2012 | .

tough day in france

by dart under

world cup round 4,la bresse,france

so my first bad race of the year went down in france over the weekend.everything leading up to the race went perfect and i feel like i got my taper just right with coach jeroen swarts help.i alo loved the course in labresse.it had a long sustained climb and a long technical descent.most days it was pretty slick out there too which caused a lot of pre race injuries.

we kicked off at our normal time slot of 2pm and as always the pace was crazy.i managed to get over the first climb in 5th and felt good as we setup for the first dh.this however would be where my weekend took a turn.i got rammed from behind and pushed of the track.stunned at first,i could get up.it took awhile for me to get back up to the trail and once i got going i realized my front tire had come off the rim.so i rolled down to the technical zone and changed a wheel.once i restarted i was pretty much last.i had to reset my goals for the day and just focus on scoring some points.the leaders were already a long way up the road.for the first two laps i think i walked most of the course.its crazy how congested it is at the back of the field.my legs were good though and i started picking off a lot of riders.i had a smooth race from there and by the end i managed to move up to 24th.satisfying as i must have been in the 120s on lap 1.

this week is even more exciting than the olympics for me.i get to marry the love of my life,cherise on saturday and enjoy some time off before the second half of the season starts,

ciao

burry

world cup round 3,czech republic,move mesto na morale

by dart under

just ten days after arriving home from my last trip abroad it was time to pack my bags again and head for a small town 2hours from prague.nove mesto seems to be a small town nestled between big farms of yellow flowers-rape seeds i believe?

anyway the course here rocked last year and so for the 2012 edition we got to do the same track with some bmx jumps thrown in.these were great until i did a no footer in practice by mistake.i didn't get my feet back to those pedals so this meant i 5minute time out at the bottom of the trail...

except for that hiccup i had a pretty smooth week leading into the world cup.my bike setup was perfect and my body was feeling great.i was confident of having another strong race.

on sunday we kicked off at 2 10pm.not sure what the extra 10 minutes was for but it was.the start loop incorporated half of the normal loop and some long climbs,it was important to have good legs from the gun.i managed to stay in the top 5 the whole way round and soon we were a group of 6 off the front on the first lap.myself and teammate jaroslav made the split along with nino schurter,florian vogel,marco fontana and ralph naef. for the first few laps we had many riders attack and lead the race but ultimately the race came down to the last two laps.heading into the last lap it was myself,nino and jaroslav fighting for the win.i tried a small tactical attack on the pavement leading into the first climb but it was nino who countered and i just tried to hang on from there.it seemed like jaroslav had dropped off the pace as i kep trying to fight on nines wheel.on the last climb i thought i had something left until my legs said no.i had to let go and jaroslav got back and onto nine's wheel.i rolled in for third from there while jara had to settle for 2nd.

it was a great day out for the team as we won the team prize and i moved into 2nd place overall in the standings.jaroslav now sits in 3rd.

this week were in la bresse,france for the fourth round.should be another cracker!

ciao

burry

back on the program

by dart under

i made it back to sa after loads of traveling and not too much training this week.its always hard to find motivation when i arrive home ,but not on this trip.ive drawn alot form having a good start to the year aswell as getting constant programs and feedback from dr jeroen swart at psience2sport.

this meant i was back in the saddle and smashing quality sessions in no time.it feels like ive slipped right back into my pre season routine.eat, train ,eat and sleep,repeat.its been nice being home and sleeping in my own bed.the weathr has been great so getting over jetlag was a breeze.cherise also gets home this week so itl get even better.i have about a week more of training left before leaving to czech rebulic next week for the next world cup.

cheers

burry

olympic training and sea otter

by dart under

i just finished what felt like a whirlwind week.after the race in houffalize we drove straight to brussels where my japanese team-mate, kohei and flew to london on monday morning.we traveled there to train on the course set-out for the london olympics later this year.training went well and it was a worth while trip.on tuesday i headed back to belgium and got to spend a day with cherise and do some good training.

on thursday i was back in the air and on my way to california.it was a long trip and on friday i kicked off the weekends racing.first up was a 20min short track race and i managed to keep up with the leaders for around half the race before jetlag got the better of me.on saturday things went abit better and i managed to stay in the lead with eventual winner geoff kabush until about 20min from the end where i once again ran in fatigue.

the wwkend however was alot of fun and it was great catching up with the guys from specialized head office.this week i make my way home and reume some strucutred training to prepare for the next world cups,maybe ill fit in some golf.

chiao

burry

uci xco world cup 2,houffalize, belgium

by dart under

its been a tough two weeks getting over the fatigue i aquired at the epic.even though we had an awesome week it still takes so much out of you and as if that wasnt enough i suffered some bad stomach flu followed by a head cold upon arriving in a chilly belgium.

weird thing was i was making pretty good power on the bike and just took a few extra recovery days.i also met up with cherise in houffalize and that was super good for my moral.

the course in houffalize was brand new for this year.it was super steep on the climbs and the descents and did i mention it was freezing!my weeks training went pretty smoothly and the team was great as always.

race day dawn quickly and we kicked of at 2pm on saturday.the start loop was brutal.500m on tar followed by a super steep and loose ascent.i managed a good start and sat in around 5th for most of the start loop.on the first full lap the gaps were opening and i got gaped alittle as nino schurter and julien absalon made their move.i was stuck in 4th with manuel fumic on my wheel.i had good power but not alot of snap to accelerate.this meant ui just rode steady and tried not to make any mistakes.on the last lap my legs realy came on and i almost bridged up to marco fontana who finished in third but it wasnt to be.i came in 4th 1min 2o down on winner julien absalon.

this week im doing some course recon in london for the games later this year and at the weekend ill be racing in california at the sea otter classic.

till then

cheers

burry

absa cape epic

by dart under

what a few week.i hardly know where to start.after a successfull world cup i flew down to cape town to start prep for this years cape epic.we had a solid week of training and resting in stellenbosch before heading to meerendal for the start of the race last sunday.

prologue 27km

the prologue has always been a stage we aim to win and this year was no different.chrsitoph and i were super motivated and went hard from the gun on the 27km course.i didnt have the best legs and had to let suzie do most of the pacing.in the end we won,but only 14sec seperated us from 2nd place.we did however go into the rest of the week with confidance.

stage 1 ,115km

stage 1 is always super hard as the route is traditionally a big tester and the field is still fresh and looking to make a hard effort at the front.we rode near the front for the first half the race and then the teams around us got swallowed by the heat and tough terain.by 45km to go we were alone and stretching a good gap and in the end we won by a few minutes.

stage 2 ,119km

the stage was an easier day after the first two days as it was quite fast and flat over the first half and had minor rough steepish climbs near the end.we made the pace hard there and got a small group away to the finish.we had a hard sprint for the win and came home safely in 3rd.but importantly losing no time on the overall gc.

stage 3, 147km

this was the longest day ever in cape epic and had a massive amount of climbing spread over 4 peaks.on the 3rd climb around 70km to go team 360life attacked in the feed zone and suzie had to work hard to come across the gap.from there on we shared the work with them until the last climbs where suzie put the hammer down and eventualy rode away.i was eager for the sprint and managed to stay ahead of the other team to take the win.

stage 4, 124km

this was a very underrated stage in the race booklet.after the big day before the legs were also rather tender.we climbed up to the famous charlies heaven peak and then faced a tough 30km stretch in a strong headwind home.at the front we were joined my multivan merida and 360life for the last 30km.everyone paced realy hard and we had stretched a good gap to the riders behind.with 5km to go we attacked hard leaving both 360life and merida behind.the end of the stage saw us riding some sweet singletrack through the caledon botanical gardens which was a real treat.

stage 5 ,115km

wet,wet,wet.the only real way to describe this stage between caledon and oak valley.the stage started pretty fast along winding jeep track and open gravel roads before we got to botrivier and the road started pointing skywards regularly.the main element of the stage though was the weather.over the last few kms it becme very cold agin and here suzie attacked yeat gain.with 15km to go only the team of bulls2 remained at the front with us and we eventualy outsprinted them for the stage.now tied with our most stage wins in an epic and a time gap of around 27min to the second team on gc.

stage 6,85km

it might only have been 85km but it was hard and had the most amazing terrain.we decided to have an easier day and team 360life capitalized by taking the win.we followed a few minutes behind and it was a stage which i realy enjoyed.the views and singletracks on this stage put a smile back on everyones faces.

stage 7,64km

the grand finale sees the riders head from oak valley to lourensford via the sir lowrys pass and the famous "wagon trail" that lies there.after an easier day on the previous stage we attacked the stage from the gun, setting a hard pace at the start.our goal was defend our big lead by heading into the last 30km at the front of the bunch,however our pace was good enough to win the telkom hotspot and head into the last 30km with a good lead.we didnt want to just give it away and kept our heads down to try and secure the stage.this was quite a chellnge as we wanted to stay cautious on the rough stuff.luckily we could keep opening the gap on the climbs and held on to take our 6th stage win on the fields at lourensford infront of an electrefying crowd!!!

it was an awesome week in which we had a great time.the team pulled together and we delivered.thanks to all our sponsors and supporters who make the racing possible for us.thanks also to suzie for a great 8 days!

i now go home for a few days before heading to belgium for the next world cup

ciao

burry

season opener

by dart under

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

by dart under

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

by dart under

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

mtn marathon tulbagh,110km,2400m asl

by dart under

after racing in the first round of the sa xco series i decided to stay in stellenbosch to do some solid training and race the second round of the national marathon series in the small town of tulbagh.the weeks training went great and i managed to put out some great numbers.i was realy tired mid week and in need of some serious recovery.our teams sougneur(physio) put me back together and my legs were feeling better on friday.unfortunately i had contracted a slight head cold so i was spending most of the day drowning myself with vit c supplements.as the race would start around 7am on saturday it meant a 4 am wake up so i tried to get to bed early but my sleep was interupted by drug free sport.the did a blood and urine test and as i had too much water during the day i needed to provide another sample.this meant i finaly got to bed at 11pm...

everything went smoothly on saturday with dylan(specialized mechanic) picking us up from the guest farm and making sure we got to tulbagh on time and ready to rock.the race kicked of pretty easy as we followed the epic route from last year.as we hit the first climb at around 10km in the pace heated up quickly.over the top of the climb it was max knox (decca-ghost) leading the race with myself and kevin evans(360-life) trailing a few seconds back.alittle further back david george,adrien niyonshuti and jaques rossouw also chasing hard and getting back to us.at around the 40km mark we all regrouped and the paced eased until 40km to go.kevin and i drilled it at this point and only jaques and david followed suit.as we hit the last climbs which i totaly underestimated,kevin upped the pace and i struggled alittle with cramp at first before finding my legs on the second climb of 4.soon it was just kevin and at the front and with 10km to go it was going to come down to a sprint.in the last few kms jaques was closing in.kevin lead out the sprint and i only just managed to come by him at the end and take the win.thanks to dylan for all the support out there.my bike worked awesome.

im now back at home and doing my last bit of tuning up for the season ahead.

ciao

burry

sa xco round 1,durbanville

by dart under

this weekend saw the running of the first round of sa's xc series down in the cape.the turnout was realy good and the racing super serious.as were in an olympic year there are alot of riders wanting to claim our second olympic spot and offcourse i want to prove that i deserve mine.philip buys was a tough competitor once again and as he had some good training on the course,alittle faster on the dh sections than me.i knew that the race was going to be tough towards the end and bided my time.i raced smart and made no mistakes.on the 4th lap out of 7 on the tough 4.6km track i attacked on the main climbing section.as philip seemed alittle spent by this stage i eased into a solid lead.i was super happy with my form as i had just recovered from a stomach bug that seems to be gripping the south coast.

ill remain in the cape this week as i prepare for the tulbagh mtn marathon over 110km.i do however also have some hard days of training,keeping the first world cup in mind.its only 1 month away!

till next week

ciao

burry

taking it easy

by dart under

after racing on pretoria last week i had an easier week of training with some long rides and an wesome restday on tuesday.awesome because i attended an audi high performance driving course at kyalami.its something ive wanted to do for somewhile and something that every driver on the roads should do.

later in the week i headed down to pmb for a recce of the world cup track.the course is totally different to last years event and will now include even more climbing.its going to hurt!!!

i noticed below average power when i was training the course and a stomach bug serfaced over the weekend,.this meant i spent some quality time resting and recovering.

last week was also a big one as i decided to open another Concept Cyclery bike store,this time right in Shelly Beach.We hope to kick off in a months time and will also roll out our mtb and road club across the South Coast!

till next week

keep safe out there

cheers

burry

round 1,xcosa series

by dart under

this weekend saw me racing my mtb for the first time this year at a brand new event on the calendar.the series named xcosa is just that,a series focusing on the development of cross-country mountain biking.a discipline which lacks attention in south-africa.

the course was set in the picturesque fountains valley which borders on the groenkloof nature reserve.its a venue ive raced at for years and one which i always thoroughly enjoy.

as it is a development series the aim is to build fun courses and encourage newcomers to the sport.this meant the course on saturday was flat,fast and the racing super close.hometown favourite phillip buys was in great form and i knew with that type of track it was going to be hard to drop the team contego rider.at the start of the race it was brendon davids(sho-air specialized)who set the pace until james reid (team 360) put the hammer down.it wasnt long before only james,phillip and i remained at the front.at the end of the second lap i had a loose piece of mud fling up under my eyewear and hit me in the eye,worst still was that i was in the middle of negotiating a slippery corner and went completely of course.after composing myself i chased back and as i latched onto james' wheel the flying youngster unfortunately suffered a cut tyre.this meant that for the remainder of the race it would be me vs phill and man did i try everything to drop the local man.the climbs were just not long enough for me to get any sizeable gap and at the end it was quite tactical.i knew going into the last singletrack was vital and put in a big effort on the last rise to do so.i managed to win but only just.im excited to see other younger riders working so hard at xc and hungry to up the level of racing.

this week is a busy one for me training wise and ill get to do some work on the world cup course in pmb mid weak.it will be good preperation to fine tune my form over the next month.

till next week

cheers

burry

im back online

by dart under

its been awhile...

after last years season came to an end,cherise and i had a awesome time in mauritius before returning home and resuming training in december.its been great to work with our new coach jeroen swart aswell as getting in the gym with richard woolrich,something ive never realy done before.training went well and we had a blessded festive season with friends and family.this past weeknd we got back to racing...

kzn road championships

for the second year now, ive used kzn road champs as my season opener.its always nice to see what all the training over december amounts to in a race and i was quite happy to see how my form has come along.

this years race saw us tackle a loop on the m19 road that runs between westville and hillcrest.the road was fully closed for the race and the organisers did an awesome job in setting up a safe but challenging route.the elite men were up for 126km and with team 360 life up form cape town i knew it would be a hard tactical battle.

on race day the weather was pretty typical for that part of the world as it was rainy but still very hot and humid.the race started fast with the first attacks going on the first few laps.the pace remained pretty hard for the whole race but it all came down to the last two laps.i was waiting for 360 life to make the first move as they were represented by 3 riders and had the advantage.kevin evans made the move with around 20km to go and i reacted immediately and got on the wheel.we worked well together until 1 lap to go when david george and james reid also escaped from the bunch.this put kevin in a nice position as he was happy to sit on and wait for his team mates.i wasnt going to let that happen and just put my head down.i figured second was better than having to cover three guys on the last lap.i managed to open the gap enoug to be able to sit up and recover on the last climb.evans allowed me to recover alittle too much and as he kicked for the finish climb i still had enough to get back to his wheel and come around him at the line to take my second kzn title!

cherise had a stormin ride in the tt and won the ladies.she opted to race our cat on sunday to get some hard training in as she leaves for quatar pretty soon.

this weekend sees us racing up in the highveld.

till next week

cheers

burry

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tough day in france

world cup round 3,czech republic,move mesto na morale

back on the program

olympic training and sea otter

uci xco world cup 2,houffalize, belgium

absa cape epic

season opener

here and there

columbia grape escape

mtn marathon tulbagh,110km,2400m asl

sa xco round 1,durbanville

taking it easy

round 1,xcosa series

im back online

cuzzies

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