MTN Marathon Series#4, Clarens

The Free State town of Clarens welcomed riders for the 4th round of the MTN (Ultra) Marathon series. In sharp contrast to last year's mud bath, unseasonal warm weather graced the weekend. With races such as Joberg2c and the African Continental XC Championships on the same weekend, one would be forgiven for thinking a less competitive field than normal assembled for the ultra marathon - yet nothing could be further from the truth. It is testament to both the growth of the sport and the Advendurance team's ability to host well organised events that the depth of the field was so impressive on a race packed weekend. At 7.15am sharp we rolled out of town on our 111km journey through the Sandstone Mountains surrounding Clarens. The first 40-odd kilometres were mainly run on district roads with the exception of one long singletrack section. Jacques Janse van Rensburg (MTN Qhubeka) made a huge acceleration here which split the field and left 11 riders at the head of affairs. The 11 man group rode intact until we hit the first decisive climb after about 1h15 of racing. Max Knox attacked here completely splintering the group and leaving everyone gasping for breath. From here on in it was every man for himself - Max in the lead being chased by Nico Bell (Westvaal Columbia), being chased by me, being chased by the rest... Twice I got really close to Nico, but first a small crash and then an inadequate amount of horsepower jeopardised my attempts to regain contact. Race positions stayed the same for the remainder of the scenic but extremely tough race. We were tested over everything from long rock sections, over grassy fields, long drags, steep climbs and very technical singletrack. It's been a while since my arms have been as tender as my legs after a race! Max proved the strongest on the day with Nico taking 2nd ahead of me in 3rd. Final results: 1. Max Knox 2. Nico Bell (Westvaal Columbia) 3. Melt Swanepoel 4. Charles Keey (Blend properties) 5. Matthys Beukes (MTB Destination) (The pictures say it all - thanks Zoon!) Next up is the Mabalingwe Lion Man Ultra marathon this coming weekend. I hope we can all recover in time to do battle again. Until then, happy trails! Melt

Panorama Tour

The Panorama Tour has become a tradition for me and I really look forward to it every year. This is the one road race I simply love doing - partly because I adore riding in the Lowveld, partly because of my partner (Francois Lourens) who can suffer more than most pro's and partly because time spent on the bike is rivalled by time spent in the coffee shop afterwards! After all, you need a lot of time to regale all the war stories and recount the day's action. Amazing how the caffeine fuelled versions of stage proceedings always seem more colourful than the actual events themselves. All stages are run from the Casterbridge Centre located just outside White River. From there we head into the surrounding mountains where we do battle for stage and overall honours. For posterity, this year Shaun Ward and James Tennent (Nu Water) were the overall winners ahead of Kallen Williams and Willie Smit (Cyclelab Mpower FM). Francois and I finished in 20th position overall and 7th in our category, but this race is about much more than results. The format of the race where you have to ride in pairs gives it a dynamic similar to that found in mountain bike stage races along with the associated camaraderie. Over the three road stages and final time trial one gets to know your partner pretty well and suffering together evokes quite a unique companionship. One of the highlights was surely when our Double Century team sponsor, Lion Sands, did a fly over with their helicopter. It was a huge boost to our morale on a hard day and quite demoralising to our competition. As one rider put it - it felt like he was darted from the helicopter as his legs just gave up once he saw the 'local support!' I look forward to next year's edition of the race... and the compulsory coffee shop talk that goes with it! Until a next time, happy trails! Melt Swanepoel