After Joberg2C finished I retreated to my
paradise in Stellenbosch at Ride In to relax and catch up of many hours of lost
sleep. The only trouble been the
close distance from Jonkershoek and not having a lot else to do I did maybe ride
a bit too much, but that was fine, my legs weren’t fresh in Wellington but it
had been an amazing week of single track fun and café stops.
The race started at a respectable time of
7.50am, (I love winter here for this reason!!) I really needed a steady flat
start but was faced with a mountain from the gun and half way up I saw all the
top contenders ride away. My heart
rate was up there which I was surprised to see but my legs had nothing, they
weren’t sore they just didn’t want to go any harder. Once at the top things didn’t improve as my coordination was
all over and I made a real hash of the descent.
Once down and alone I changed mindset, it
was such a beautiful day and we were riding over some great trails with the
mountains in the background so I started to enjoy the ride. I chatted to the ultra men and stopped
at the feed before the climbing started again. Up ahead I spotted Amy. I caught her up and followed her
down the single track we’d done in the Epic. It was a complete deja vu of following Yolande down there in
the same kit though Amy 1) didn’t get a flat like Yolande did there and 2)
managed to get some air a few times… youth definitely on her side!!
Once we started climbing I passed Amy and
caught Cherise. My legs were
finally coming back. Gavin from
Ride In had said I might struggle early on but I had to laugh that it took 50km
to really get going. I enjoyed the race feeling the rest of the race until the
last 4 or 5km where I started paying for my brief efforts, luckily the hill I
had cursed 4 hours earlier meant we at least had a downhill finish and I
crossed the line 5th, just sneaking into the presentation and
winning enough for a few more café stop rides before I go home!
Mariske Strauss 1st
Jennie Stanerhag 2nd
Robyn de Groot 3rd
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