XC Racer Blog Post
Joberg2c South Africa
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterBY: Ben Thomas
Published: 10th May, 2013
Joberg2c 9 Day Stage Race - 26 April to 4th May 2013 - Johannesburg to Scottburgh, South Africa
For the last two weeks the Mountain Trax - Vauxhall Motors Cycling Team have been in South Africa racing the 9 day stage race Joberg2c which covers 900 kilometres of trails starting in Johannesburg and finishing on the east coast near Scottburgh.
The team received additional support for this race from Little Knocks Wokingham which meant Dan from Mountain Trax could travel with us to maintain and clean our bikes, and drive the camper van which the team had hired for the 2 week trip. Travelling as a bike team isn't easy especially with the large amount of luggage we carry so having Dan with us made the job much easier.
The team were also privileged to be working with Itec South Africa who supported our entry to the event. It was a great experience to work with Itec and further motivated Ben and Tim during the race.
After the buzz and fireworks of Registration Day the First Stage began under sunny, clear, warm skies. This would be a neutralised stage with no stage results, the idea being that the slower riders could mix with the faster pros. It was a fun concept and a good way to open up the race. Ben and Tim were keen to get their legs moving so sat in the lead bunch and cruised through the 116 kilometres from Karen Beef to Frankfort enjoying the sunshine, brilliant trails, and excellent hospitality at the feed zones which had lots of crazy local food. At one point all the participants had to dismount their bikes and climb aboard large dragon boats to race across a river!
The Second Stage was a much harder affair with racing underway and riders keen to form some kind of order right from the start. Our riders got separated somewhere during the first 10 kilometres which created some confusion but once back together the team set to work in the lead group. A puncture cost the team crucial time as they neared the final feed zone with 60 kilometres to go. With work to do they limited their losses to finish 8th overall and 6th in the men's category. It was a tough day made harder by a couple issues but Ben and Tim rode well to still finish strongly.
After a couple of days on the race the team were settling well into the stage racing routine: 5.15 am alarm clock, 5.30 breakfast, 7 am race start, post race USN recovery drink and lunch, an afternoon of recovery and eating, 6pm dinner and presentation, 8.30 bed! They were also getting stronger and as the next couple of stages passed by were making steady progress up the general classification.
The team were enjoying the fantastic trails on the race which had some excellent singletrack sections and were benefiting from the harder mountain stages. On Stage 4 the race climbed 1700 metres but descended 2500 metres! The team were all smiles after the finish having ridden some of the best trails they'd ever ridden. After this Stage Ben and Tim finished 5th and after Stage 5 were in 4th place: excellent results against a strong field of professional experienced stage racers. Stage 5 had been a super tough day after an early escape from the Avis Rentals team (who were at risk of overtaking our team on the general classification) an hour long chase followed with Ben powering along on the front of the lead group to close down the break away.
After Day 5 the team were doing well but on Day 6 Ben woke up feeling sick and achy; lots of people in the race had been suffering from the same thing. Unable to eat Ben started the Stage but after 30 minutes felt the full force of the illness leaving him and Tim to cruise around the day's Stage losing nearly 1.5 hours. It was a devastating blow as they had worked so hard in the previous stages. Ben spent the remainder of the day in bed and was unable to eat which left him empty once again on Day 7. Immediately from the line it was obvious Ben was still unwell but the team rode the Stage just hoping that maybe they'd be able to fight for stage results later in the week. That day Ben started to eat again but his body was still struggling to digest food. It was decided Ben would start Stage 8 and see how he felt; unfortunately he withdrew at the first feed unable to recover from racing 100 kilometre stages with little or no food.
Tim continued as a special solo, his form was improving day by day and on Stage 8, despite losing big amounts of time early in the Stage waiting for Ben, he stormed through the field to finish what would effectively have been 6th place in the men's pair category. On Day 9 Tim went all out to collect final honours for the team and returned with an effective 4th place in the men's pair's category, another excellent placing to cap off a fantastic string of results for the team. In South Africa. Mountain Trax - Vauxhall Motors Cycling Team didn't gain a general classification result after Ben's withdrawal but the daily stage results once again proved that our riders are capable of competing against far more experienced professional racers.
The team met some fantastic people during the trip, including the team of guys and girls from USN South Africa. They were super helpful with nutritional advice and very supportive when Ben got ill. The team would like to thank USN South Africa, Little Knocks Wokingham, Itec South Africa, all our other sponsors, and also the organisers of Joberg2c who put in extra work to help organise additional sponsorship for our team.
Blogger Info:
Ben Thomas
Team manager of Mountain Trax - Vauxhall Cycling.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mountain-Trax-Vauxhall-Motors-Cycling-Team/330790256947713
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This blog post was written by a third party and their views do not necessarily reflect the views of XCRacer.com
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