Climbing for gold
Text: Grant Usher. Article from the April 2012 issue of Ride Magazine.
This year the MTN Barberton XCM was back as the season-opener, ready to reveal who still had some holiday pudding clinging to their waist, plus the professionals’ new teams, sponsors and equipment.
For the avid mountainbiking majority who respect, but don’t plan to emulate, what the professionals do, the big news was how many other mountainbikers turned up for the MTN Barberton XCM. With the riding spread over two days, more than 1000 participants squeezed their names onto the official finisher result sheets. Healthy numbers for the MTN Marathon and the Nissan Half-Marathon are to be expected, but some hard training is evident when there are 113 official finishers in the ultra-marathon. We can all remember a time when the number of riders eliminated from this distance for not making the cut-off exceeded the number of finishers. At the other end of the effort spectrum, the BuyCycle Fun Race had 223 participants. Many of them were sprogs, but there were lots of adults too, and no event with family-friendly aspirations can afford to neglect a ride for those who prefer not to break a heavy sweat. Barberton was bursting at the seams and, in the early hours of the morning, long rows of car lights snaked into town from Nelspruit and Kaapmuiden, ferrying those who weren’t lucky enough to see the first obstacles on the route when they went to sleep the previous night.
The more relaxed riders are able to enjoy the winding tracks and rocky descents through some spectacular indigenous vegetation.
Two by two
Once all the talking was done, it was time to find out who was up to the challenge of those majestic Makonjwa Mountains. The ultra-marathon here consists of a big loop over the 75-kilometre marathon course with a 10-kilometre climb more or less right at the start, followed by a 45-kilometre loop which includes what Nedbank 360Life rider, Kevin Evans calls “a leg-busting, lung-burning climb of about eight kilometres…” For all the riders, these gradients present a fitness challenge, but the more recent addition of around 25 kilometres of impressive jeep track riding over more varied terrain presents a very different challenge. While the more relaxed riders are able to enjoy the winding tracks and rocky descents through spectacular indigenous vegetation, and they can deal with the numerous water crossings on foot if they prefer, the equipment among those who race takes a beating. Often in the past, weather and trail conditions were more of a talking point than the actual riding at Barberton. Despite the course markers reporting pretty respectable drypack from their Nissan scout vehicle, the customary rush for mud-worthy tyres was ferocious in the preceding week. For a change, it was all in vain. Conditions under tyre were firm and dry, ensuring less rolling resistance all round. It was warmer than normal but no mud was refreshing.
Another big difference was in the teams and their composition. Having only two riders, maximum, per team is very different from the way things worked last year, when some teams occasionally fielded as many as five riders. And what is the significance of that? In a word, tactics. Fewer teams with extra riders makes a much more relaxed race, with more riders content to accept how things unfold. Added teams mean more ambitions and expectations, not to mention more chiefs who want to win, not just ride on the winning team. It was now brutally tactical up front and that’s exciting for riders and spectators. The course itself had not changed significantly. Thankfully, the other thing that has never changed over the years is the competition among the water station staff to deliver the greatest atmosphere and best rider experience possible.
A major upset
History repeats itself, eventually. If you were expecting another rundown of the usual suspects, reigning champions and defending victors, you’re in for a pleasant surprise, particularly those who know who Jacques Rossouw (FedGroup-ltec Connect) is and how good he was – scratch that – is. The biggest story of the day is about this guy from the Cape who won by six minutes. This isn’t the first time he’s won here in the National Series, but the last time he did it was seven years ago. This isn’t just a comeback; it’s an upheaval. It’s exciting that he’s representing a Proudly South African set-up, not just in terms of riders and sponsor, but also the Momsen bike brand. Let’s hope this also bodes well for major showdowns like the Absa Cape Epic, where we’re still waiting for a completely local team to take more than the African jersey.
Chasing Big Blade
Jacques used to be known as Big Blade for his ability to power away, switch off and suffer till the end. Not much has changed, but he can now add patience to the list. Five protagonists remained in the lead group when the riders hit the second major climb of the day after 80 kilometres of racing and this was where Jacques made his move. Seven years ago, he would have been showered and fed already by the time they reached this point, because the flagship race was only 75 kilometres in those days. Now he still had 45 kilometres to ride. The other riders in the winning move at the base of this crucial climb included Max Knox of DeccaGhost, Kevin Evans of 360life, Darren Lill of the Bonitas road team and Jacques Janse van Rensburg of MTN. Previous repeat winner, Max is a local and can never be written off on home turf, Kevin isn’t just a multiple South African marathon champion, but also a consummate professional, while Darren is the reigning road champion and Jacques (Janse van Rensburg) is a noted climber. Kevin would eventually come home in second place after calmly riding his own pace and passing some of the casualties of Jacques Rossouw’s murderous climbing pace. Jacques (Janse van Rensburg) and Max finished in that order, admitting that they really emptied the tank while trying to stay with the leader. Darren rounded out the top five in this gruelling five-hour battle, which was certainly longer than his teammates spent on their road bikes that day.
The women’s race over the marathon distance mainly saw new kit and gear because the teams are small anyway, but there was also an extravagant winning margin. Ariane Kleinhans of Contego/Giant was ahead by a healthy 13 minutes. She made it seem easy and simply powered away up the big climb of the day, leaving her rivals to scrap for second. That place went to the youngster, Candice Neethling of BMC who had a comfortable gap over Bizhub Nashua’s Ischen Stopforth. Both Karien van Jaarsveld and Yolande Speedy fell victim to technical problems.
Lourens Luus continued his winning ways from last year to take the 75-kilometre event from Slahde Seale and Allan Britnell. Keeping it in the gene pool was another Luus, this time young Pieter who won the competitive 45-kilometre event on Sunday. He managed to finish ahead of Ryan Gibbons and Dylan Rebello. The first female home in the 45-kilometre was Linda van Wyk followed by Savannah Vosloo and Alison Emery.
It looks as if the 2012 MTN and Nissan series is going to be one heck of a thing, with the level stepping up once again, not just in terms of the racing, but also in organisation and interest from the riders. Some of the races also have status as World Marathon Cup events this year and we can’t wait to see how our boys and girls fare on the world stage.
Selected Results
Ultra-Marathon
- Jacques Rossouw 4:58:58
- Kevin Evans 5:03:18
- Jacques Janse van Rensburg 5:05:13
Marathon
- Lourens Luus 3:03:43
- Slahde Seal 3:14:43
- Ariane Kleinhans 3:14:49
Half-Marathon (Men)
- Pieter Luus (Jr men) 2:08:21
- Ryan Gibbons (jr men) 2:09:12
- Dylan Rebello (Jr men) 2:1 1:02
Half-Marathon (Women)
- Linda van Wyk (Jr women) 2:39:56
- Savannah Vosloo (Jr women) 2:43:01
- Alison Emery 2:54:11
Explore Barberton
Nowadays a sleepy Mpumalanga town, Barberton was once a happening place and prospectors arrived in droves to seek their fortunes in the hills or to speculate on the first stock exchange in the Transvaal.
Mineral wealth
If you have interest in the life sciences, save some energy to explore the area after your ride. What appears to be the first form of life on Earth, a bacterial microfossil called Archaeospheroides barbertonis was discovered in what is known as the Barberton Greenstone Belt, the second-oldest rock formations identified on earth. The Sheba mine above the town is today one of the oldest and richest working gold mines in the world, having been in production for more than a century and you can share the excitement of the original pioneers by joining an underground mining tour and panning for gold.
Get twitching
The purple-crested turaco (lourie) isn’t a bird you see every day, but it’s so common in this area that it’s on the logo of the local birding club. This town’s twitchers put many larger communities to shame and there are a variety of bird walks and drives available.
Cultural heritage
Barberton was once home to Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, the author of Jock of the Bushveld and if there are Staffordshire terrier lovers in your family, they might enjoy a quick visit to the little memorial erected for Jock in the centre of town.
Read up on the town’s history and find a whole range of activities on www.barbertonmanor.com which is the website of one of the local guesthouses.
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