Out of all the races I missed last year Joberg2C was the
biggest. Having won here twice and
2nd once I have so many fond memories and not only because I've had
good results. The atmosphere
is way more relaxed than most races, most riders are here just to finish and
waiting at each race venue are hundreds of eager school kids, happy to clean
your bike, give you water and clean up after you’ve demolished one excellent
meal after another. Dinner is
served by woman from the community and they are all equally happy to help. Each night we are treated with the
comedy trio of Glen, Gary and Craig as they recap the day and tell us what’s in
store the next as well as speeches from sponsors, those benefitting from the
race coming through and war stories and photos from the day.
The riding itself is through such vast open landscapes of
the Free State to the groomed famous Sani2c trails and varies each day until
the sea at Scottsbrough finally is in sight. Yes, I sound like I’m making an advert for the race but
maybe I am as to me it is a race close to my heart and each year at the end I
always hope I’ll be back in 12 months time. Here is my blog of the first four
days so far:
Day One
Always a non race day it suits me that everyone gets the
same time as my record of feeling rubbish on the first day meant I could suffer
without it mattering! Leaving Heidelberg
we soon had one of few climbs and straight away I lost Yolande de Villiers sight
of the Sasol train, my fellow team mates for the race: Yolande de Villiers; my
partner and Johan Labuschagne and Leana de Jager, riding mixed. Luckily at the top the route splits and
while most riders headed to the left I went right and soon got Yolande’s wheel
back. Day One is a hard one to
ride; you still must get through over 100km of pretty flat but sometimes
grueling going while trying not to expend much energy. Staying in a group helps a lot but the
one we were with was shifting along too fast so I dropped off with Leana
forcing Yolande and Johan to also drop back. We got a nicer steadier group and I had a good natter to
friends and friends to be over the kms.
The Dragon boats had been replaced by a floating bridge which while
pretty unique wasn’t quite the same as all sitting in the boats and rowing
across. The route was very muddy
all day thanks to an overnight downpour and the terrain was hard going but soon
we were at the third water point and we stopped to have some Karoo meat and
marshmallow dipped in condensed milk, a very sweet combination!! At the finish the
race took a short detour through the infant school where all the kids were
there cheering us on and making us feel like super stars, before finishing at
the High School. Riding for
Sasol we have our own campervan and mechanic which is a real bonus for recovery
and trusting your bike is 100% when you get on it in the morning for me makes a
massive difference to how I ride.
Day Two
The real race begun in earnest and the start I must say I
struggled with for the first 30 minutes.
We rode fast along a jeep track and I seemed to find every big puddle,
rut and ‘black’ mud, the kind that sucks you in and doesn’t let go!! I saw Yolande, Johan and Leana in one
line keeping out of trouble and the more I tried to catch them, the more
mistakes I made. I caught back
with a big effort once on the open road and after that I was fine. The pace was fast and our group was a
nice size. Johan sat at the front
and a few guys also helped keep the pace up and the km’s flew by. The single track near the end followed
by passing the wolf sanctuary was the best bit of the day and all four of us
came in the finish together, me and Yolande winning the woman’s category, Johan
and Leana winning the mixed.
Day Three
This morning with a clear sky was way colder than we’ve had
so far and I appreciated a bowl of oats for breakfast. By 7am we were off in the bight
sunshine. We weren’t cold for long
as we were in for another gallop as soon as we hit the dirt road out of town. I was surprised to look round and not
see Yolande, she was only a group back but didn’t look as comfortable as the
last few days. True enough she had
one of those days where neither leg wants to work but with it been another
pretty flat stage it just meant we sat with a slightly slower group. No one really wanted to work and it was
a little frustrating but I did appreciate the views a lot; huge vast open
spaces, one of the largest corn fields in South Africa and distant mountains as
we neared the dam. The 4km dam
wall provided a strong tail wind thankfully and soon enough we arrived at my favorite
camp venue. Nice and compact,
baths so I could have a hot and cold recovery bath and a long table full of
sweet treats which has enabled me to write up this blog so far without need of
a nap or 2nd coffee!!!
Day Four
We had a foggy start this morning and we stayed in the
camper van as long as possible before venturing out. The start was a fast neutral zone out of the dam then a
rough newly laid road full of big stones making it difficult to ride in a big
group with so many riders around.
The rolling hills and fast pace split the groups up quickly which was a
good things as we climbed up the escarpment, now in Berg n Bush territory in
small groups. The single track
down is always fun but also quite sketchy and loose in places. By the bottom we formed a nice group
with Leana and Johan and all was going well until Leana hit a huge ant hill
with her pedal on a fast downhill and flew at least 10 meters through the
air. She was crying out and as I
got back to her she wasn’t moving and I feared at least a broken bone. She had landed flat out face down with
her arms above her. Someone had a
phone to ring the medics and with little else to do Yolande and me left her
with Johan and got to the next set of medics to inform them. We were both very down after that but
grateful that some of the group we were with hung back just for some other
conversation other than what we were having like what hospital she might end up
in!! The route had changed a lot
since 2 years ago and instead of the steep concrete climb we climbed round the
edge and still got the fantastic single-track descent off it. After the last feed we had Puff Adder
climb and then it was all down hill.
Apart from Yolande taking a brief dip in the river a few kms out we
finished without any issues and the highest position 12th team in,
so far. The best bit of the day
was seeing Leana and Johan ride in only 15 minutes or so later. Bruised and very sore but with no
broken bones and they even held onto their 1st place on GC!
