starting to show as I was battling through the "track", and even smashed into a low tree which didn't move out my way. This caught me in my back and I suffered from there till the end with back ache. Mannie then got the first of his punctures for the day which then left only Melt, Burry and myself. I had to stop for water at the second last water point and the heat was taking effect. Apparently the guys weren't to keen to loose any time and I spent a few pennies chasing to get back. It was looking like it was going to be a hard finish and with 9km left to race, Burry cut his front tire and crashed. This left Melt and I to take a one two for the team. Melt still looked fresh and deserved to claim "his" race, as I eased off, content with the days performance.
The Race for Victory is one of the hardest around the south of Jozi and goes through the Suikerbosrand Reserve. The legs were a little flat from the previous days efforts however once the engine was going, it felt pretty good. Dave and I battled with the very early start to the day but once the racing was on, we were good. In the end we forced a split through the reserve and then held it together for Malcom to take the win.