09 May 2012 Van Wyk thrilled with victory at African Continental Championships, Mauritius
The 2012 African Continental Championships was held on the lovely island of Mauritius on the 5th of May. Team bizhub-FCF’s Junior Linda Van Wyk participated in the ...
Jade Roberts
(January 2010, Clarence Training Camp)
MTN Attakwas Extreme Mountain bike Challenge 15 Jan 2011
– MTN Series # 1
2011 Racing season has started! As last year, the Attakwas Extreme Mountain Bike
Challenge was the first race of the MTN Series; and at 121km with 2600m ascent through
some of the roughest terrain our country has to offer, it remains a challenge and
a wake-up call this early in the season!
2010 was not a good year for me: fracturing my pelvis and collarbone in a crash
only a week after Attakwas last year I ended up spending most of the year recovering,
trying to get back in form and getting injured again. In spite of not performing
as I was expecting to last year, I am grateful to my sponsors who have kept full
faith in me and that I am proud to be riding again for Team Bizhub in 2011. Yolandi
du Toit and me were representing Bizhub in the Ultra marathon while Caitlin de Wet,
newly signed on our team, lined up for the Nissan Attakwas Mini.
I have done every Atta since 2007 and raced through the Attakwaskloof again last
year during stage 1 of the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek, which makes it 6 times. So I know
the route and what to expect reasonably well. The last time I went through there
during DCM Cape Pioneer Trek Oct 2010 I ended up taking a spectacular tumble and
breaking 3 ribs…this all just increased my respect for this extreme event.
I have to admit that I was very apprehensive before the race, not really having
ever gotten back into full racing fitness since my crash a year ago. I had taken
6 weeks off the bike after Cape Pioneer Trek to recover and heal and rediscover
the joy of cycling. Then we had the worst December imaginable for cyclists and poor
visitors to the Garden Route over December, although we are extremely grateful for
the rain. But it did hamper my planned training somewhat and my approach this year
has been quite different, as I am not preparing for the Cape Epic as previous years
and therefore have not been doing so many long rides. I have only been back in training
for 6 weeks, so I was very aware of the fact that my form is not yet were I’d like
it to be. But no one is racing fit at the beginning of the year and my advantage
is that I knew the race and I love ultra-distances and extreme events like this,
which is often just too much for most cyclists.
It was a magnificent beautiful morning as we lined up and, as always, Dryland and
Advendurance had managed to make this an example of how to organise a race! This
year the Elite ladies started separately, so a small group of us sped off 5 minutes
after the Elite men, but their dust had long settled as we rode through the jeep
track in Chandelier Game Farm just outside Oudtshoorn. Very soon there were only
5 of us together, Ariane Luthi (the Swiss Miss I got to know during DCM Cape Pioneer
Trek when she finished first in the mixed category, showing her skills and finesse
as a super mtb’er), Yolande Speedy (the Speed Queen riding for MTN Qhubeka…say no
more), Ester Erdelyi (also from MTN Qhubeka and a new threat on the marathon scene
having come from Xterra and XC racing to include marathon racing as well), Hanlie
Booyens (in the colors of Jeep I have known her since my earliest days as a mtb
racer as a consistent rider and always in contention for podium) and myself. I was
pleasantly surprised that I could actually stick with the front girls, and feeling
comfortable, as I am always a slow starter. I think the fact that the elite ladies
had their own race from the start definitely changed the dynamics and made the start
a bit easier for me. Somewhere in the jeep track section through Chandelier heading
towards the farms at the foothills of Attakwas kloof, I dropped off the leading
pack, decided not to panic and just ride my own race. My main goal was to go through
this race without injuries or mechanicals, so I approached the Attakwaskloof section
with extreme caution, losing a lot of time here but hoping that I would be able
to pull back some of the lost time on the last 50 km. When my own team mate, Yolandi
du Toit passed me going through the kloof, I realised that I was losing a lot of
time and or a while i thought that not even 5th spot was within reach. Riding on
your own through such rough terrain and on such a long race is really difficult
and you have to keep feeding your mind positive thoughts. As I had no one to pace
myself against, I constantly found myself wondering if I was going to hard or to
slow. Would I last? Would my diesel engine kick in as usual on the 2nd half or would
my lack of long rides end up in me fading?? Could I reel in some of the other girls
towards the end again?
After refuelling at the wonderfully stocked water point at Bonniedale, fresh Squirt
lube on my chain and a feeling of victory that I survived the feared rough terrain
this tim; I tackled the last 50km with aggression and new energy. Very soon I could
see Ester Erdelyi battling and tired, passed her and just after that I passed Yolandi
du Toit– the distance had proved to be too long for them. If you don’t know this
race, and don’t keep something in reserve for the last 50 km those relentless rolling
hills can really sting: sometimes the climbs don’t even look like much but you have
to dig deep to drag your body to the top. I kept on reminding myself that “the race
ain’t over till it’s over, so don’t give up”, remembering how I managed to catch
Hanlie Booyens within the last 30km in the 2010 race when I finished in 2nd position.
So it felt like déjá vu when I saw the tiny figure in Jeep clothing not far ahead
of me and I realised I could still make it on the podium!! This year I caught Hanlie
within the last 10km of the race; when I pulled up next to her I could see that
she was broken and was not even going to attempt to go with me.
I was a happy girl riding home in 3rd position, 5 minutes behind Yolande Speedy
with Ariane Luthi taking top spot on the podium after a ding dong battle between
her and our own Speed Queen. When planning race tactics and approach I knew there
would be at least 5 girls that could potentially beat me, so I felt that top 5 would
be okay, 3rd would be excellent but most importantly: finish this race without injuries…
so I really am quite pleased with the result and really hope that this year I will
be able to race again to my full potential in the colors of Team Bizhub: here’s
to a happy year of good riding !
