KKK

Will be leaving for Calitzdorp this afternoon, after I've watched the Chargers slash the Dehli Daredevils,for the Klein Karoo Klassiek 3day MTB stage race. Should be good racing, long stages tomorrow and Saturday with a 40km TT on Sunday!
Also the Port Festival is on, so we should find a few bottles of good red too.. will post some pics from the Spa!

Then I looked like this..

MTN Marathon #2, Chandelier

After the race I felt like this...







The second leg of the MTN Marathon series was held at the Chandelier Reserve and the ultra marathon was a grueling 126km! To make matters even harder, torrential down pours the few days before would ensure the course would be really wet under foot, slippery, extremely muddy and very difficult.
So we always new it would be important to pace yourself correctly and with Dave and I having just gone through a transitional phase in our training after a break from our pre-race Epic build up, the 126km might have been just out of our current form depth. But what better way to find out than just race and see.
So from early on the race split up, Garmin having the numbers up front, set a steady pace. I was being as conservative as I could as I knew what lay ahead. I have done the race 4 times in the past but never over this distance. Unfortunately Dave had to stop to adjust his seatpost clamp, the same problem he had when we raced through here in the Attakwas Marathon earlier in the year.
As guys had mechanicals, punctures and just about any bad luck you could imagine, it was soon just Marc Bass(Garmin), Johny Kritzinger(DCM) and myself. Marc was really pushing the pace on the descents, which included some really technical single track through the typical Karoo thorny bush. The was never time to rest and recover as the course was relentless with its unforgiving jeep tracks and rugged paths. Whenever there was a straight piece of road, the mud made it tough! Climbs were never longer than about one to two kilometers yet the total course climbed about 2900m. I was being patient until the tech zone, which was at the 80km mark. After some fresh bottles and food, I was feeling good and decided to have a go. When the guys didn’t respond I put my head down and tried to build a steady lead. This however would prove to be my undoing… The legs lasted until 110km, and then it was melt down. I had no energy knock, just absolutely nothing in the legs. With a dramatically reduced speed, Marc caught and passed me and not long thereafter in the final 5km, so did Johny. It was very frustrating but lacking the depth needed to race five and a half hours, there wasn’t much that I could do. Perhaps I could have bided my time a bit better and seen, but if you don’t go, you’ll never know I guess. Nonetheless the conditions really took their toll on riders and equipment.
The ultra series is really proving to be great test of physical and mental strength and will completely change the standards of marathon racing in South Africa.
So the next race will be in Hazyview, and I’ll have the leader jersey for the series proper after my successive third place finishes, but will definitely have some racing form by that stage and will be hunting the top step of the podium.
Thanks again to Advendurance, MTN, Gerrie at Chandelier and Henco from Tons Sports for putting on a true marathon event! See you soon.
Kevin Evans

Racing will resume..

This weekend will see us resume the MTN Marathon National series, taking place at Chandelier Reserve, Oudtshoorn. The race has always been good to me and I hope this year over 126km, it will still look after me.. I've at least had some good prep the last two weeks, so lets wait until Sunday and see... Gotta love the Karoo!

Ruby and Dad!

http://twitter.com/kevinevansracin

Just a reminder...
http://twitter.com/kevinevansracin
Later...

Kingfisher Marathon

Kingfisher MTB Marathon, Southern Cape Enduro Series #1

It’s been a long time since I went to a mountain bike event and just had a really good time. The kingfisher Marathon, hosted at Hoekwil Primary school was the first leg of the Southern Cape Mountain Bike Series, and it was great to be back racing with all the familiar faces and people who really support me in the area where I started my MTB career.
The event kicked off after a night of heavy rain, but that didn’t dampen the spirit of the riders, or the number of people who turned up to the event. The race headed from the small town of Hoekwil, through some dairy farms and straight into Bergplaas, well known in the Cape-Epic from stage 1. Needless to say the ride was fairly tough, the long route, 70km, had over 1600m of vertical climbing in it. But absolutely spectacular, the scenery up there was amazing, with the sun coming through the mist and the roads nice and wet from the rain, it was incredible to race through this pristine area and actually appreciate it.
Back to the racing, soon after the first climb, the split consisted of a three way mix, a junior, a veteran and an elite. I was out front with Gary Marescia (Cyclelab Cape Town) and the local junior racing for Coimbra, Derek Taylor. As we rode deeper into the Bergplaas plantation, I rode a very consistent pace in front, not wanting to spend the day out in front on my own, I made sure the guys were able to ride with me. It was amazing how much I enjoyed myself and it made the tough going seem so much easier. Just after halfway, Derek Taylor, not accustomed to racing marathons, dropped off the pace as Gary and I continued along the route. I was counting on the tough finishing climb to the line to be able to ride away from him, and as we hit it, I went hard, testing the legs and condition. I felt good and quickly opened up the winning gap to the end.
The route was very well marked with ample water points, which even had Lunch Bars (my preferred riding food) for the riders. Like I mentioned before it was great to be able to give a little back to the Southern Cape who really appreciated me taking the time to be at one of their events as usually my busy schedule doesn’t allow for it. It’s great to chat to the youngsters and see the SC has such a strong field of upcoming riders.
I’m not sure when the next race in the series is, but if I’m free, have no doubt I’ll be there to support it. Thanks to the organizers for having me there and the great support you always give me.
Kevin Evans

http://twitter.com/kevinevansracin

Ok so I'm getting into this Twitter thing.. here's my Twitter address...
http://twitter.com/kevinevansracin
Lets see how long I can keep it up?

Twitter

So I've gone and joined this new network, Twitter, well not new but new to me, and so far I've spent about two hours on it and achieved absolutely nothing other than throwing away two hours of my life i'll never get back. So much for that, call me a Twit but I reckon I'll just stick to my blog, and even that is admin! Hitting the gym again this morning, hope the muscles aren't too stiff for the Kingfisher tomorrow!

Hi I'm back.

So it's taken me awhile to recover from the Epic, again. I decided to take a break from racing and gave the World Cup a skip this past weekend. I have to say hats off to Burry and Greg for the flying the flag and doing us proud. I have to say my recovery has been slow, but then I forget that my racing started proper about 6 weeks out before the Epic, including some tough racing in Sani2c and the Giro. Anyway with all that behind me, and some quality rest time at home, even Ruby knows me now, I have some time to get a good routine going which is key for me.
The following couple races for myself will be:
Southern Cape Kingfisher 18th April,
MTN Marathon#2, Chandelier, 25th April,
Klein Karoo Klasiek, Calitzdorp, 1-3May,
Karkloof Festival, 9 May.
Till then, will stay in touch and keep it TIDY!