The "Talisman" finish ramp

Not so good for sprint finishes!

KKK Day 2

Todays stage was always the original race of the festival and having ridden the race a few times in the past I knew what to expect. The route consisted of only gravel roads, going out through Calitzdorp, around the back of the Red Hills and along the foothills of the Swartberg Mountains. However it would only have 800m of ascent compared to the 2000m from yesterday’s stage.
After about 10km, Mathys attacked with another rider from the Daikin team. The bunch let them go and this would be good for Dave and I to be able to sit in a bit. When we hit the climbs, Erik Kleinhans (GT), Moolman Welgemoed (Daikin) and a few fresh riders only riding today’s stage split the group up until we were about 7 riders. At this stage, about 50km in to the race, Mathys still had about 90seconds on us and had left the other rider behind. The small group worked well together, everyone rolling through, but with no more climbs, the last 40km was extremely fast.
Mathys hang on until 10km to go, great effort from him and as he was brought back, it was myself that attacked first. The guys brought me back and Dave went. They brought him back and I went again, and again, and again! Every time they came back as Moolman had good legs and two other riders hadn’t raced the previous stage.
The average speed for this final 10km was in excess of 41km/hr, quick on the gravel roads. Going into the final corner, Moolman jumped and I stuck on his wheel but with the “Talisman” finish ramp up to the line there was no place to pass and he took the stage, and his first win on a mountain bike. Erik Kleinhans took third.
Tomorrow’s final stage is the 40km individual TT and hope we can get the legs rested and recovered in time for that!

Here's our chalet..

Klein Karoo Klassiek, day 1

The Klein Karoo Klassiek as the name suggests, is a real classic race held in the Karoo town of Calitzdorp and has been a popular event with Western and Southern Cape riders for many years. This year the event is part of the Port Festival for which the town is well known. Many Epic riders would also remember it as we’ve passed through here on numerous occasions. This year however would be the first year the race is a 3stage mountain bike event with a great twist.
Day 1 was the longest day, 132km, up the Rooiberg Pass and around the Gamka Berg. As soon as we started the Rooiberg climb, there were a few riders who were eager to get going. But with the day being a long one, I picked a good wheel and rode steady. By the top there was a small group consisting of Dave, Mathys and myself (MTN/Energade), Erik Kleinhans (GT) and a rider from the Maties cycling team. The route was mostly district roads and farm tracks which at least kept the speed quite high. After my disaster last weekend I was in no rush to push the pace too soon. Dave attacked at the 80km mark and built up a steady gap. I decided to ride across to him, which I did, however Erik and Mathys brought us back and the group was again together. All the hard racing happened in the last 20km. Dave putting in a big effort only to be brought back by Erik. As soon as he caught Dave he attacked, I followed him until he was done, countered and then had to put my head down for the last 10km into the wind.
That final effort was hard and I had to go quite deep, but enough to take the stage by about a minute and a half. Dave came in second with Erik a few minutes behind him.
Tomorrows stage is the original KKK route, 97km, and with guys being able to race individual days, there is bound to be some fresh legs to keep the racing hard!

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