01 December 2011 No better way to finish the season
Team bizhub finished their season on a successful note winning the overall ladies elite category in the Omnicane Southern Tropical MTB Challenge ...
Jade Roberts
(January 2010, Clarence Training Camp)
Journey4Sight and Service Cycle Tour
Racing season is back and it’s finally time to dust the ‘cob-webs’ off the legs.
After a good two weeks of base miles, I did a local race at my home, in Cape Town,
which was literally right outside my doorstep… it was something of a treat as the
races are usually further up in the Northern suburbs, so getting up and going was
no problem at all. I was super excited to get the light racing wheels on and seeing
how my body was going to feel : ) Especially training on the heaviest wheels you can
possibly think of.! (Can only make you stronger as they say)
The course looked to be a very hilly 75km, that followed the Argus route, but in
the opposite direction. Starting in Constantia we went over Ou-Kaapse Weg, from
the East side, went along Kommetjie toward Cape Point, through Simons Town, along
Boys Drive and then Back toward the finish in Constantia. I started with the men
in C bunch, so all I had to do was to stick with the guys and hope for a fast time.
The race started fast, as I thought it would, so I got to the front quickly with
the big climb being 7km into the race. I managed to make the break with 5 other
guys… we were really pushing the pace towards the peak, as there was a long decent
approaching. We were caught by a few other men, which made the group a nice size
to pace hard and try catching the A and B bunch that started in 5 minute intervals
in front of us. The bunch of 15 stayed the same till Boys Drive, where we hit a
very steep section of 15% gradient. That hurt the legs a bit… but it also split
the group, so I found myself with the leading men going over the climb. Till there,
with 10km to go, it was flat out for the finish line! I crossed the line in 1hour
58minutes. Being the 1st women and 12th overall in the men’s section. With an average
speed of 38km/h
I felt strong through out the race, which is always a good sign you put the correct
amount of training in. Sometimes you can either over train, or feel very ‘sluggish’
after long base miles. But I think incorporating a bit of speed with the base miles
definitely gave me the best results : ) I am looking forward to a very successful
year ahead with my new team Bizhub. We have some important races the first half
of the season, our Nationals Championship in February, The Pick ‘n Pay Argus in
March… and with some very strong girls on the team…its gonna be awesome.!
