Pietermaritzburg World Cup - Round 1

Finally the weekend that myself and a lot of other South Africans had been waiting for arrived. The first stop of the world cup circuit in our hometown of Pietermaritzburg. The venue was looking amazing. 4X, XC and DH courses taped and waiting for the riders. The vibe around the event was something I have never experienced and I was loving every second of it.

The track was long and very physical. I did a few hard practice runs to get my head around the course from top to bottom in one complete run. I divided it up into 3 sections. The top was fast, flowed well and alot of gradient changes. The second had some big jumps and flat out pedalling, 40 seconds of it to be exact! The third was alot quicker than the previous section which helped alot seeing as though you were so tired already. A few jumps later and you crossed the line, out of breathe and gasping for air.

I had no idea what to expect for qualifying so I just gave it everything from the start. I made a few mistakes at the top but nothing to serious. I felt I could have pedalled more in the second section but overall was happy with the run qualifying 58th. I was stoked to be in the final racing against all the guys I have looked up to my whole racing career. Sundays final came around and the vibe at the top of the course was tense, all you could hear was indoor trainers buzzing, the timing device counting down for the riders and the commissar calling rider names. I had waited for this day all year and couldn't wait to get on track. I left the gate pumped and ready for the task ahead. I couldn't believe how much faster the track was rolling compared to practice, I nailed all my lines and pedalled as hard as I could. Entering the 3rd and final section disaster struck. I was 2 seconds behind the leader at the split untill I came over the right hand hip near the bottom. I rolled the rear tyre off the rim pulling the tube into the spokes causing it to explode. I didn't want to believe what just happened and just kept on pedaling. Eventually my rear wheel locked up and wouldn't turn any more. My race was over. I was absolutely gutted. The crowd support was amazing, evan though I walked my bike across the line.

After a cool down and getting my head around what happened I went to the line and watched the rest of the race. Was awesome to see the rest of the SA guys representing. The crowed were on their feet as Greg crossed the line, he ended up losing by 0.2 of a second to Aaron Gwin.

Overall it was an amazing weekend that i would do all over again evan knowing about the blowout right at the bottom of the course! Really exciting to know that we have been awarded the world championships for 2013!

Ride safe,

TB

GregMinnaarMongoose DH series #3

On Sunday the 27th March the third round of the gregMinnaarMongoose DH series took place on the top half of the world cup track at Cascades. Rain from the previous days made for some slippery and interesting racing. Mud tyres were a must for Saturdays practice aswell so it was nice to get used to them again as it really is a different feel to normal dry tyres. The track was very technical at the top, had a good mix of speed, steep sections and a couple rock gardens and then a flat out finish sections with some big jumps. My first run went well, the track had dried up more than practice so the traction was there, just needed to put a fast run together. I was lying 3rd overall after that run, Greg was leading with Tim in second. We headed up to the top of the track again for our second run. Quite disappointed to see the clouds had rolled in and visibility was not so good. I made a few mistakes at the top and overshot a few turns so i just focused on making it to the bottom in one piece. i went 3 seconds slower in that run which I wasn't surprised about. Greg took the overall win, Tim in second and me in third. Was awesome to see Greg racing with us again, I did a few runs with him in practice and it's amazing how much you can learn by following someone with that much experience. We have a busy schedule this month with the karkloof this weekend, Nationals next weekend and then the world cup. Very excited! Ride safe, TB

South African Championships - Contermanskloof

On the 3rd of March we headed back to the Western Cape to take part in the South African championships held at Contermanskloof on a course that I had never seen before. I really didn't know what to expect so walking the track on Thursday was a learning experience for me. It hadn't rained in the Cape from around December last year so everything was dry, dusty and loads of braking bumps before most of the turns.

The top section had alot of pedalling between the switchbacks that led into some steep turns and a flat out descent that was super bumpy and fast. A series of high speed rock gardens followed and then it was a sprint to the finish line. The course was really tough on the bike, but it handled like a champ and I was loving testing it out on new terrain. I had a few silly crashes in practice, nothing too serious though. My seeding run was better than expected and I was lying 5th overall. I was happy with that as I had no idea how fast the other guys were going. By the time our race run came around the track was super blown out and a few turns had changed. But I kept it together and had a clean run. I finished 6th overall, 1st KZN rider. Was a little disappointed as I wanted a top 4, but looking forward to having a home turf advantage for the next 3 major races coming up.

Overall results for the day:
1 ) Andrew Neethling
2) Johann Potgieter
3) Stefan Garlicki
4) Jonty Neethling
5) Darryn Stow
6) Travis Browning

Ride safe,
TB

GregMinnaar/Mongoose DH series #2

The second round of the GregMinnaar/Mongoose DH series was held at Cascades, this time on a longer more physically demanding course. We started above the N3 pedalling section, unfortunately heavy rains from the previous night stopped the trucks from reaching the top where we were meant to start so we had a shorter but by no means easier course We rode through some pine forest from the start that spat you out onto the world cup track and from there it was pedalling flat out all the way to the bottom.

My First run was good, no mistakes but I felt I did slack off on the pedalling a bit to much. I was first overall but knew there was another run and everyone was gonna push alot harder. I went to the top focused and ready to get the job done. I pedalled hard and improved by 4 seconds on my first run time. It wasn't enough to knock Allisdair out the hot seat so he took the overall win with me in second. Really stoked for him, it's awesome to see the depth of DH riders that KZN produces.

Overall results for the day:
1) Allasdair Fey
2) Travis Browning
3) Hayden Brown
4) Tiaan Odendaal
5) Kelvin Purchase

Our next regional will be on the full World cup track so it's gonna be a real test of fitness and skill!

Ride safe,
TB

African Continental championships - Stellenbosch

The KZN mountain bike team travelled down to the Western Cape on the 13th Feb for the African Continental champs held at Jonkershoek in Stellenbosch. The course was the same one we rode 2 years ago so we had an idea of what we were in for, but didn't expect the track conditions to have changed so much during that time. Overall the track was really good, there were some steep off-camber turns at the top, a road gap that led into fast flowing single track that was super rough and blown out. There was a sprint to the finish through some harvested forest land and a final tight left hand turn towards the finish line.

My first few practice runs were a bit sketchy from the conditions being so much different than I'm used too. But I finally got into the swing of things and started enjoying myself. I had one big crash on Saturday afternoon on the fast off-camber turn, but was soon back on the bike with no serious injuries. Race day came and I was in the zone and ready to put in some good runs. Our Nationals are being run a little differently than previous years, as we now do a seeding run first then a final race run. Before we would do 2 race runs, the faster of the two counting for the final position. I prefer the new race format as it gives you an idea on how fast or slow you are riding in your seeding run, but only gives you one chance to put a fast run together in the final just like a world cup.

My seeding run went well but I did make a few mistakes at the top of the course. I was lying 6th overall and I knew there was time to be made. For the final I gave it my all and pedalled hard, it got a bit loose near the bottom but I held it together. I pushed Tim out the hot seat and managed to finish 5th overall and first KZN rider. I was happy with my result for the day.

Results for the day:
1) Andrew Neethling
2) Jonty Neethling
3) Johan Potgieter
4) Stefan Garlicki
5) Travis Browning

Ride safe,
TB

GregMinnaar/Mongoose series #1

The first round of the GregMinnaar/Mongoose series kicked off on the 30th January at Cascades on a fresh top section of course designed by Brian Dinkelman which led onto the bottom half of the World cup track. I was really excited and motivated to start the new season off on my new GT Fury.

The track was really fun, there was alot of pedalling on the top part of course which led into some steep switchbacks and tight turns. A few big jumps on the world cup track and a fast sprint to the finish. My first run went well, I had no big mistakes but was certain there was room for improvement. I was second overall, just 1 second off Tim. The second run I pushed hard and made an effort to pedal more between every turn. I went 1.5 seconds faster in that run to end the day first overall.

Results for the day were:

1) Travis Browning

2) Tim Bentley

3) Tiaan Odendaal

I was really happy to get the season off to a good start aboard my new bike and super motivated for the next few races.

Ride safe,

TB