MTN #1, Attakwas Extreme MTB Challenge

MTN Attakwas Extreme MTB Challenge

The first leg of the MTN Ultra Marathon series took place on the weekend in Oudtshoorn, and the Attakwas, going into its forth year, was no doubt a suitable event for this ultra series!
The race is extreme in every sense of the word, extreme distance, 137km, extremely technical, and extremely hard! I reckon this will be rated as the toughest single day race in the country. Usually the route makes the race hard enough, but being part of the series this year, with the caliber of riders that came to take part, made it even tougher and faster than ever before.
Conditions on the morning were perfect, and a record number of entries saw batches leaving from the Chandelier Game farm, to start the first part of the race in the reserve. As usual there were a couple of guys eager to turn the pace up from the beginning and one had to follow all the moves just incase someone slipped away. But you always had to keep the distance in the back of your mind, and I think I had the biggest advantage over everyone as I had done all previous Attakwas races. I knew the route well and also the conditions of the terrain, so right down to tire choice, I was confident, but not sure where the form was compared to the rest of the guys.
The race consists of three sections for me, the first 45km, rolling through tough jeep track, then the “Attakwas” trail, a 35km hard jeep trail through the Outeniqua mountain range, and finally the last 60km of gravel roads to the finish in GrootBrak. The race only split up into pieces once we hit the start of the Attakwas trail, and it was only Burry Stander (Specialised/Mr Price), David George (Fullimput) and myself, riding a new bike for the first time in four years, a Volcan FS1. As we hit the hardest climb through the trail, Burry and myself opened a gap up on David, and then further extended this as we hit the technical descend down the other side. Things were looking good, and I was sure that Burry and I could work together once on the open roads. Unfortunately for him, he had a puncture only about 500meters from the end of the roughest part of the trail. This however left me out on my own, with a slight headwind, 60km of rolling roads, a chasing bunch behind me and no body to talk to!

I had timed the gaps to David George who was chasing by himself behind me, and he was clearly putting in a big effort to catch me as quickly as he could. I knew what still lay ahead and managed the time gaps with care, not to let myself get caught in the cat and mouse tactics, simply to conserve as much energy as possible for the tough final 15km. Dave was bridging a gap of about 4minutes, and just before the last two hard climbs, had me down to just 40seconds! This was where I used all the last of my saved energy and really powered up the climb to see if he had any thing left. It was as much as I could do, and if it was not enough, too bad. However, it was more than enough, his hard effort to catch me taking its toll, as I managed to ride close on 5minutes into him over the final 10km!
A close fought battle in the end, but a great way for me to start the season in pursuit of title number 6! Many other top riders suffered multiple punctures and mechanicals, but the Karoo terrain is relentless and I’m sure valuable lesson were learned out there! Also special mention to team mates Adrien, 5th after traveling back from Rwanda only 3days ago, and new team rider, Yolande Speedy, for winning the ladies by sheer dominance. (Over 35minutes and incredible 19th overall!)
Next race, Barberton at the end of the month, till then, cheers.
Kevin Evans

Provisional results:
1st Kevin Evans (MTN/Energade) 5hrs43min
2nd David George (Fullimput) 5hrs48min
3rd Max Knox (DCM)
4th Ben Melt Swanepoel (MrPrice/Specialised)
5th Adrien Niyonshuti (MTN/Energade)

Holidays over:(

So the holidays for me are over before they start! A month flew by in which I did nothing other than spend quality time with the family, do some proper baby-sitting and played about a hundred rounds of golf with my old school mates.
However the break is over and the training has begun already. Next year is looking full up already but with some exciting changes happening in the team. The most interseting is the new bikes we will be using for next year, Volcon Mounatin bikes and Eddy Merckx road bikes, all equipped with the latest Sram components, DT Swiss wheels and suspension for the mountain bikes.
But for now it's time to focus on the base phase of my training, and most guys know the legendry rides from Plett over December, are all welcome to join in. I've just got to get use to the 4:45am wake up call for now.
Will update with pics of the bikes and kit as soon as we have them..

Addo Mondi MTB Challenge

The Addo Mondi Mountain Bike Challenge took place on Sunday out near the Addo Reserve.

With nearly 800 riders over the three distances, it was great to see a growth in the event from last year. For me especially, it's always great to race in the Eastern Cape as this is where I first started to compete on mountain bikes.

The 85km route is extremely challenging. It starts with undulating jeep tracks through the citrus farms, and makes its way towards the Zuurberg Pass. It was on the steep climbs going up to Zuurberg that Phillip Buys(Garmin) and myself had ridden away from the rest of the field, and our duel would begin here. We had a mean sprint, again, for the King of the Mountain, which had to go down to a photo finish. Having ridden the same course now three times in 12months, I knew the hectic descend that was awaiting us down the horse trail, a five kilometere switchback pass that most would struggle to walk down. Phillip used his superb skills here to take nearly two minutes out of me, making me really have to work on the climbs once out of this section. I definitely favor control for speed and could not match his technical skills.

It took me about 10km after the horse trail to reel him back in, and then I tried my own card at softening him up. I had a few repeated attacks, of which he was able to follow all of them. The legs were clearly not firing as they had the previous week. Once again, as last years event, it was coming down to a sprint finish on the Addo Polo fields. Always a tough sprint on grass, and although on the photo, we lead it out together, he managed to get the better of me by the line and take a well deserved win.

Provisional results:

1st Phillip Buys (Garmin)

2nd Kevin Evans (MTN/Energade)

3rd Charles Keey (Cosmetek)

That race sums up my season, now I'm officially off until December when the base training and preperation begins for an exciting 2010 season. 16 race wins, 9 2nd place finishes and 3 3rd's plus my highlight being an 8th place finish at the World Championships, what a great season I had this year. Hope to be able to repeat it next year!

Watch this space for some exciting news coming soon.

Telkom climb

Telkom Satellite Challenge MTB

So Sunday it was back to the Telkom Satellite station for the mountain bike race of the event. I was not expecting too much from the event, and was surprised to see the number of riders who turned out to support the event. And once the event got underway, it was easy to see why it’s so popular! Fantastic organization, amazing routes, good markings and great weather!
The route left the satellite station and the riders headed off for two laps in the 60km distance, all in a private nature reserve. Soon we were racing amongst zebra, giraffe, antelope, wildebeest and even a cobra!
A small group had formed after the first climb, Phillip Buys (Garmin), setting the pace, Andrew Mclean and Jock Green (Toyota Cyclelab), Adrien Niyonshuti and myself (MTN/Energade).
Not only was Phillip setting the pace on the climbs, but on the technical descends and single track sections I had my work cut out for me following him. The other guys would be dropped here, but would always fight their way back. This however would slowly tire the guys out, and as we started our second lap, it had taken its toll and only Adrien and I were left with Phillip.
The rocky and rough route meant you had to concentrate the whole time and fortunately none of us had any punctures or mechanical problems. The final 15km was taking its toll on me, plus my effort from the previous day, and I only had enough legs to follow, but couldn’t try ride away from Phillip. However on the final climb, Phillip attacked and I was on the rivet as I dug deep to stay on his wheel. Adrien had been ridden off here, but he managed to keep his tempo steady and rode back to us in the final 6km.
I had already made my mind up that I would have to gamble it on the sprint.
As we got onto the tar road, with about 400m to the finish, I was on Phillips wheel and was going to leave the sprint for as late as possible. All of a sudden Phillip opened it up and got two bike lengths on me and the sprint had begun. I managed to just get into his slip, and he may have misjudged it by literally half a meter as I was only just able to put a wheel in front of him on the line!
So close for Phillip, but the win gave me a rare satellite double victory and a really great way to end my season as I head into a 4 week break now! Adrien rode superbly well after also having a hard road race the day before to take third place, whilst Jock Green took 4th, and Andrew Mclean 5th. Justice Makhale managed 6th so great to see him already progressing in the team already.
Provisional results:
1st Kevin Evans (MTN/Energade)
2nd Phillip Buys (Garmin)
3rd Adrien Niyonshuti)
4th Jock Green (Toyota Cyclelab)
5th Andrew Mclean (Toyota Cyclelab)
6th Justice Makhale (MTN/Energade)

Telkom Satellite Challenge

The next race in the Alphapharm Series took place at the Telkom Satellite station and is a race which for a change suits the pure climbers, provided you can stay away to the finish. The classic route does a big lap around the Hartebeespoort Dam, then heads up the Hekpoort climb, and finishes about 10km further up at the Telkom Satellite station.
The team had taken the time to recce the route properly the previous few days, and we had a definite plan going into the race. Problem with plans is they sometime change and have to adapt as the race unfolds.
The start was really fast, making for some record times for the race. The bunch stayed together for most of the first half, despite some riders trying to get a gap, knowing that Hekpoort would be a decisive part in the race. Eventually around the dam there was a break of escapees that got away, containing Cristoff van Heerden (MTN/Energade), Neil Mcdonald (Medscheme), Jeremy Martens (House of paint), Nolan Hofman (Neotel) and a Minolta rider. The gap was hovering around the 25second mark until a big crash took out most of the bunch!
I was fortunate enough to be able to dodge the crash, but many others weren’t, including Ian Mcleod, who had broken his shoe and would need it to be taped together. Juan van Heerden had to have three wheel changes in the chaos and whilst all this was going on, the gap of the breakaway quickly went up to about 90seconds.
We decided we couldn’t let Jeremy Maartens get to Hekpoort in the break, and decided to put some riders on the front to chase. However we weren’t the only team who was not happy with the situation, Toyota/Supercycling and Medscheme all committed riders on the front to pull the break back.
Once we turned right and headed to the base of Hekpoort, the boys in yellow took control as planned and put the pressure onto the bunch, stringing the guys out already before we hit the actual climb. The breakaway was caught here and the guys were setting it up for Ian and myself perfectly as we went into the foot of the climb. It was Jeremy Martens who then launched a big attack at the bottom coming off our train. Jacque Janse van Rensburg (DCM) was next to go, and I used Waylon Woolcock (Medscheme) who was trying to get across to the two guys. Eventually I bridged the gap myself with Ian, as the guys had gone too early. Halfway up Ian attacked and Johan Rabie (Neotel) followed him. They had a good gap on the small group that was making there way up the climb. Just before the king of the mountain, I bridged the gap to the two riders. Hanco Kagelhofer managed to ride across too, and as he joined us, I put in another attack to see who had something left. Johan Rabie managed to come with me, but it was over for Hanco who couldn’t roll through with Ian, who then sat up allowing us to get a gap. Rabie and I worked well together and with 10km remaining, we had a 25second gap to work with. Mean time a sizable gap had formed that was now chasing us. Rabie and I continued to ride at a hard tempo and we still had 20seconds as we began the final drag before the dive down to the finish.
Thanks to the time spent training this part with the team, I knew to wait for as late as possible before trying my move. Literally with about 30meters before going over the top, I attacked with everything I had left and at first it looked like Rabie was holding onto my wheel, but as I continued, a bike length opened up and as I crested the top I had about 5 bike lengths. From there it was head down for the final fast 900m with only a tight left hand turn into the finish for me to claim my first road win for the season and a great result for our team MTN/Energade. Johan Rabie (Neotel) taking second and Arran Brown (Medscheme) finishing 3rd.
It was an amazing team effort and the boys in yellow were really happy with our performance. All that remained for me was to recover and rest up to tackle the mountain bike challenge the following day!
Provisional results:
Elite men
1st Kevin Evans - MTN
2nd Johann Rabie - Neotel
3rd Arran Brown - Medscheme
4th Dennis van Niekerk - Konica Minolta
5th Roger Beuchat - Neotel

Amashova

Raced the MTN Amashova last weekend in the rain. Check the pic, trust the mountainbiker not to be afraid of the line in the road!

Race went ok, despite not feeling well, especially the day before when I had to pull out of the mountain bike race, I managed to do my bit for the team. Christoff managed a third place for the team in a scary fast bunch sprint, whilst Ian came close in the final 2km to staying away.

This weekend I'll race my last two races for 2009 and the team, The Telkom Satelite Challenge, road race on Saturday, mountainbike race on Sunday. Then a few more days in Jozi, till the launch of the Cape-Epic route 2010, then home at last for the rest of the year. Think I might need to get back into my shop and do some real work!