Soo cute..
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Routine continues..
The boss decided it would be better for Dave and I to stay home and train instead of the mission back to Graskop. As we are in our final prep for the Transalp Challenge, this suited me perfectly. Only problem as far as my routine has gone this week has been the terrible weather. So a couple more sessions spent indoors, and also some good gym time, I've made do. Will be heading out to train in the passes today, hopefully make the top of the Outeniqua pass, good 6-7hrs from here.
Then next week I'll fine tune a little for Knysna, my favorite race of the year! Looking forward to it after missing it last year due to World Champs. So thats it in a nutshell for the week, will try post some pics from today if I see the snow!
Then next week I'll fine tune a little for Knysna, my favorite race of the year! Looking forward to it after missing it last year due to World Champs. So thats it in a nutshell for the week, will try post some pics from today if I see the snow!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Home for a bit..
Good to be home with the familia for a couple days. Gives me some much needed routine time again, which proves to work well for me. Will then be heading up to race Graskop Hill Climb Champs next week with the road boys. Good 3 stages of racing there, as well as hosting a Club100 training camp for the weekend. Other than that, we did a shoot with Gillette World Sport Special in Johannesburg yesterday, was fun and amazing to think the coverage reaches two hundred and ninety countries! Seem to be feeling back to normal, will pay Harries a visit again next week... Not!
Thats the scoop, till later, caio.
Thats the scoop, till later, caio.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
MTN Marathon #3, Induna
The third leg of the MTN Ultra Marathon series was held at Induna down in Hazyview. The course was much the same as the previous years and incorporated two laps of the final loop. It’s always been a great course and the organizers go out of their way to make fantastic tracks. It was looking like we were in for a mud festival again, but the sun came out on Friday and continued through for the race on Saturday, drying up the route and making conditions perfect for racing.
The ultra marathon, despite being 120km, didn’t stop some of the riders trying to push flat out from the gun, and those that did, did so at their peril. I was content to sit in the front group, consisting of about ten guys. In the front group were Dave George and Adrian Nionshuti, team mates for company. Also most noticeably were Mannie Heymans and Marc Bass (Garmin). As we began the harder second loop, Dave and I set the tempo up the big climb and got rid of the bulk of the group. However Mannie and Marc were not going anywhere. Adrian also was still hanging on and has been showing some great form recently.
Bad luck however for Adrian as he had a double flat just before we began the final 35km loop. Dave was playing catch up after Mannie and Marc attacked through the technical banana plantations and had about a 45second gap to close going into the final lap..
I stayed on their wheels up the climb, not feeling really great and was starting to wonder how things were going to end up. Just as I was going through my bad patch, Dave rejoined and knowing we were two against two gave me a second wind.
The final climb was a really tough one, and went up a brick path. Dave attacked the guys near the bottom, Marc doing most of the work to contain him with Mannie and I just following. They held Dave at about 60meters for nearly a kilometer before bringing him back, and as soon as they did, I put in my one big effort for the day. I went as hard as I could, making it count, as the others had no response. With about 18km left to the finish, my job was not done yet. I still had to negotiate a fair bit of technical singletrack, followed by quite a few ups and downs with a couple hard pulls.
Only once I hit the final descent to the finish did I have the race in the bag, and it was great to finally win a MTN Marathon again. The victory here would help my overall points for the series, which I have been leading since the second race. There are still four races to go in the series, and that’s a lot of kilometers when they are Ultras!
Provisional results:
1st Kevin Evans (MTN/Energade)
2ndMarc Bass (Garmin)
3rd Mannie Heymans (Garmin)
4th David George (MTN/Energade)
The ultra marathon, despite being 120km, didn’t stop some of the riders trying to push flat out from the gun, and those that did, did so at their peril. I was content to sit in the front group, consisting of about ten guys. In the front group were Dave George and Adrian Nionshuti, team mates for company. Also most noticeably were Mannie Heymans and Marc Bass (Garmin). As we began the harder second loop, Dave and I set the tempo up the big climb and got rid of the bulk of the group. However Mannie and Marc were not going anywhere. Adrian also was still hanging on and has been showing some great form recently.
Bad luck however for Adrian as he had a double flat just before we began the final 35km loop. Dave was playing catch up after Mannie and Marc attacked through the technical banana plantations and had about a 45second gap to close going into the final lap..
I stayed on their wheels up the climb, not feeling really great and was starting to wonder how things were going to end up. Just as I was going through my bad patch, Dave rejoined and knowing we were two against two gave me a second wind.
The final climb was a really tough one, and went up a brick path. Dave attacked the guys near the bottom, Marc doing most of the work to contain him with Mannie and I just following. They held Dave at about 60meters for nearly a kilometer before bringing him back, and as soon as they did, I put in my one big effort for the day. I went as hard as I could, making it count, as the others had no response. With about 18km left to the finish, my job was not done yet. I still had to negotiate a fair bit of technical singletrack, followed by quite a few ups and downs with a couple hard pulls.
Only once I hit the final descent to the finish did I have the race in the bag, and it was great to finally win a MTN Marathon again. The victory here would help my overall points for the series, which I have been leading since the second race. There are still four races to go in the series, and that’s a lot of kilometers when they are Ultras!
Provisional results:
1st Kevin Evans (MTN/Energade)
2ndMarc Bass (Garmin)
3rd Mannie Heymans (Garmin)
4th David George (MTN/Energade)
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Time slows..
Been kicking around in Hazyview for two days. We managed to get some training in with the road boys in freezing Jozi before coming down here. Rode some of the race course at Induna yesterday, but unfortunately the rain is following dave around the country and we got completely muddy. Looks like we set for another wet MTN Marathon race. Can't wait, hope to have some pics to show afterwards.. Till then.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Garmin Rooiberg Eco Ride
Day1:
The Garmin Rooiberg Eco Ride takes place in the Limpopo Province in the small bushveld town of Rooiberg. This was the second year of the event and it featured some significant changes to last years edition. Most notable changes were, this year it was an individual event as opposed to the paired race or team race of last year. Secondly, of the 73km we raced today, 60km of it was hard, loose, rocky, technical and unforgiving singletrack.
To ride 60km of singletrack on its own is tough, but rocky bushveld, was torturous! The pace was on from the beginning and team DCM and team Garmin, both being sponsors of the event would be out to pull off the win. I decided to just take it to all of them from the start, but also test my legs early on to see how they were as I haven’t raced in a couple weeks. I managed to get a good gap up the first climb, but soon thereafter we hit the “track” and slowly my gap was being eaten up. Max Knox was first to join me, Then Phillip Buys for awhile, and finally Mannie Heymans came across. The conditions suited him perfectly, real Namibian terrain. This was clearly evident as Marc Bass made his way across too. So the front group from about 20km in was the four of us. I was content to follow the wheels and lines of the other riders as they were quicker through the rough stuff.
When the rough stuff finally ended, with 13km left to race, and Max attacked really hard immediately. As the two Garmin riders couldn’t respond, I immediately jumped onto his wheel and pretty much sat there while he kept going at it. It always looked like it would come down to the sprint and once we hit the finishing field, I had a little more in the tank to take the win ahead of Max. Mannie managed to come in alone about 3minutes down.
So tomorrow is another day, and in this terrain, absolutely anything can still happen.
Day 2:
After the extremely tough first day, the race organizers promised todays stage would be an easier day, with fast gravel roads, jeep tracks and only 10km of singletrack. So today you could actually enjoy the course and the beauty of the bushveld. We even saw some of the wildlife, and had to stop for a herd of giraffe running out across the road, a truly awesome sight! Nonetheless, back to the racing, the stage started with the usual fast pace, a few riders out to make up for yesterdays stage. With David injured from his crash the previous day, our only team plan was I told Adrian to stick with me should I have a problem. He was really good and after the first climb, a select group had formed at the front, most significantly was Max Knox and Mannie Heymans who were contenders for the overall. In this group too, was Adrian. After about 25km I asked him to make sure he was eating and drinking, only to be told “I have no food”. Immediately I dug in my pockets and gave him half of my stash as we continued on. Halfway came and went quickly, and soon thereafter Mannie and I started taking turns to attack the rest of the group. The guys responded to all our efforts, and even Adrian had a bash or two. He must have looked like a threat as they didn’t let him get away either. Slowly the course took its toll on the equipment and tires especially, as guys started to drop due to punctures.
Mannie and I rode away with about 15km left and he took the stage just ahead of me, but after loosing 3minutes to me yesterday, had to settle for second place overall as I took out the win, making it two in a row for team MTN at the Garmin Rooiberg Eco Ride, having won the event the previous year too. Adrian put in a great effort to ride away from Phillip Buys (Garmin) in the final 5km and secure 3rd place for the stage. An incredible result for him showing his true potential. Perhaps I should just tell him to follow me more often!
Otherwise it was a great event enjoyed by all, even after the punishment of day 1. Special mention to the fantastic catering, excellent food always goes along way to put a smile on any face.
Overall Provisional results:
1st Kevin Evans (MTN/Energade)
2nd Mannie Heymans (Garmin)
3rd Max Knox (DCM Chrome)
The Garmin Rooiberg Eco Ride takes place in the Limpopo Province in the small bushveld town of Rooiberg. This was the second year of the event and it featured some significant changes to last years edition. Most notable changes were, this year it was an individual event as opposed to the paired race or team race of last year. Secondly, of the 73km we raced today, 60km of it was hard, loose, rocky, technical and unforgiving singletrack.
To ride 60km of singletrack on its own is tough, but rocky bushveld, was torturous! The pace was on from the beginning and team DCM and team Garmin, both being sponsors of the event would be out to pull off the win. I decided to just take it to all of them from the start, but also test my legs early on to see how they were as I haven’t raced in a couple weeks. I managed to get a good gap up the first climb, but soon thereafter we hit the “track” and slowly my gap was being eaten up. Max Knox was first to join me, Then Phillip Buys for awhile, and finally Mannie Heymans came across. The conditions suited him perfectly, real Namibian terrain. This was clearly evident as Marc Bass made his way across too. So the front group from about 20km in was the four of us. I was content to follow the wheels and lines of the other riders as they were quicker through the rough stuff.
When the rough stuff finally ended, with 13km left to race, and Max attacked really hard immediately. As the two Garmin riders couldn’t respond, I immediately jumped onto his wheel and pretty much sat there while he kept going at it. It always looked like it would come down to the sprint and once we hit the finishing field, I had a little more in the tank to take the win ahead of Max. Mannie managed to come in alone about 3minutes down.
So tomorrow is another day, and in this terrain, absolutely anything can still happen.
Day 2:
After the extremely tough first day, the race organizers promised todays stage would be an easier day, with fast gravel roads, jeep tracks and only 10km of singletrack. So today you could actually enjoy the course and the beauty of the bushveld. We even saw some of the wildlife, and had to stop for a herd of giraffe running out across the road, a truly awesome sight! Nonetheless, back to the racing, the stage started with the usual fast pace, a few riders out to make up for yesterdays stage. With David injured from his crash the previous day, our only team plan was I told Adrian to stick with me should I have a problem. He was really good and after the first climb, a select group had formed at the front, most significantly was Max Knox and Mannie Heymans who were contenders for the overall. In this group too, was Adrian. After about 25km I asked him to make sure he was eating and drinking, only to be told “I have no food”. Immediately I dug in my pockets and gave him half of my stash as we continued on. Halfway came and went quickly, and soon thereafter Mannie and I started taking turns to attack the rest of the group. The guys responded to all our efforts, and even Adrian had a bash or two. He must have looked like a threat as they didn’t let him get away either. Slowly the course took its toll on the equipment and tires especially, as guys started to drop due to punctures.
Mannie and I rode away with about 15km left and he took the stage just ahead of me, but after loosing 3minutes to me yesterday, had to settle for second place overall as I took out the win, making it two in a row for team MTN at the Garmin Rooiberg Eco Ride, having won the event the previous year too. Adrian put in a great effort to ride away from Phillip Buys (Garmin) in the final 5km and secure 3rd place for the stage. An incredible result for him showing his true potential. Perhaps I should just tell him to follow me more often!
Otherwise it was a great event enjoyed by all, even after the punishment of day 1. Special mention to the fantastic catering, excellent food always goes along way to put a smile on any face.
Overall Provisional results:
1st Kevin Evans (MTN/Energade)
2nd Mannie Heymans (Garmin)
3rd Max Knox (DCM Chrome)
Friday, June 5, 2009
Rooiberg here we come..
Leaving shorlty for the Rooiberg Garmin Eco challenge 2 day race in Limpopo... Will keep you in the loop, can also follow on www.twitter.com/kevinevansracin
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