My taste of mixed
racing.
With an entry from
our victory last year I paired up with Jarryd Haley who’s father, Eugene has
supplied us with our Rocky Mountain bikes for the year making us Team
Bizhub/Rocky Mountain. We’d met briefly but had no idea how we’d go in the
competitive mixed category with the likes of Erik and Ariane of REMC, Jane
Nuessli and Yves Corminboeuf from BMC, Craig and Jennie riding for Old Mutual
and another Swiss team.
Day one
Heidelberg –
Frankfort
The first day is
always a special day as it’s a neutral day in order to get everyone across the
Vaal River on dragon boats. Having
just arrived from the UK on an overnight flight it was a perfect steady start with
so much chatting and dust I nearly lost my voice! It’s also a rare opportunity to stop at all the water
stations and sample all the African delicacies I’ve missed in the UK. Three ‘fatcooks’ (my own English
translation), a few kooksisters and some sausages saw us finish in Frankfort,
possibly a few kgs heavier!
Day two
Frankfort – Reitz
Racing started
from the gun, there was no time to feel the cold as we raced through rutted
fields and washed out descents. I
hung on wheels as much as possible but when I started to drop I’d get a push
from Jarryd to get back on. It
meant I was riding flat out and was relived when the pace finally slowed a
bit. On the open road we found
ourselves in a group motoring along and soon we tagged onto the other mixed
teams of RECM and BMC. I lost contact
down a single track but Jarryd pulled us back and we stayed with them till the
end only losing a few seconds over the line after the last single track
descent. Despite it feeling a very
hard day all the teams were close and, though we made it on the podium it is
all very much still to play for
Day Three
Reitz –
Sterkfontein Dam
My ‘warm-up’ left
me with the coldest hands, which turned agony when they finally thawed out such
was the temperature this morning.
Everyone always says I should be used to it been British but I always
argue that there would be no chance we’d be camping and racing at 7 in the
morning!! I started near the front
and stayed there through the neutral zone for no other reason than to keep warm
from the exhausts off the Massy Ferguson. Once racing, I fell twice, was fine
but it did leave us chasing a bit.
Soon we were back on and on an open road. Our group was big but moved along at a good speed. I was very surprised to catch the lead
group who were obviously cruising but soon enough the splits came as we turned
off the road though we stayed close to Eric and Ariane. We stopped at the final waterpoint and
for the next 10 km Eric sat at the front of our group at a comfortable pace. New to this year was a climb and a Red
Bull timed descent. Finally the
elastic snapped and the RECM pair pulled away. I let Jarryd through on the descent to fly down alone and by
the time I got to the bottom he was standing waiting for what must have been an
age! He is an x downhiller though
so I didn’t take it badly and it meant he was nicely rested for the last few
kms over the dam to the finish. We
came in 2nd in the top 10 overall and are now lying 2nd
on gc. My BrytonGPS said I’d
burned 2500cals that I easily made back up in the tent. This is always my favorite camp, real
showers and toilets and the most amazing cakes and sweets, poor Jarryd with be
pushing a 70kg Bizhub’er by next Saturday!!
Day Four
Sterkfontein Dam –
Winterton
Today the real
race really starts, its ok hiding in bunches on the flat but today climbing
into KZN, the race was always going to be tough. I didn’t feel great up the first climbs, the efforts of the
last two days catching up and we lost sight of Erik and Ariane. BMC were behind us after Great Wall My
China, a fantastic single-track along the escarpment, but they came through
near the bottom and in order to keep them near I rode way out of my comfort
zone! Emerging just behind
unscathed Jarryd pulled us back and soon our group caught RECM. There was a moment of rest in the
headwind with no one wanting to kill themselves which allowed us girls to have
a brief chat before racing was back on.
Back onto farm tracks the pace cranked up and Jane and her partner were
dropped. We kept with Erik and
Ariane, stopping together at the feed to lube chains while the men got our
bottles which no sooner had I got that I lost it with a broken cage! No worries really… I’d drank or ate
hardly anything since we were either climbing or flying down descents! The Spionkop climb up to the monument
was where we finally them. Just
like the Brits who were defeated on this hill, the two of them made war and
crested the top 30 m or so ahead. With Erik pushing and pulling and Jarryd
doing the same all four of us raced so hard up that climb I’m surprised we got
down in one piece! I followed
Jarrad who rode the perfect pace for me to go down way faster than if I was
alone (and fast enough to win the woman’s Endure Section!!) but the other two
were out of sight. The final climb
up Puff Adder Pass was tough, as was hanging on at the top and sitting slip
behind Jarryd as he flew along the road to the finish, in fact tough was an
understatement of the day, I have burned so many matches going into the red I’m
not sure how many are left but it’s a great feeling so far, painful yes but its
great to be in the mix and really be racing!
Day Five
Winterton – Kamberg
Today was my bad day and I hoped it was going to only be the one. I led through the early single track,
not enjoying more rutted fields and catching the pedals through the narrow
single-track fields but soon we formed a big group and cruised along the open
roads to the reserve. Erik and
Ariane attacked hard once there and though we hung on for a while I couldn’t
keep it up and backed off. Near
the top another mixed pair caught us so it was head down again to stick with
them. I had nothing and poor
Jarryd really had his work cut out keeping us in contention. Towards the finish we were leading our
group but my bars were knocked by the solo riders racing in, the other mixed
pair overtook us as I had nothing left to fight back. We came in 3rd still as BCM also had a hard
day. I gave my legs a cold water
treat in the river and had a good relaxed afternoon, praying that it wasn’t
going to go downhill from here on in!!
Day Six
Kamberg –
Underberg
My bad day has
passed I was relieved to discover as my appetite was back in all senses. We hit the big climb of the day and
while we crested the top just behind the other Swiss pair we descended quickly
and edged ahead. Riding our own
race was a lot less stressful than been around the other mixed teams and,
feeling strong I climbed the 2nd climb and took in the amazing view
at the same time. Towards the end
we could see Erik and Ariane not too far ahead. Jarryd managed to ride the Red Bull challenge, a steep loose
climb and do a wheelie at the top while I was happy pushing my bike and
cheering on! We finished a happy 2nd
though Jarryd later told me he was feeling pretty rotten and by dinner looked
like death’s door. The stomach bug
flying round camp seems to have struck him down.
Day Seven
Underberg –
Mackenzie
We had the best
news that the race was only starting at 8am, getting up in the light with an
extra hour sleep made all the difference to me and I felt great. Good job, as Jarryd looked really ill
still. We set off fine, enjoying
the smooth single track and floating bridge. I had a small crash at the same
point of Jane and Eric ironically but was ok. Jarryd with hardly any food in him really struggled and we
backed off, me taking the wind for a change but we got through and didn’t loose
too much time considering other guys with the same problem lost masses of
time. We came in 4th,
still holding onto 2nd on GC.
Day Eight
Mackenzie -
Joilvet
Jarryd was looking
sprightly this morning as we lined up for one of the biggest stages of the
tour. The start was different this
year with no road and straight onto jeep tracks and across fields. The pace was high especially with day 8
legs, as everyone wanted to be first into the single track. We sat around
familiar guys so I knew Jarryd was feeling fine then I tried to stick with him
as long as possible down into the Umkomaas Valley. At the bottom we had lost sight of the other mixed teams, I
didn’t ride down very well aware that I was tired and not concentrating that
well. At the bottom I had a brief
rest bite while Jarryd plugged a flat but it didn’t take long for him to TT
back up. After the water point we
started the hardest part of the race, up and down through water crossings with
some steep climbs and technical riding.
I was surprised to still see the other mixed teams not too far in front
up the big road climb and with Jarryd towing and pushing we almost caught up
with BMC. My legs didn’t feel
great, it was another day of ‘on the rivet riding’ and towards the end I was
really blowing. We lost a bit of
time to BMC and the leaders Ariane and Eric but nowhere near as much as I was
expecting too if Jarryd hadn’t recovered. The afternoon flew by with not enough recovery time
but at the same time it was the last chance to be social and have a chat to
friends we’ve made along the way.
Day Nine
Jolivet -
Scottburgh
I was determined
not to expect an ‘easy downhill’ ride to the finish today, we were warned the
route was different; a good few km’s more and with new single track though
without Heart Break Hill. I have
always struggled on the last day, you are told its an easy ride when clearly
its never going to feel easy with legs that can hardly walk down the slope out
of the food hall and the constant feeling that without Seattle Coffee on
constant supply sleep could be adopted in the stand position!! However, today
was different, I was ready for another day of pain and I could sense Jarryd was
keen to try one last time for a stage win. He was maybe more keen than me as he stood on the front line
while I was a little further back envious of Billy, a solo rider who planned to
cruise the day.
As soon as we were
released I chased up the side to Jarryd’s wheel, better to least look keen at
the start! While I was content to
sit on Ariane’s wheel who was riding more than fast enough, Jarryd had sneaked
through and I felt obliged to follow.
I was glad we did, though Jarryd then sat in the wind I found out how
much easier it was sitting 2nd in the group and not further back as
we had some pretty steep descents and tricky corners to get round. Despite the work Jarryd did, Eric, with
a better memory than me made sure him and Ariane were both into the single
track in front of us when it really mattered. I felt like I was on the verge of crashing as I tried to
keep up and managed to emerging on an adrenaline high still on their wheel and
giving the thumbs up to Jarryd behind to be told by a solo rider that he wasn’t
Jarryd. I couldn’t see him or half
our group so sat tight hoping Eric up front would also think my new companion
was also Jarryd and wouldn’t put the hammer down. Eventually Jarryd caught back, pretty shattered from him
chase and with a sore back from crashing. The elastic soon snapped to Eric and
Ariane, I lost some time in the next single track and as soon as they saw that
they were off. We were both
somewhat deflated and it hit us both how exhausted we were as we kind of limped
down to the sea. I was thankful we
weren’t still together as we hit the beach, unique to this year was a sea
crossing which was quite deep just before the finish line and I know Ariane
used to play water polo so I’d have no chance!!
We crossed the
line 2nd and kept 2nd on GC, in the top 10 overall. I think for both of us it was the best
result we could have imagined. RECM
are the World’s best mixed pair without doubt. It’s the first time I’ve seen them race together and they
work as one, Erik knows exactly what to say and where to be while Ariane keeps
such a confident exposure, while my head is nearly on my front wheel she looks
like it’s a breeze! I hope we gave
them a bit more of a race than they are used to, often it felt like I was just
hanging on as long as I could to be honest but I did push deeper than I’ve ever
dug thanks to Jarryd and his hand just urging me back onto the group. It’s a whole lot easier to throw in the
towel when your racing alone and I can now see how Ariane has turned into such
a classy rider. I think the whole
Joberg2c experience can be summed up to the moment the four of us raced up
Spionkop… a climb so steep the average rider struggles to just get up there yet
there we were racing like it was the Mur de Huy in Fleche Wallonne World Cup
with no thoughts of how we were then going to ride the single track down or
worries about how we’d feel the next day… While the Epic was mentally
exhausting and a rollercoaster of emotions, Joberg2c will be remembered as head
down, digging deeper than I ever thought possible but in a strange way only
athletes understand, loving every minute of it!!
Thanks Jarryd for
pushing, pulling and letting me sit slip so often and for making the ride so
much fun, so often I would be nervously following your line down a descent when
you’d catch some air do a jump and twist the bike all over and make me think,
yeh cool I won’t do that but maybe a little air won’t harm!!
