PMB Mountainbike Festival

This was my most memorable of the year so far. The two days of course practice leading up to the start of the racing the weather was intensely hot. Everything on the course was more than easy to ride as the track was dry and grippy. I learnt a lot in those two days of practice and really pushed my boundaries. However... on race day it was a completely different story. It was pouring with rain all morning which turned the track from the awesome, fast flowing course to the now nearly impossible track. My first lap took me a painstakingly long 46 minutes to complete as the clay literally stopped my tires from moving. As the race went on the track became a little more compact on each lap. I was unfortunately pulled off on the second last lap ( 3rd lap of 4 ). However, due to the horrid conditions the race officials removed the 80% rule allowing me to keep my 13th position and improve my standings on the overall log.

Keeping my spirits high and enjoying the opportunity to learn how to handle such bad conditions.

60km Marathon (Sunday) 
I had entered into the marathon to get a full training weekend out of my trip. I started off fast keeping with the leading bunch for about the first 5km. I proceeded to fall back as I could feel the XC race in my legs and would not make it to the end at that pace. I got into a very comfortable pace with a chasing group and continued to enjoy myself. Unfortunately a fellow rider cut his hand pretty badly on route and had to receive stitches. I stopped to make sure he was okay to get to the next medic point. I informed the medics and continued with my ride. I joined up with my good friend Cobus for the remaining 45km. We stopped at every water point to fill up with sweets and water. We pushed hard on the climbs and enjoyed the down hills.

It was a really memorable experience teaching me a lot of good lessons. The most important being that it doesn't matter how bad the conditions are, if you have a positive attitude you will always have a good race.

 One of the rare pictures of me riding upright at cascades

 Crossing the line broken but more experienced

 Giving it all we have to get to the top

USN Cup #3

The third leg of the USN cup took part at Red Barn this past weekend. I really enjoyed riding at this venue. It was a relatively flat course with over 25km worth of single track.  The first 30km of the race was more of a warm up for me as my legs felt rather cold. The last 20km was all single track and my legs were finally warm. I put my head down, sprinted into and out of every corner to cross the line in 4th position which was a huge improvement on my last result at the USN cup #2. Next time a podium position will definitely be my goal! A huge thank you to all my sponsors for the constant support!

Photographer : Wendy Ireland

XCO SA Wolwespruit

This past weekend was my first U/23 and Elite cross country race. I was very nervous going into the race knowing what my competition was going to be. I put my head down, grit my teeth and pushed as hard as I could. After six laps, 34km and 1000m of climbing I managed to cross the line in 15th position. Along with this being my first U/23 race it was also the first time racing with my new gear. My Suunto Ambit 3 Vertical was very user friendly keeping me informed 100% of the time as to where I was on the track and the amount of climbing to come. Along with my new watch I had my new eye-wear from Bolle. Absolutely no fogging and now sweat run off on the lenses. Two great pieces of equipment which really made the race way more enjoyable! A huge thank you to all my sponsors who are currently making this racing season possible.

Bollé Eyewear

I am very excited to announce my involvement with Bollé sunglasses. I received a set of 5th Element Pro sunglasses with modulator lenses. I am very impressed with the fit and the speed at which the lenses change in different light intensities. This awesome piece of gear is really going to help me in my 2016 racing season. I am very happy to have Bollé as my official eyewear sponsor. Stay tuned for a ride review on the new gear!

Varsity College

With today's prevalent strikes about lowering tertiary education fees and all the many other issues which have arisen around the whole topic I would just like to express how grateful I am towards Varsity College for allowing me the opportunity to come and study at such a prestigious institution. I was fortunate enough to receive a full bursary to study here for the next three years of my tertiary studying career. I received the bursary as a result of my sporting accolades. Varsity College has opened a whole new view of the world around me and has allowed me to explore many different interests in a safe and friendly environment. I cannot express the amount of appreciation that I have for this amazing opportunity that they have presented to me. 

Suunto sponsorship announcement

I have been biting my tongue to keep this awesome little secret in. It is official. I will joining the Suunto family as of this month. I have been using a Suunto Ambit 2 S for about two years now and I have never been happier. It is such a phenomenal watch with amazing features that suit all types of athletes. It has made my triathlon training an absolute breeze. I am looking forward to upgrading to the new Sunnto Vertical, with even more features and a more user friendly set up I am sure it'll be an absolute pleasure to have as my new training partner.

XTERRA SA Champs Grabouw

This was the final stage of the XTERRA series and a rather important one being as it is the race which qualifies us for Cross Tri champs later this year. I was a little nervous going into the race knowing that there were a few elites racing the lite. I ignored my nerves and focused on the main goal at hand which was winning the series overall. I manged to come out top 5 in the swim. The start of the ride my legs were a little cold and took a while to warm up. At the top of the last climb about half way through the ride my legs finally warmed up and a hit a good rhythm through the single track. I caught up two positions and put myself into third going into T2. I was unfortunately passed on the run by one runner and crossed the line to take a solid fourth. However the top three were international athletes making me the first South African athlete across the line and claiming the title of under nineteen South African Champion. It was a really spectacular event filled with great people and even better experiences, I must express a huge thank you to all my sponsors for helping achieve this amazing result.