16 April

National XCO Series Review from Renay Groustra.

Renay Groustra from our Team RSAWEB Cycle team gives us some insight into his race from the National XCO in Fountains Valley, Pretoria last Saturday, where the cream of the cycle elite in SA assembled to battle it out. We’re pleased to say he came 3rd – an amazing accomplishment!

Saturday the 14^th marked the 2^nd round of the National XCO series at Fountain Valley in Pretoria. Having raced there many times before, I knew exactly what to expect. As usual I was greeted by a tight and twisty course that winds itself along the river with too many corners to count, and only about 80m elevation per lap. This was definitely going to be a race of concentration and daringness.

Seeded 3^rd on the line ensured that I got a good position into the first singletrack of our 7 lap race. Philip Buys of Team Contego charged off the front on his home course at a pace that no one could match, while small chase group of 4 formed. Marc Bassingthwaight of Namibia was the next rider fto get off the front, riding at a hard and steady pace. I decided that it would be wise to back off a little as the altitude was beginning to hurt me. This proved a wise decision, as taking it slightly easy for a lap or so meant that I was able to open up at full tilt to drop my other chase group companions and ride the remaining few laps by myself. Riding by yourself on this course is probably key to having a good race as it means you are not pressured into making mistakes on some of the sketchy corners, and you are not forced into riding in the same style as the other riders.

Before I knew it I had crossed the line in 3^rd place, 2 mins behind Mark, and 3 behind winner Philip Buys, and over a minute ahead of my nearest chaser. I was really happy with the result. The way I felt out there shows that the Cape Epic definitely did my form a lot of good, and it was great to see that I am almost fully recovered from the 8 day effort.

Next up on the calendar is the Karkloof Classic in Howick, followed by African Continental Champs in Mauritius!

Thanks for the awesome write up, Renay!

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31 January

Carl Pasio takes 5th in first Xterra

It was late Thursday afternoon when Ash and I decided to change our flights from a 6am Friday morning flight to an early afternoon flight on Friday. I was determined to get to Buffelspoort dam on Friday morning to be able to ride the bike route and get a feel for it. Ash on the other hand wanted the much-needed sleep on Friday morning as well as an easy spin in Cape Town before catching our flight to Johannesburg. Looking back now, I realize how experienced Ash is with these sorts of pre race situations and how narrow-minded I can be at times. Changing our flight to a later time was certainly the right decision, as one was not allowed to see the bike leg in advance.

The start of the Totalsport Buffespoort Xterra was only at 9:30am on Saturday morning. This gave us some extra time to sleep in and make our way to the Buffelspoort dam from Pretoria, where we had spent the night with family. Ash had to be designated driver as my credit card had expired and the car had to be rented out in her name. Its not often that I get to sit back relax and enjoy my lunchbox porridge while my beautiful wife drives me to my race start. It felt strange that she was the one that would be supporting and I would be the one that would be racing, however it was the best feeling to have her by my side for my first comeback in multisport.

The morning was perfect and the water was like a mirror, reflecting its beautiful surroundings. There were over 1400 participants lining the waters edge, ready to tackle the 1.5km swim, 27km mountain bike and a 12km trail (rock climbing) run. I was surprised how relaxed I felt and how ready I felt for the race. It was a fast start as always and I soon found myself just off the feet of Conrad Stoltz and Dan Hugo. I settled in and soon found some good rhythm alongside fellow competitor Stuart Marais. I exited the water in 7^th place, 1min down on the likes of Stoltz and Hugo. After only a month in the pool I was certainly happy with my swim and I know it can only get better from here.

After exiting transition 1 for the bike leg I felt great and slowly began to catch guys up the road. Before I knew it, I found myself in 3^rd chasing Stoltz and Hugo. With the top five athletes all on 29er bikes, I felt a little out on my well worn in 26er. The terrain was best suited to a 29er bike and while battling over the loose rocky climbs I had lost a few minutes to the leading two. I entered transition 2 with Tyronne White and just over a minute behind us was Stuart Marais. I knew it would be difficult to hold off a fine runner such as Marais.

I exited transition 2 in 3^rd and from the start struggled to find the rhythm I was looking for. We were soon greeted with great scenery and steep embankments, as we had to make our way up and down Buffelspoort Dam wall. The run course was grueling and represented a typical Xterra run route. There was very little opportunity to find rhythm on the two-lap 6km run route. After lap one Marais had passed me and I kept him in sight. With 3km to go in the run I hit a real bad patch and soon was passed by White. In the last km I found my feet again and soon a few meters separated Marais, White and myself. It was however to late and I finished in 5^th.

The race is certainly one to remember and I will definitely be back to give it another bash. I learnt a lot from the race and now have a better idea of what is needed to be even faster. The Totalsports Xterra at Buffelspoort Dam is definitely a race that an Xterra warrior should put on their race calendar for 2013.

30 January

Renay Goustra takes 2nd at first WP XCO

This weekend saw Team RSAWEB Mountain biker Renay Groustra race back to back races in Barberton and Cape Town. Unfortunately the Barbeton Ultra Marathon did not go to plan and due to a severely cut rear tyre he had to abandon the race. Not one to let this temporary disappointment upset him, he refocused and boarded a place for Cape Town to ride the WP Cross Country(XC) race held in Durbanville.

Here are his thoughts from the race:

With the 40degree heat, and a tough technical course, it was going to be an extremely hard race. Even the competition was at a level higher than normal with an on form Philip Buys in attendance and a super quick Dominic Calitz and Louis Knipe there to mix it up.

For the first two laps all I could do was hang on as I got used to the pace of XC racing again. By lap 3 Philip had lost some time to mechanical issues, which left me to give stick to the rest of the field.  I rode off the front of the field after one or two hard accelerations and stayed out for most of the race, doing my best to survive the sweltering heat and stay upright on such a challenging course.

Towards the end of lap 5 of 6 I could see Philip clawing his way back into the race. The last lap was basically an all out sprint to stop him coming back, but try as I might, I couldn’t hold him off. With half a lap to go the cat and mouse games began, and after a few brutal attacks from Philip I could no longer respond. It was a great first outing and felt good ofter Barberton’s disappointment.

01 November

Greene brings home the gold for Team RSAWEB at Msunduzi

This weekend saw the inaugural Msunduzi Road Challenge – part of the UCI World Cycling Tour (UWCT) – held in Pietermaritzburg. This mass-participation road event serves a dual purpose by offering enthusiasts an all-new road cycling challenge, and offers seasoned cyclists the opportunity to qualify for the once-off UWCT Final in 2012 (previously known as the UCI Masters Road World Championship).

The weekend’s races started off with great success as Team RSAWEB took gold (Neville Cragg) and silver (Rob Quinn) in the Individual Time Trail, which took place on Saturday. The celebrations continued when Edward Greene made a crucial break in the closing stages of the 126km Msunduzi Road Challenge, and secured the victory.

Greene was part of an eleven rider breakaway that split the front peleton shortly after the halfway point at Dalton, and made his move as the contenders reached the outer city limits and reached the finish at Alexandra Park alone after a gutsy solo break. His break splintered the front bunch as individual riders tried to catch him, but to no avail.

Mens 30 - 34 Time Trial - From left: Jeremy Maartens (3rd), Neville Cragg (1st), and Rob Quinn (2nd)

126km Msunduzi Road Challenge - From left: Kallen Williams (3rd), Edward Green (1st), and William Bush (2nd)

The team almost secured a second podium spot, but missed it by a mere 6 second resulting in Jos Le Roux in 4th position – not a bad result considering Le Roux raced in the Durbanville High School PCS the day before!

Team RSAWEB continued their Pro Classic Series campaign by representing at the Durbanville High School Race, which took place this past Saturday. Carl Pasio secured yet another podium position for Team RSAWEB in second place, behind Theuns van der Bank.

19 September

Two wins for Team RSAWEB in Pro Classic Spring Series

The men of Team RSAWEB had a very busy and successful weekend with stage 2 and 3 of the Pro Classic Spring Series being held on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Saturday saw the second stage of the series, the Hill Climb, an approximate 2.2km individual hill climb whereby cyclists climb from the bottom of Malanshoogte to the top. Team RSAWEB rider, Jos Le Roux, took first place and fellow team rider, Edward Greene secured 3rd place – a mere 1 second off the pace, and 0.1 second short of 2nd place.

From left: Louis Knipe, Jos Le Roux & Edward Greene

After leading the Team Competition after Stage 1 (Orbit Tour de Worcester), Team RSAWEB entered the next stage with a firm grip on the competition. Jos’ win also gave him enough points for the General Classification lead and thus receiving the Pink Leader’s Jersey.

Sunday’s Circuit Race was a challenging course for the Team, amidst wind and undulating terrain. Team RSAWEB had 3 riders representing to defend Jos’ lead and control the peloton. Late in the second lap, a convincing group – which had Team RSAWEB rider, Edward Greene, in the mix – broke away and managed to stay away. This group fragmented before the finish line, and it was Edward that put himself in the lead to secure the win.

Back in the peloton, Jos – in the Leader’s Jersey – managed his own break away in pursuit of the lead break. He soloed for two and a half laps without catching that break, but managed to claim 7th position for the day – enough to comfortably defend his points lead of the Pink Leader’s Jersey.

An overall successful day with all Team RSAWEB riders finishing well and defending their lead in the Team Competition.

From left: David Garrett, Edward Greene, Louis Knipe

The Aca Joe Pro Classic Spring Series continues with Stage 4 on 23 October 2011 for the Tiletoria West Coast Express race, but in the interim Team RSAWEB will be focusing on a few national races.