TransBaviaans 24Hr MTB Marathon 2011
The TransBaviaans is the longest single stage team event in the world and this year was the eighth time that Team Ecobound have organised this unique race. It has grown from an extremely small race in 2004 for the very brave, to over 1000 riders (400 teams) this year (still for the very brave!).
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This was my 7th TransBaviaans, having won the ladies category last year with Lise Olivier in the colors of Bizhub, and twice before in the mixed category, my goal was obviously to go for the win again. I teamed up with Hanlie Booyens for this event, as a guest rider for Team Bizhub. Hanlie & I got along so well as partners in the Cape Epic, that I knew had a solid partner in her. This gruelling endurance event is not for anyone and the other Bizhub girls still being very young, and a fullracing schedule ahead, it was decided that it wouldn’t be wise to race with one of the other team members. I love this race: I’ve always been more of a Duracell Bunny than a Speedy Gonzalez, so I just love ultra-endurance races.
Every year the race starts in Willowmore in the Eastern Cape, runs through the beautiful Baviaanskloof conservancy and finishes in Jeffreys Bay.230km and you have 24hrs to complete it. But this year the organisers had to find an alternative route: due to heavy rainfalls experienced in the Eastern & Southern Cape in recent weeks the road through the Baviaanskloof has been damaged severely and with plenty of deep river crossings was proclaimed unpasseable for any vehicles by the Eastern Cape Parks Board… and this with just a week to go to this years’ race! I am sure one would still be able to ride the original route on a bicycle, but no back-up or emergency vehicles would be able to pass through and for the backmarkers it would be (1)soooo not enjoyable & (2) completely irresponsible to swim through a deep river crossing with bike in the middle of the night!
So I really think we can all thank and congratulate Wickus van der Walt and his family team Ecobound for what they managed to put together in less than a week: find an alternative route; persuade the farmers to let 1000 crazy MTBers plus unknown amount of 4x4 back-up vehicles traverse their land; marking the route; arranging new seconding stations and logistics around this; arranging coverage by Eastern Cape Medical Emergency Services, negotiating with EC Parks board and getting it approved! And so many small details we will never know about. I’m sure they all went without sleep for the last 7 nights!! But I have to admit I was very disappointed when I heard of the alternative route and that we would not be passing through the beautiful Baviaanskloof, such a special part of our country.
Weather predictions were gloomy and I feared the rain, cold & wind that we were expecting. As we drove from George to Willowmore early Saturday morning it was drizzly and bitterly cold, but in Willowmore the rain had stopped, but a strong freezing westerly wind was blowing. I was absolutely shivering at the start, with more layers of clothes on than I have ever worn in a race! No one really knew what to expect from the new route, how long it would take and how mean that climb would be. I think this, as well as the extreme weather conditions, caused most riders to opt for a slightly more conservative start – we certainly did The start was a bit chaotic: slow, then fast, and then everything came to an almost dead halt as cold legs suddenly froze up and refused to respond to the “RACE” command.
We settled into the second bunch on the road out of Willowmore with the main manne chasing off the front. This race is all about pacing yourself, a real hare-and-the-tortoise-race. As we turned in a easterly direction at the Winterhoek turn I was surprised and extatic to find that we had a super strong tailwind (a tailwind during a race??? Surely this isn’t possible!) So we found ourselves flying over the first 100km and enjoying the beautiful EC Karoo vistas until we reached Checkpoint 2. Here the bunch got scattered and Hanlie & I left on our own, suddenly the road turned into the wind and we were ever so happy to see 4 figures approaching us, helping us survive the next 40 km until the main climb of the day started. Here we had the advantage above the big guys who were much faster than us on the flat roads and we kept on catching and dropping teams. The terrain was a lot rougher than I had expected, the road washed away, rutted and rough loose rocky sections. We passed plenty a back-up vehicle stuck in mud on climbs and descents and I would surely rather do this route on a bike than a 4x4!! We refuelled at Checkpoint 3, trying not to waste time as we had planned getting our lights from our back-up vehicle at Checkpoint 4. The climb just went on and on and on, we just kept spinning in our smallest gears, balancing skills being tested at a time when the mind and body was starting to tire. A lot of riders had thought the new GrootRivier Route was going to be a walk in the park…only to find themselves walking and looking for parking! Catching and passing more and more teams made us feel stronger and positive, enjoying the climb.
We got to checkpoint 4 a bit later than expected, but still in daylight. Here we put on our lights and got dressed warmly as the temperature had plummeted again with sunset and the long descent had made us freezing cold again. From there we only had 50 km to cover, first up Never Ender (the ‘false flat) and then to the finish in Jeffreys Bay.
We crossed the line after 10h20min26sec – first ladies home and 21st team over all. The second ladies team was Andrea von Holdt & Hilana Marais from Team Merrell with a time of 11h14 followed by Hannele Steyn & Leanne Brown-Waterson (Display Mania/Sludge Ladies) in 3rd position.
The main race was won by Geddan Ruddock & young Timo Cooper. Defending champs, the Lategan boeties from Kimberley, had bad luck with Pieter crashing and breaking his collarbone
I woke up at 2 am to the sound of light rain, peered out the window and saw some poor souls slowly riding pat, mudy, cold, dirty and tired but smiling…almost at the finish ! I was so grateful that the weather actually was not too bad for us: a tailwind initially, we even had the full moon out to light up the route and no rain while we were riding.
The new Groot River Route surpassed all my expectations. It was definitely tougher than the original TransBaviaans. The climb is long , an absolute monster. The scenery was magnificent, we are truly priviledged to live in such a beautiful diverse country!
Well done to all the participants who completed this event. It is really hard-core! A big thank you to the organisers and sponsors.Thanx Hanlie for riding with me,, great company and a solid ride! Thanx Bizhub again for all your support and sponsorship and for letting me race with Hanlie Booyens. I am sure I’ll be back again next year!
For those of you who think it was not so extreme, there are already rumours of a circle route: J’Bay through Baviaans to Willowmore and back over the Groot Rivier Route… now THERE’s a challenge
Ischen Stopforth
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