MTN Ultramarathon #4, Clarens

Kevin Evans, pic Zoon Cronje




So the fourth event in the MTN Ultramarathon series took place in the small town of Clarens in the FreeState. Weather leading up to the event was fantastic but true to form, the day and night before the race, heavy showers turned sections of the route into “mud baths”!
The Ultra event was as tough a race in the series as I’ve done before, and the altitude always plays a small part to how you feel. I was content to just stay with front group which split up fairly quickly in the first technical section. It seemed like the two big teams, Garmin/Adidas and MTN were set for some great racing. Others in the front were Ben Melt Swanepoel (MR Price/Specialized), but again the group thinned out when we hit the first climb of the day.
The front group now contained Mannie Heymans, Philip Buys and Ben Melt, Melt however had a bad crash on the rocky descent which put an end to his race, fortunately he was ok though.

At the next big climb, shortly past the feed zone at 52km, I rode a hard tempo up the rough climb, trying to get maximum advantage on Philip, knowing the downhill that follows the climb, I wanted to ride my pace. As it turned out I managed to hold a gap of around 30sec on Philip at the bottom of the downhill, and in the next 15km, I increased the gap to around 2min. I knew what awaited us however in the final 20km, and the final climb turned into a monster! I could only just manage riding the whole way but fortunately it was at my own pace again. Once over the top I had about 10km of technical descending including a steep portage of around 300m down a rocky staircase.

In the end I managed to defend the race I won the previous year, further extend my lead in the MTN Series and get a great victory for myself and the team.
Garmin led home the pack to claim 2nd, 3rd and 4th, Mannie, Philip and Francoise Theron.
MTN/Energade team mate Adrien Niyonshuti took 5th place, really well done considering he was sick, Paul Cordes in 6th and Justice Makale 10th.
In the ladies it was our team mates, Yolande Speedy and Mariske Struass who took a great 1st and 2nd for the team. Again thanks very much to Nicole, our manager and Rodger, mechanic, who both worked hard as usual behind the scenes.


Next race, MTN Panorama tour, with some of our big corporate sponsors. Should be a great 4 days of riding in the Lowveld. Till then, cheers.
Kevin Evans



Provisional results:
1st Kevin Evans (MTN/Energade)
2nd Mannie Heymans (Garmin/Adidas)
3rd Phillip Buys (Garmin/Adidas)
4th Francoise Theron (Garmin/Adidas
5th Adrien Niyonshuti (MTN/Energade)

Pics instead of words:

Giro del Capo Hillclimb

On my way to a recoed time of 11:57, that has stood for 12 years. However it was short lived as DG came up 2minutes later in 11:47!

Sani2C MTB Stage Race

Kevin Evans, Zoon Cronje

Sani2c has quickly established itself as one of South Africa’s premier mountain bike stage races, and this would be my fourth time participating in the event. I’ve had a fairly good track record with the race thus far, three starts and three wins, all with different partners, and this year would be no exception as I would be privileged to be racing with Austrian National Champion Alban Lakata (Topeak Ergon racing) as preparation for the upcoming Cape-Epic. He flew out only three days before the race, and we headed off with a full MTN/Energade team, with no expectations for myself and Alban other than good racing and prep.

Stage 1, 95km Underberg to Mackenzie
Once again at the Sani2c, the weather was not playing along, and torrential rains the day before the race, plus the thousand or so Adventure riders that would churn the trails up in front, would make for some really hectic conditions. And it would only get worse as the weather was not about to clear any time soon.
The race played out fairly as I had predicted, although in the conditions it would be important to look after yourself and equipment. As usual the race split up after the first singletrack, and then onto the climb. I saw some of the other teams taking strain here and decided to make the climb hard. Provided Alban could follow the wheel, I would continue, and he had no problems. At the top it was only team DCM and ourselves left. We worked well together as we gradually increased our lead over the other teams. Although we tested each other, it looked like it would come down to a sprint finish again. Alban was too strong for the DCM duo as we powered away to win the stage just ahead of Max Knox and Brandon Stewart. Third on the stage went to Specialized/Mr Price’s Burry Stander and Ben-Melt Swanepoel, about 8minutes behind us.

Stage 2, 97km Mackenzie to Jolliviet
Conditions only got worse on the second day as farmer Glen and his team were forced to have to re-route the course, unfortunately missing out on the 30km descend into the Umkimaas Valley via Nics Pass, normally the highlight of the race. The change took us straight down the district roads into the valley, the same as my first time in 2006. However this was just as dangerous as poor visibility and an incredible amount of mud made the going really scary! The race rejoined the normal race route as we went down the valley into the “mamba downhill”, and headed towards the halfway compulsory stop at the top of “lamb legs”. It was up this climb that I’d won the race in previous years, and this was our plan again. Alban set a hard tempo, and I waited till he had opened a gap to ride across to him. All of this just more on pure instinct, and from there to the top we managed to make 1min25 on our DCM rivals. As discussed we knew from there in the last 35km we could work harder together than the other teams could, and this was clearly evident as we crossed the finish line a good 5min30 ahead of DCM, Specialized/Mr Price taking third again on the day. Despite a “shower” and bike wash halfway, we were still caked in mud at the finish and the backup team would have their work cut out for them as the conditions took its toll on everything!

Stage 3, 78km Joliviet to Scottborough
With a good lead going into the last stage, we had no pressure other than to follow the wheels and make sure we stayed out of trouble. The goal was actually to try and set up a win for our second team, Paul Cordes and Adrien Niyonshuti who had moved up to fourth overall after some really bad fortune the first two days. But as I thought, DCM were going to take no prisoners today, and set a tempo that was too hard for all except Alban and myself to follow. We had no need to work with them, as we just sat on whilst they kept the tempo hard. A couple of kilometers to go, they had begun to slow down, and we could see our second team coming with Specialized/Mr Price. As we began the final climb to the finish line, we looked back and guessed they were about a minute behind us. We decided to wait, knowing that at the worse, they would get a podium place on the final stage. Adrien and Paul dug really deep, and Paul just managed to ride Melt off before entering the finishing straight, placing them second on the stage behind DCM. Specialized took third again, as we just consolidated our overall victory.
It was a fantastic experience to team up with Alban, someone who has achieved so much in the sport yet remains so humble and approachable.
After this I’m more motivated and excited about the Epic as his form is really good, and will get better in the next two weeks. I’ll need to get faster somehow before then!
Thanks again to our staff and management for the fantastic support, good enough for a potential world champion!

Next race, Giro Del Capo to assist our road team, and then it’s one week to the big one, The Cape-Epic! Till then, cheers.
Kevin Evans



Provisional results:
1st Kevin Evans/ Alban Lakata (MTN/Energade)
2nd Max Knox/Brandon Stewart (DCM)
3rd Burry Stander/Ben-Melt Swanepoel (Specialized/Mr Price)

South African Marathon Championships, Sabie

Kevin Evans, Pics Zoon Cronje

Sabie was the host of the 7th South African Marathon Championships, and a testing 110km in the mountains of the Lowveld would always provide a true marathon course and some very hard racing. It would also form the third leg of the MTN Marathon series, but with the coveted green and gold jersey up for grabs, and the title of SA Marathon champion, it was sure to be a hard fought race, with all the countries top riders taking the start line.
The course was really made for climbers, with 2600m of climbing in the 110km, preparation was key. I’d chosen to ride my Volcan Pro 1 completely tuned with DT Swiss Carbon wheels and bits, getting the weight down to as close to 8kg’s as possible for all the climbing. No sooner had we rolled out of the start, the course would tilt upwards and we’d find ourselves climbing for the first 12km, up to nearly 1900m. I was adamant before the race that I would like to set the pace from the start, and after about 2kminto the climb I took control, Burry Stander (Specialized) keen to also get stuck in and help. By the top of the first climb, the race was completely in pieces as Burry and myself crested the top first, with MTN/Energade team mate Adrien Niyonshuti in third place. Unfortunately for him a cut tire would his race in one of the technical singletrack sections. Max Knox (DCM) pushed hard to ride back to us, but had used up valuable energy in doing so, and near the end of “ugly words climb”, he was off and Burry and myself riding well together to increase our lead with each pedal stroke. The next section to the technical zone at 75km was quite hectic as we had to negotiate our way past loads of fun riders doing the shorter distances. We entered the feed zone with a healthy gap, but neither of us were going to slow down as we started the last 45km loop. There were two really big climbs in this loop, the last one at about 30km to go to the finish. It was up this climb that Burry was setting the tempo and shifted out his big chainring, and I saw a chance and took it. I knew I had nothing to loose as I didn’t want to take him to the line, and I powered a big gear up the climb, forming a small gap on him. Once I realized I had ridden him off my wheel, I gained some much needed motivation to put everything into this move. With around 25km to go, I tried to remain conservative yet consistent. In fact the most problems came from the fun riders again as riders back logged the singletrack sections and were not so friendly when asked to give way.
I think at least with the lead motorbike in front of me trying to clear the track, it made it a little easier than for Burry who was chasing on his own. I kept a steady tempo, knowing that Burry would not let his title slip easily, and only once I turned into the finish straight did I realize I had just won the South African Champions and my fourth Marathon Championship!
Burry held onto 2nd place with no problems, and David George (SAFindit.co.za) grabbed his first mountain bike nation medal to take third, after an early crash saw him break a cleat and have to fix that first before he could even begin the climb!
It was a fantastic feeling to retain my title especially on such a challenging course with the level of competition that was there.
However it was again far from a solo victory as there was so much hard work that went into the preparation of this race, lots of hours behind the scenes from mechanics, managers, coaches, soigneurs, sponsors, team riders and of course family! Everyone deserves a piece of this special jersey, so I’d like to say a big thank you!
Next race, unfortunately will be tomorrow at Carnival City, a road race and with three of our riders representing the National team in Malaysia, I’d need to help out there. Then it’s off to Sani2c with Alban for some Epic prep! Till then, cheers.
Kevin Evans



Provisional results:
1st Kevin Evans (MTN/Energade) 4hrs32
2nd Burry Stander (Specialized)
3rd David George (SAfindit.co.za)

Dischem Ride for Sight, Boksburg

Photo, Michelle Cound

The Dischem Ride for Sight took place just outside of Boksburg, and conditions on the day were perfect. The route runs along a popular “race road” up here which is well known by all cyclists, then heads around the back of Suikerbosrand reserve, and up through Heidelberg, back to Boksburg. It’s a fairly tough route and can be challenging when the winds come up and the big teams decide to turn the gas on. Also having raced 170km in the National Champs two days before would take the sting out the legs for sure.
The race was too fast for any moves to slip away, despite many attempts. The climbs on the course were just too short to ride away, and there were too many of the bigger teams with numbers to chase back most attacks.
We tried hard through Heidelberg to split the bunch, and although it split on the climb, it all came back together again with about 30km remaining. Team MTN took control of the race from here onwards as we drove the bunch back towards the finish. There were a few noticeable moves off the front in the final 10km, but the tempo we were setting was just too high for anyone to ride away.
Our yellow train was then overtaken by the House of Paint red train in the final 3km when they came through with more speed. But by this stage, our fastest and strongest sprinters were all fresh and jumped onto the back of their leadout, going into the final two corners in just the right position! It was then Christoff Van Heerden, turning over a 54tooth chainring who would lead Juan Van Heerden out in the sprint for the line, but the big gear with a slight tailwind, meant Juan could only get alongside Christoff, but not past him. 1st and 2nd on the day was an amazing result and a really good team effort again. It was also a special win for Christoff, in his home town and newly crowned SA Champion,
Next race, Saturday our mountain bike national marathon championships in Sabie! Till then, cheers.
Kevin Evans



Provisional results:
1st Christoff Van Heerden (MTN/Energade)
2nd Juan Van Heerden (MTN/Energade)
3rd Hanco Kachelhoffer (Medscheme)

South African Road Race Championships, Klerksdorp

Kevin Evans, Ian Mcleod, pic Ronelle Rust

The South African Road Race Championships took place on a circuit course through the suburbs of Klerksdorp, and although it was a relatively flat circuit, 15laps of 11.2km, it was by no means at all easy!
With loads of corners and sharp turns going into small climbs, combined with the fact that we raced along with the u/23 riders in a bunch of about 180riders on narrow twisty roads, and had a start time of 13:00 in the midday heat, it was always going to be the strongest man on the day that would win! And strongest man it was, Christoff Van Heerden (MTN/Energade), proving he really deserved the national title after an incredible ride out front all day!
The start of the race was really hard and the first two laps were crucial in terms of your positioning in the bunch. You needed to stay alert near the sharp end of the race at all times. Then halfway through lap 2, the early break, usually doomed for disaster went off the front.
In this break was the ever consistent Nic White (Medscheme), Pieter Syfert (DCM), Christoff Van Heerden (MTN/Energade), Richard Baxter (House of Paint) and J Nel. So with all the big teams who had the numbers on the day, the break was allowed to run as the teams were confident.
At one stage the move had sneaked up to 3minutes, and with the bunch too big for MTN’s liking, we decided to turn on the gas for a lap. Ian and I set a mean tempo through the suburb and after a hard lap, the bunch was thinned out considerably as the pace and heat took it’s toll on most riders. In the process however we also brought the gap down to the lead group to about 2minutes, and with the chase group much smaller, we decided to let the other teams try and control the pace.
No one team really committed and by the time we hit the final two laps, one or two riders tried to put in some hard attacks, but were always marked by other riders. Eventually James Perry (EMG) managed to slip away by himself and cross the gap to the front riders which by this stage only consisted of Nic White and Christoff. Once James had bridged them, with about half a lap remaining, they attacked Christoff and actually had ridden him off. But he was not going down without a fight and managed to get back to them with only 2kilometers remaining!
Then it was easy picking for Christoff as the other two riders couldn’t match his speed and strength as he surged for the line and the National title!
I couldn’t think of a more deserving winner of the national title and it is great to have the national jersey back in out team for another year.
So after a very successful SA Championships, with gold medals in the elite road and time trial disciplines, we head back to continue with the rest of our season that lies ahead and many more big goals.
Next race, Sunday, The Ride for Sight, and then onto our mountain bike national championships in Sabie! Till then, cheers.
Kevin Evans



Provisional results:
1st Christoff Van Heerden (MTN/Energade) 4hrs18
2nd Nic White (Medscheme)
3rd James Perry (EMG)