season opener

pietermaritzburg mtb world cup round 1

tthis weekend was nothing short of spectacular.the organisation,atmosphere and support next to the track was amazing.i had some great prep coming into the event and was super motivated to do well.

the pmb world cup was the first big focus of my season and my training built all the way to this event.i was in great shape and team specialized made sure i had the best equipment behind me.

the nerves were pretty hectic.with all the support comes alot of stress aswell.i mnaged to turn this positive and focus on the task at hand.i knew i needed a good start and managed to hit the first single track in the top 10.on the sirst lap i slowly moved up the field trying to also not spend too much too early.on lap 2 i got into the lead group and from here it was a fight between myself,mauel fumic(cannondale factory) and nino schurter (scott-swisspower).the pace was unrelentling and we seemed pretty evenly matched until manny dropped with two laps to go.it was,as it was the previous weekend,myself and nino,head to head.he was slightly faster through the rock garden section and forced a slight advantage at the end of the second lap.i gave it my all to close on the last but just could get to him,settling for 2nd.

it was a great feeling to be on the podium again after a tough season last year.thanks to everyone for the support and kind words i received.this week its on to the epic,psyched for the 8 day race...

cheers

burry

here and there

i strongly welcomed my first easy week in awhile this week after good blocks of training and racing.cherise and i chilled out in cape town for the week and stayed at the classy breakwater protea hotel right at the heart of the amous v&a waterfront.on wendnesday i even had my first non painfull massage at a spa.

on friday we hung out with the folks at oakley and then headed to stellenbosch for bobby behans wedding to christine markgraaf.bobby is a close firiend and heads up specialized in sa.the ceremony was at a beautiful church in kerk straat and the reception followed at the spectacular val de vie estate complete with excebition polo match.also a first for me.

this was where the week got a bit higher paced.we got to bed at 12pm on friday night and i caught a flight at 7am on saturday to fly back to durban.the reason was to race at the kzn momentum xco race at cascades in pietermaritzburg that kicked off at 12 30.the course is the same one we will race at the opening of the world cup series this weekend so a good ride was vital.

i had a bad start which was dissapointing but felt great once i found my legs.i caught up to the leader after 2 laps chasing back from being a minute down at one stage.nino schurter and i rode off the front and as he had swisspower team mate florian vogel chasing it was up to me to set a pace.i was content as i knew the race was ultimately one where i just wanted to test my shape.it came down to the last climb of the race hwere nini got a small gap on me and i finished 6 seconds down on the swiss.i was very happy with how i rode and hope to go one better next weekend.

on sunday it was cherises turn down in the cape.she kicked off her argus at 6 25 so i was pretty much glued to the tv early on a sunday.their race came down to a carzy bunch sprint in which half the leaders went down.she was also one of the unlucky ones and had a bad crash.she is fortunately okay and back home,at the physio as i write this.thanks to all for the well wishes she received!

this week is the big one.the first round of the mtb world cup and the reason for all the hard work.

i hope i have some good news next week!

cheers

columbia grape escape

grape escape,western cape

for only the second time, the organisers of the world-renowned argus cycle tour put on a mtb stage race and incorporated it into a week that they now call cycle tour week.the race takes place on some of the most picturesque vineyards in the central western cape area.

on thursday we kicked of with the first 75km stage at 7am sharp.this meant an early wake up and shake up for myself and cape epic team mate,christoph sauser.the race would be great training for the absa cape epic drawing near.the pace was fairly hot from the gun and i settled into the rear of the lead group.i carried some fatigue into the race with a big training block so i was happy to ease into the event.christoph had only recently returned from a very cold switzerland but was riding well nontheless.the route flattened out towards the middle of the stage and besides ralph naef attacking the sandy sections like a mad man ,remained pretty uneventfull towards the finish.with 5km to go we ralph and christoph turn on the gas and it proved a hard finish.in the end christoph and i won the stage and crossed the line in 1st and 2nd.

stage 2 was a much harder stage.despite an easier start,we realy felt the pace over the last 30km which carried all of the days 1500m of ascent.we came home the victors again and extended our lead over the bulls and 360life teams.

on the last day we were hoping to just consolidate but in the end the satge was just too hard to take it easy.the pace was hard from the gun and from around 20km into the stage it was only myself,christoph,ralph and jaques rossouw left at the front.we worked hard all the way to the last feed zone where jaques and suzie had alittle play in the deep sand.we lost jaques and the rest of us charged over the line together.

it was a tough three days and to cap it off we started the argus mtb challenge on sunday.it was a individual race but christoph and i still stayed close and worked together.kevin evans attacked on a climb in the middle of the race,i was stuck at the back of the group and had to realy dig deep to catch up.in the end christoph and i came into the last 10km with evans but as fate would have it i broke a chain.after i just cruised and enjoyed my last 10km.

thanks to all at www.songo.info and team specialized for all the support over the weekend.this week ill stay in the cape on a mini break before flying back to kzn on sat morning and then racing the kzn momentum xc at lunch time.should be a tough one!

cheers

burry
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