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 held on the 24th to the 27th of November.
Only a week prior to the stage race Yolandi had also won the Lord of the Chain Rings stage race together with Caitlin de Wet in the Eastern Cape. Yolandi Du Toit was invited to compete in the tour by Aurelie Halbwachs, who competed in the joberg2C together with Yolandi. The event is the biggest mountain biking stage race in Mauritius. The event opened up with a 5.6km prologue. This was a good initiative to settle the rider's nerves and it also decided the wearers of the various leaders jerseys for the official first stage the following day. "There is no other way to ride a prologue than going 'full gas' from beginning to end. The burning legs and lungs were well worth it when Aurelie and I crossed the line in first place" commented a smiling Yolandi after the prologue. This also meant we would be the wearers of the woman's red leader's jersey the following day"."The first Stage started and finished at our race village in Lagrave. The 65km rolling course consisted mainly out of jeep track through sugarcane plantations, a few tar sections, two rocky climbs and a short freshly cut single track leading back to the finish.In Mauritius there aren't a lot of woman doing mountain biking, which always leaves Aurelie to compete against men. For this reason Aurelie wasn't content with beating only the ladies in the race but also wanted to fight for a good placing overall. This time there was no 'settling into a steady pace' as Aurelie and myself goal shifted from winning the ladies to placing top 10 overall. At the end of the stage we surprised ourselves to finish in 9th overall and still held on to our red jerseys. On stage 2 we left our camping ground at Lagrave to finish 80km later in Bel'Ombre, at the coast. The first 40km of the route went by quickly as it was mainly on flat dirt roads through sugarcane fields. The following 15km was laid out on fairly technical single track alongside the sea. The bit of ocean views managed to glimpse while racing were stunning. I wished I could stop just to appreciate the surroundings for a change. On the single track there was a section, which dropped into a valley. I misjudged how steep it was, but having committed I had no choice but to try and ride the tricky section. Unfortunately I didn't make it to the bottom and crashed quite hard. It was only afterwards that I realized why everyone dismounted and walked this section. The remaining 25km to the finish was tough for me as I was emotionally and physically bruised. If it wasn't for my good teammate, Aurelie, who encouraged me all the way, booked a massage for me afterwards and had the race doctor examine my injuries I doubt if I would have started the next day. It just proves again how important a thoughtful and unselfish teammate is. The last stage was only 35km long, but don't let the distance fool you! The whole route was laid out in a mountain range and consisted only of steep ascents and descents. As we left the start line and the route started tilting upwards I had a feeling that it was going to be a nice stage, and it was indeed. I enjoy climbing and even more so when the route provides breathtaking views upon reaching the summit. Aurelie and I completed the stage in just under 3 hours. It wasn’t as short as expected....Aurelie and I held on to our red leader’s jersey throughout the tour, giving bizhub the final victory for the year! I was happy to finish off my 2011 season on a high note. To celebrate it on a tropical island alongside a great friend, I couldn't have asked for a better ending".
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Only a week prior to the stage race Yolandi had also won the Lord of the Chain Rings stage race together with Caitlin de Wet in the Eastern Cape. Yolandi Du Toit was invited to compete in the tour by Aurelie Halbwachs, who competed in the joberg2C together with Yolandi. The event is the biggest mountain biking stage race in Mauritius. The event opened up with a 5.6km prologue. This was a good initiative to settle the rider's nerves and it also decided the wearers of the various leaders jerseys for the official first stage the following day. "There is no other way to ride a prologue than going 'full gas' from beginning to end. The burning legs and lungs were well worth it when Aurelie and I crossed the line in first place" commented a smiling Yolandi after the prologue. This also meant we would be the wearers of the woman's red leader's jersey the following day"."The first Stage started and finished at our race village in Lagrave. The 65km rolling course consisted mainly out of jeep track through sugarcane plantations, a few tar sections, two rocky climbs and a short freshly cut single track leading back to the finish.In Mauritius there aren't a lot of woman doing mountain biking, which always leaves Aurelie to compete against men. For this reason Aurelie wasn't content with beating only the ladies in the race but also wanted to fight for a good placing overall. This time there was no 'settling into a steady pace' as Aurelie and myself goal shifted from winning the ladies to placing top 10 overall. At the end of the stage we surprised ourselves to finish in 9th overall and still held on to our red jerseys. On stage 2 we left our camping ground at Lagrave to finish 80km later in Bel'Ombre, at the coast. The first 40km of the route went by quickly as it was mainly on flat dirt roads through sugarcane fields. The following 15km was laid out on fairly technical single track alongside the sea. The bit of ocean views managed to glimpse while racing were stunning. I wished I could stop just to appreciate the surroundings for a change. On the single track there was a section, which dropped into a valley. I misjudged how steep it was, but having committed I had no choice but to try and ride the tricky section. Unfortunately I didn't make it to the bottom and crashed quite hard. It was only afterwards that I realized why everyone dismounted and walked this section. The remaining 25km to the finish was tough for me as I was emotionally and physically bruised. If it wasn't for my good teammate, Aurelie, who encouraged me all the way, booked a massage for me afterwards and had the race doctor examine my injuries I doubt if I would have started the next day. It just proves again how important a thoughtful and unselfish teammate is. The last stage was only 35km long, but don't let the distance fool you! The whole route was laid out in a mountain range and consisted only of steep ascents and descents. As we left the start line and the route started tilting upwards I had a feeling that it was going to be a nice stage, and it was indeed. I enjoy climbing and even more so when the route provides breathtaking views upon reaching the summit. Aurelie and I completed the stage in just under 3 hours. It wasn’t as short as expected....Aurelie and I held on to our red leader’s jersey throughout the tour, giving bizhub the final victory for the year! I was happy to finish off my 2011 season on a high note. To celebrate it on a tropical island alongside a great friend, I couldn't have asked for a better ending".
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The right way to spend a weekend - Thomas River MTB Challenge
2011 was the tenth year the Thomas River Farmers' community has been running the Thomas River MTB challenge and the organisers kindly approached bizhub to participate in this popular event.
Thomas River is a tiny historical village in the Eastern Cape, between Cathcart & Stutterheim; pretty much in the middle of nowhere. But despite being somewhat off the beaten track the race played host to over 500 riders on Saturday."For many years I have wanted to do this race"said Ischen Stopforth following the event. "My sister used to live on a farm, Ailsa in the Thomas River Valley. During the first 7 years that the race was held, she was very much involved with the route markings and race preparation. So of course, each year I would get a call from her asking if I could make it, and every time there was some reason why I couldn’t –another race, an injury, work, or just too far away and too few free weekends! So it was decided that I would come to support the race and Caitlin de Wet would join me. Caitlin herself comes from the Eastern Cape, having grown up in Molteno. The event is organised by the community like only farmers can do it and runs over several farms in the Thomas River Valley. Everyone is involved; be it with route planning & markings, finding sponsors, marshalling & waterpoints, meal preparations or at the registration. It is a real family weekend with a pasta evening on the Friday. First man & lady in the 70km each win a lamb and a Blesbuck! Saturday morning was a beautiful morning, with slight wind which picked up later during the day. The first 5 km was on district road with everyone sitting together, but as soon as we turned off into the first of many farms, it all split up. I stuck with the front four guys for a while but up a sandy steep climb I decided not to push too hard and let the boys race each other . We got to the King & Queen of the Mountain spot at 20km into the race. At this point we turned into a gate to the Reigate Trout Dam and just continued climbing up a steep jeep track. Then came the most challenging part of the course: a section of cattle track and cattle field riding, negotiating through a swamp and some really bumpy terrain – hardened mud and tufty grass. What made it even more challenging was the fact that a lot of the route marking was done with white chalk in this section, which was difficult to spot through the grass and swampy terrain; as well as the numerous cattle tracks. We were rewarded for the long climbing effort with a fast fun jeep track downhill. I was having fun and felt like I was on my own on a lovely training ride - no riders to be seen ahead of me or behind me - so I took some time to enjoy the beautiful views. The Eastern Cape has just got something unique to it, beautiful mountains and big open grassy fields with never ending views.I finished as the first lady and 4th in GC with Caitlin De Wet coming in 2nd lady, almost an hour before the next lady. Included in the race entry was the 'mean cuisine' lunch - roast lamb and all sorts of salads, prepared by the locals and enjoyed by all while the kids played in the pool and most grown-ups seemed to be refuelling on beer! I hope I can come back next year to race this special race again. With 1600m ascent over the 70km and really tough climbs plus plenty of technical jeep track & single track sections, this race has got everything a top class mountain bike marathon should offer. Thank you to the Thomas River Farmers Association for inviting the bizhub ladies, hosting us and treating us as celebrities this weekend. This is a top class event which ever MTB rider should add to their to do list.
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Thomas River is a tiny historical village in the Eastern Cape, between Cathcart & Stutterheim; pretty much in the middle of nowhere. But despite being somewhat off the beaten track the race played host to over 500 riders on Saturday."For many years I have wanted to do this race"said Ischen Stopforth following the event. "My sister used to live on a farm, Ailsa in the Thomas River Valley. During the first 7 years that the race was held, she was very much involved with the route markings and race preparation. So of course, each year I would get a call from her asking if I could make it, and every time there was some reason why I couldn’t –another race, an injury, work, or just too far away and too few free weekends! So it was decided that I would come to support the race and Caitlin de Wet would join me. Caitlin herself comes from the Eastern Cape, having grown up in Molteno. The event is organised by the community like only farmers can do it and runs over several farms in the Thomas River Valley. Everyone is involved; be it with route planning & markings, finding sponsors, marshalling & waterpoints, meal preparations or at the registration. It is a real family weekend with a pasta evening on the Friday. First man & lady in the 70km each win a lamb and a Blesbuck! Saturday morning was a beautiful morning, with slight wind which picked up later during the day. The first 5 km was on district road with everyone sitting together, but as soon as we turned off into the first of many farms, it all split up. I stuck with the front four guys for a while but up a sandy steep climb I decided not to push too hard and let the boys race each other . We got to the King & Queen of the Mountain spot at 20km into the race. At this point we turned into a gate to the Reigate Trout Dam and just continued climbing up a steep jeep track. Then came the most challenging part of the course: a section of cattle track and cattle field riding, negotiating through a swamp and some really bumpy terrain – hardened mud and tufty grass. What made it even more challenging was the fact that a lot of the route marking was done with white chalk in this section, which was difficult to spot through the grass and swampy terrain; as well as the numerous cattle tracks. We were rewarded for the long climbing effort with a fast fun jeep track downhill. I was having fun and felt like I was on my own on a lovely training ride - no riders to be seen ahead of me or behind me - so I took some time to enjoy the beautiful views. The Eastern Cape has just got something unique to it, beautiful mountains and big open grassy fields with never ending views.I finished as the first lady and 4th in GC with Caitlin De Wet coming in 2nd lady, almost an hour before the next lady. Included in the race entry was the 'mean cuisine' lunch - roast lamb and all sorts of salads, prepared by the locals and enjoyed by all while the kids played in the pool and most grown-ups seemed to be refuelling on beer! I hope I can come back next year to race this special race again. With 1600m ascent over the 70km and really tough climbs plus plenty of technical jeep track & single track sections, this race has got everything a top class mountain bike marathon should offer. Thank you to the Thomas River Farmers Association for inviting the bizhub ladies, hosting us and treating us as celebrities this weekend. This is a top class event which ever MTB rider should add to their to do list.
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Du Toit wins the Nissan Trailseeker series
Yolandi du Toit from team bizhub put in another consistent ride on Saturday at the final leg of the Nissan Trailseeker series to claim the overall series win ahead of Samanatha Saanders
Yolandi went into the final leg of the Nissan Triailseeker series #5 Van Gaalen with a few points lead of Samanatha. "I was determined to hold onto the leader's jersey on Saturday" said Yolandi "I really enjoy the Nissan Trailseeker races as they always offer more than just the race itself. All the race venues cater for the whole family by having restaurants, child entertainment areas, a bike wash bay, warm showers and much more. Nissan branded umbrellas are also put up providing shady viewing spots for spectators to see the riders coming in to finish. Van Gaalen Cheese Farm which hosted this particular event followed the same blueprint, but with the addition of the Magalies mountains as a spectacular backdrop". The first few kilometres of the 70km route consisted of open jeep and single track. Here a small leading group of ladies formed consisting of Yolande Speedy (Team MTN Qhuebeka), Samantha Saanders (Valencia Cycles), Theresa Ralph, Karien Van Jaarsveld (Team USN) and Yolandi formed. The single track led onto a steep, loose, rocky climb where Karien and Yolandi managed to distance the other ladies. "We crested the climb with a lead of a few seconds and from this point onwards the two of us 'almost' stayed together until the very end. On a few occasions I managed to drop Karien, but each time she regained contact whilst we were duelling amongst the men who had started with us" continued Yolandi."The final part of the race contained some amazing single track on the Van Gaalen Farm itself. Upon exiting the single track I slipped and fell in the final corner, jamming my chain in the process. I jumped back on my bike, but Karien passed me as I dismounted again and franticly tried to dislodge the wedged chain. Unbeknown to me there was less than a kilometre remaining to the finish line and by the time I got going again Karien was in the final straight winning the race a mere 11 seconds in front of me. I would have preferred the opportunity to sprint for the win, but had to settle for 2nd on the day. The good news was that my 2nd place on the day confirmed me as the winner of the Nissan Trailseeker series in 2011, adding another victory to team bizhub's very sucessful season". Samantha Saanders took the final spot on the podium with a fine 3rd place.
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Yolandi went into the final leg of the Nissan Triailseeker series #5 Van Gaalen with a few points lead of Samanatha. "I was determined to hold onto the leader's jersey on Saturday" said Yolandi "I really enjoy the Nissan Trailseeker races as they always offer more than just the race itself. All the race venues cater for the whole family by having restaurants, child entertainment areas, a bike wash bay, warm showers and much more. Nissan branded umbrellas are also put up providing shady viewing spots for spectators to see the riders coming in to finish. Van Gaalen Cheese Farm which hosted this particular event followed the same blueprint, but with the addition of the Magalies mountains as a spectacular backdrop". The first few kilometres of the 70km route consisted of open jeep and single track. Here a small leading group of ladies formed consisting of Yolande Speedy (Team MTN Qhuebeka), Samantha Saanders (Valencia Cycles), Theresa Ralph, Karien Van Jaarsveld (Team USN) and Yolandi formed. The single track led onto a steep, loose, rocky climb where Karien and Yolandi managed to distance the other ladies. "We crested the climb with a lead of a few seconds and from this point onwards the two of us 'almost' stayed together until the very end. On a few occasions I managed to drop Karien, but each time she regained contact whilst we were duelling amongst the men who had started with us" continued Yolandi."The final part of the race contained some amazing single track on the Van Gaalen Farm itself. Upon exiting the single track I slipped and fell in the final corner, jamming my chain in the process. I jumped back on my bike, but Karien passed me as I dismounted again and franticly tried to dislodge the wedged chain. Unbeknown to me there was less than a kilometre remaining to the finish line and by the time I got going again Karien was in the final straight winning the race a mere 11 seconds in front of me. I would have preferred the opportunity to sprint for the win, but had to settle for 2nd on the day. The good news was that my 2nd place on the day confirmed me as the winner of the Nissan Trailseeker series in 2011, adding another victory to team bizhub's very sucessful season". Samantha Saanders took the final spot on the podium with a fine 3rd place.
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Williamson tackles MPACT Addo MTB Challenge
Not content with having won the Cape Pioneer a little over a week ago Catherine Williamson from bizhub tackled the MPACT addo MTB Challenge held in Port Elizabeth over the weekend.
"Not too sure how the legs would react to a hard 85km race after having recently completing the Cape Pioneer" said Catherine. "I'm also busy doing a sightseeing tour with my husband who's out in South Africa for the next month.
Therefore we planned our trip with a race on each weekend as Wine2wales is coming up in the next couple of weeks"
"I just rode around the front of the group and found the pace quite steady" continued Catherine. "We soon split up on the first climb and I found myself in a group with three or four other guys. They didn’t contest me for the QOM as long as I lead them out for the finish that I thought was fair enough! After that climb came a steep one, wet from recent rain and pretty unridable.
The views from the top over the Elephant Park were amazing though there wasn't an elephant in sight. I stopped looking at the scenery on the descent. We were told to walk the first section, which I happily did and watched a guy go straight over the handlebars. After that I was alone unable to hang onto the guys on the tricky single-track descent. There were so many 'Cautious' signs, which I took too literally and at the bottom it took me an age to catch back up to the guys.
Feeling quite strong by then I followed a guy on a 29er down hill, I couldn't have planned that better if I'd tried!!. We then caught a rider I'd be racing the Double Century with and we rode together quite nicely through the lion reserve.
Having dropped the 29er and later a young development rider who wasn't working with us, me and my DC 'team mate' worked our way to 4th and 5th overall. We had caught one other guy up and I was happy to let them fight for 3rd place, happy that I was comfortably the first woman and was also one of the very few riders that didn't go through a packet of bombs!
Riding into the finish funnel I found myself only a few places behind my husband Rob who had completed and loved the 65km despite losing 45 minutes fixing punctures". Six bombs down, two tubes and four pretty knackered tyres later Catherine left Addo for the next part of her trip down the Garden route.
Next weekend she will be participating at the Wine2wales three day stage race together with her partner Ischen Stopforth.
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"Not too sure how the legs would react to a hard 85km race after having recently completing the Cape Pioneer" said Catherine. "I'm also busy doing a sightseeing tour with my husband who's out in South Africa for the next month.
Therefore we planned our trip with a race on each weekend as Wine2wales is coming up in the next couple of weeks"
"I just rode around the front of the group and found the pace quite steady" continued Catherine. "We soon split up on the first climb and I found myself in a group with three or four other guys. They didn’t contest me for the QOM as long as I lead them out for the finish that I thought was fair enough! After that climb came a steep one, wet from recent rain and pretty unridable.
The views from the top over the Elephant Park were amazing though there wasn't an elephant in sight. I stopped looking at the scenery on the descent. We were told to walk the first section, which I happily did and watched a guy go straight over the handlebars. After that I was alone unable to hang onto the guys on the tricky single-track descent. There were so many 'Cautious' signs, which I took too literally and at the bottom it took me an age to catch back up to the guys.
Feeling quite strong by then I followed a guy on a 29er down hill, I couldn't have planned that better if I'd tried!!. We then caught a rider I'd be racing the Double Century with and we rode together quite nicely through the lion reserve.
Having dropped the 29er and later a young development rider who wasn't working with us, me and my DC 'team mate' worked our way to 4th and 5th overall. We had caught one other guy up and I was happy to let them fight for 3rd place, happy that I was comfortably the first woman and was also one of the very few riders that didn't go through a packet of bombs!
Riding into the finish funnel I found myself only a few places behind my husband Rob who had completed and loved the 65km despite losing 45 minutes fixing punctures". Six bombs down, two tubes and four pretty knackered tyres later Catherine left Addo for the next part of her trip down the Garden route.
Next weekend she will be participating at the Wine2wales three day stage race together with her partner Ischen Stopforth.
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Dorfling peaks for championship title
Team bizhub's Lindi Dorfling won her first national road championship title on Sunday at the much hyped Msunduzi Road Challenge.
The event, which forms part of the world cycling tour, was held in Pietermaritzburg over the weekend. The UWCT event also doubled up as the 2011 South African Road Cycling Championships for veterans after several veteran category championships were cancelled at the Port Elizabeth road championships in February this year.
The race started in near perfect weather with all the ladies starting alongside legendary riders, such as Gary Beneke, in the 50+ age category. The first 7km, which twisted through the streets of Pietermaritzburg, was a bit of a concern for the large group of riders with numerous pot holes and debris in the road being a risk for flat wheels.
The first big selection of the day came on the big climb out of Pietermaritzburg, reducing the bunch to around 30 riders including the top few ladies. In the selection were Dorfling of team bizhub and Lynette Burger (Nashua-Toyota) who is the recently crowned Africa Games road race champion.
The heat played a big roll on the day with riders needing to take on lots of drinks to keep hydrated over the very undulating course. With the race toughening up around the 60km mark, Lindi and Lynette saw themselves losing touch with the main bunch.
"I had to pull out all the stops to get back to the bunch" said Lindi. "I was not quite prepared for this type of heat and was not getting to eat on the road. This was wearing me down quickly". Dorfling managed to pull herself back to the main group, leaving her nearest rival (Lynette) behind.
From the town of Wartburg the main group had not only to contend with the heat but also a strong head wind for the last 40km. "The group was guttering a lot in the last half of the race, but coming from the windy city of Port Elizabeth, I was used to this and was recovering well after taking on some drinks from the service vehicle. The thought that I was the only lady left in the bunch and that I would be putting on the champions jersey, gave me even more strength toward the end".
The final km’s was just a formality for Dorfling to take the 30-34 SA Champs category and to win the gold in the UCI World Tour event. This qualifies Dorfling to compete for the 2012 World Championship final, which will take place over the same route.
"This was a win that I was working towards for the whole season" said Dorfling after her victory. "It was a big dissapointment for me after our race was cancelled in PE earlier this season so today nothing was going to stop me".
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The event, which forms part of the world cycling tour, was held in Pietermaritzburg over the weekend. The UWCT event also doubled up as the 2011 South African Road Cycling Championships for veterans after several veteran category championships were cancelled at the Port Elizabeth road championships in February this year.
The race started in near perfect weather with all the ladies starting alongside legendary riders, such as Gary Beneke, in the 50+ age category. The first 7km, which twisted through the streets of Pietermaritzburg, was a bit of a concern for the large group of riders with numerous pot holes and debris in the road being a risk for flat wheels.
The first big selection of the day came on the big climb out of Pietermaritzburg, reducing the bunch to around 30 riders including the top few ladies. In the selection were Dorfling of team bizhub and Lynette Burger (Nashua-Toyota) who is the recently crowned Africa Games road race champion.
The heat played a big roll on the day with riders needing to take on lots of drinks to keep hydrated over the very undulating course. With the race toughening up around the 60km mark, Lindi and Lynette saw themselves losing touch with the main bunch.
"I had to pull out all the stops to get back to the bunch" said Lindi. "I was not quite prepared for this type of heat and was not getting to eat on the road. This was wearing me down quickly". Dorfling managed to pull herself back to the main group, leaving her nearest rival (Lynette) behind.
From the town of Wartburg the main group had not only to contend with the heat but also a strong head wind for the last 40km. "The group was guttering a lot in the last half of the race, but coming from the windy city of Port Elizabeth, I was used to this and was recovering well after taking on some drinks from the service vehicle. The thought that I was the only lady left in the bunch and that I would be putting on the champions jersey, gave me even more strength toward the end".
The final km’s was just a formality for Dorfling to take the 30-34 SA Champs category and to win the gold in the UCI World Tour event. This qualifies Dorfling to compete for the 2012 World Championship final, which will take place over the same route.
"This was a win that I was working towards for the whole season" said Dorfling after her victory. "It was a big dissapointment for me after our race was cancelled in PE earlier this season so today nothing was going to stop me".
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bizhub celebrates victory at Isuzu Three Towers Mankele
Press Release 18 October 2011
Yolandi Du Toit together with her new partner Leana De Jager had cause to celebrate on Sunday after having won all three stages together with overall victory in the Isuzu Three Towers Mankele stage race.
Although this was Leana's first stage race in the colours of bizhub, the two riders with similar climbing abilities proved to be a good match from the start. With endless climbs, which suited them well, the new pairing put time into their rivals on each of the three stages. The biggest competition came from Samantha Oosthuizen and Samantha Saanders. "The two Samantha’s put up a big fight" said Yolandi. "Stage two came down to a sprint finish between the two teams, so it certainly was no walk in the park". Caitlin De Wet and Nicci Grobler from team DEVELOP rounded off the podium in third position. "I was stuffed after this Tour!" said Nicci following the third stage. "Unfortunately I came down ill after the Renosterveld stage race and I still don't think that I've recovered fully, but still I'm happy that DEVELOP is also on the podium.On stage one the two Samantha's set a furious pace from the start, however their early pace took its toll on the two riders and on the climbs they slipped behind the bizhub pair. "Once we dropped them Leana and I just kept our rhythm all the way to the top. Looking back we couldn’t see them any longer. We worked together taking turns up front in order to gain as much time on them as possible.We managed to stay away until the end and crossed the finish line with a lead of over 5min to the two Sam's" said a smiling Yolandi after stage one. On stage two the route began with a long endless climb reaching the top at around 21km into the race. On the climb the bizhub pairing opened a 4 min lead with the Samanatha's in second followed by Team DEVELOP."I don't have too much experience yet on the single track, I'm more of a marathon rider" commented Leana after the stage. "We lost all the time we had gained on the climb on the single tracks. Both Samanatha’s are good single track and cross country riders so it wasn't long before they closed the gap down on us. When we reached the final section of single track with the two Sam’s still breathing down our necks I really had to ride out of my skin to hang onto Yolandi's wheel, I even crashed in the process, but we still made it out of the section with a narrow margin over the two Sam's.Stage Three, the shortest of the three stages, saw the bizhup pairing slip away on the climbs to open up another 5 min gap on the chasing Sam's followed by Team DEVELOP. "It was great to see Leana's technical skills improve day by day and it was evident the last day as we stayed away even on the descents" said Yolandi after the the stage. "Luckily I'm on my way home for a well deserved rest whilst Leana starts the Cape Pioneer tomorrow morning!" The organizers Mark and Jeff put together a spectacular event with amazing routes backed up by a solid infrastructure. The tents, hot showers and food provided were some of the best found anywhere. All in all it was another great tour for both bizhub and their sister outfit DEVELOP.
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Yolandi Du Toit together with her new partner Leana De Jager had cause to celebrate on Sunday after having won all three stages together with overall victory in the Isuzu Three Towers Mankele stage race.
Although this was Leana's first stage race in the colours of bizhub, the two riders with similar climbing abilities proved to be a good match from the start. With endless climbs, which suited them well, the new pairing put time into their rivals on each of the three stages. The biggest competition came from Samantha Oosthuizen and Samantha Saanders. "The two Samantha’s put up a big fight" said Yolandi. "Stage two came down to a sprint finish between the two teams, so it certainly was no walk in the park". Caitlin De Wet and Nicci Grobler from team DEVELOP rounded off the podium in third position. "I was stuffed after this Tour!" said Nicci following the third stage. "Unfortunately I came down ill after the Renosterveld stage race and I still don't think that I've recovered fully, but still I'm happy that DEVELOP is also on the podium.On stage one the two Samantha's set a furious pace from the start, however their early pace took its toll on the two riders and on the climbs they slipped behind the bizhub pair. "Once we dropped them Leana and I just kept our rhythm all the way to the top. Looking back we couldn’t see them any longer. We worked together taking turns up front in order to gain as much time on them as possible.We managed to stay away until the end and crossed the finish line with a lead of over 5min to the two Sam's" said a smiling Yolandi after stage one. On stage two the route began with a long endless climb reaching the top at around 21km into the race. On the climb the bizhub pairing opened a 4 min lead with the Samanatha's in second followed by Team DEVELOP."I don't have too much experience yet on the single track, I'm more of a marathon rider" commented Leana after the stage. "We lost all the time we had gained on the climb on the single tracks. Both Samanatha’s are good single track and cross country riders so it wasn't long before they closed the gap down on us. When we reached the final section of single track with the two Sam’s still breathing down our necks I really had to ride out of my skin to hang onto Yolandi's wheel, I even crashed in the process, but we still made it out of the section with a narrow margin over the two Sam's.Stage Three, the shortest of the three stages, saw the bizhup pairing slip away on the climbs to open up another 5 min gap on the chasing Sam's followed by Team DEVELOP. "It was great to see Leana's technical skills improve day by day and it was evident the last day as we stayed away even on the descents" said Yolandi after the the stage. "Luckily I'm on my way home for a well deserved rest whilst Leana starts the Cape Pioneer tomorrow morning!" The organizers Mark and Jeff put together a spectacular event with amazing routes backed up by a solid infrastructure. The tents, hot showers and food provided were some of the best found anywhere. All in all it was another great tour for both bizhub and their sister outfit DEVELOP.
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bizhub and Develop to Isuzu Three Towers Mankele
Press Release 14 October 2011
Team bizhub together with their sister outfit Team DEVELOP will be sending two teams to participate in the Isuzu Three Towers Mankele stage race.
The three day event which begins on Friday at Mankele MTB Park in the Lowveld has a well-deserved reputation for big mountains and endless single-track. The events three stages consist of an opening stage of 77km followed by a testing 80km stage on the Saturday before finishing with a shorter but no less demanding 50km stage on the Sunday. "It's one of my favorite stage races on the South African Calendar" said Yolandi Du Toit", who comes into the event with some good form following her podium finish at the crater cruise on Saturday. "It boasts some of the best single track in the country together with some testing climbs. Last year I participated in the event with Caitlin De Wet, but I'm very excited about the prospect of teaming up with Leana this year. Although she's somewhat of a dark horse she has quiet an impressive resume having already raced in the Cape Epic this year. Yolandi will be partnering with Capetonian Leana De Jager who deputed for team bizhub at the Crater Cruise. "Leana is another talented rider who we've been following with some interest for the last few months" said team owner John Robertson, "She's been racing for less than two years with a good triathlon endurance sport back ground. She's a very positive person with a great enthusiasm for MTB racing. What impresses me even more about her is that she is flying directly after the race on Sunday to George where she will be lining up on the start of the six-day Cape Pioneer. Now that’s dedication for you! Nine days of stage racing back to back is no easy task. Nicci Grobler who recently won the Renosterveld three day stage race together with Yolandi will be partnering with Caitlin De Wet in colours of bizhub's sister outfit DEVELOP. Caitlin has spent much of season this year racing on the world cup circuit in Europe brings a good deal of experience with her to the team. She recently finished 3rd in the woman's elite category of the Tour of Oudshoorn, which she used as final preparation for the event. "I think Nicci and myself compliment each other well", said Caitlin about the new partnership. I'm very good on the single track whilst Nicci has a reputation for being an endurance rider who seems to get stronger with each day in the stage race. We each have a slightly different set of skills, but put together we have a good team. The teams biggest competition is likely to come from the pairing of Samantha Sanders and Samantha Oosthuizen, both of them bring a wealth of experience to their partnership, and they both have a reputation for being good single-track riders. The last few weeks have seen the bizub team running a full race program. Whilst the two teams will be participating in Mankele. Ischen Stopforth and British National Catherine Williamson will be making final preparations for the start of Cape Pioneer. The six-day race stage race is regarded by many as being almost as challenging as the ABSA Cape Epic. The route traverses two mountain stages, crosses the arid semi-desert Karoo and flows through coastal forests of the garden route before finally finishing in Oudtshoorn.
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Team bizhub together with their sister outfit Team DEVELOP will be sending two teams to participate in the Isuzu Three Towers Mankele stage race.
The three day event which begins on Friday at Mankele MTB Park in the Lowveld has a well-deserved reputation for big mountains and endless single-track. The events three stages consist of an opening stage of 77km followed by a testing 80km stage on the Saturday before finishing with a shorter but no less demanding 50km stage on the Sunday. "It's one of my favorite stage races on the South African Calendar" said Yolandi Du Toit", who comes into the event with some good form following her podium finish at the crater cruise on Saturday. "It boasts some of the best single track in the country together with some testing climbs. Last year I participated in the event with Caitlin De Wet, but I'm very excited about the prospect of teaming up with Leana this year. Although she's somewhat of a dark horse she has quiet an impressive resume having already raced in the Cape Epic this year. Yolandi will be partnering with Capetonian Leana De Jager who deputed for team bizhub at the Crater Cruise. "Leana is another talented rider who we've been following with some interest for the last few months" said team owner John Robertson, "She's been racing for less than two years with a good triathlon endurance sport back ground. She's a very positive person with a great enthusiasm for MTB racing. What impresses me even more about her is that she is flying directly after the race on Sunday to George where she will be lining up on the start of the six-day Cape Pioneer. Now that’s dedication for you! Nine days of stage racing back to back is no easy task. Nicci Grobler who recently won the Renosterveld three day stage race together with Yolandi will be partnering with Caitlin De Wet in colours of bizhub's sister outfit DEVELOP. Caitlin has spent much of season this year racing on the world cup circuit in Europe brings a good deal of experience with her to the team. She recently finished 3rd in the woman's elite category of the Tour of Oudshoorn, which she used as final preparation for the event. "I think Nicci and myself compliment each other well", said Caitlin about the new partnership. I'm very good on the single track whilst Nicci has a reputation for being an endurance rider who seems to get stronger with each day in the stage race. We each have a slightly different set of skills, but put together we have a good team. The teams biggest competition is likely to come from the pairing of Samantha Sanders and Samantha Oosthuizen, both of them bring a wealth of experience to their partnership, and they both have a reputation for being good single-track riders. The last few weeks have seen the bizub team running a full race program. Whilst the two teams will be participating in Mankele. Ischen Stopforth and British National Catherine Williamson will be making final preparations for the start of Cape Pioneer. The six-day race stage race is regarded by many as being almost as challenging as the ABSA Cape Epic. The route traverses two mountain stages, crosses the arid semi-desert Karoo and flows through coastal forests of the garden route before finally finishing in Oudtshoorn.
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Oudtshoorn three day marathon victory for bizhub
The past weekend was another busy weekend for team bizhub. Whilst three ladies on the team were participating in the Rhenosterveld Ride the Rhino, Ischen and Caitlin De Wet together with British National Catherine Williamson took part in the Oudtshoorn three day Marathon.
"There are so many mountain bike races all over the country to choose from that it is sometimes hard to make your pick" Said Ischen. "But we opted to do the Oudtshoorn 3 day MTB Marathon with Catherine Williamson, my bizhub partner for the Cape Pioneer Trek, she had just arrived back in South Africa from her home country Great Britain on the Wednesday. I reckoned this would be a good way to ease her back into mountain biking as the routes are mainly open gravel roads and not very technical; but good hard riding and long distances for us to get some miles in the legs and spend some time together on the bike. Caitlin De Wet, our younger cross country rider from bizhub, joined us for this weekend's racing to get some hard training miles in the legs".The Oudrace consists of three routes all starting and finishing in Oudtshoorn; each just over a 100km. The first day takes one on a beautiful scenic loop towards the Swartberg Mountains, along the Oudemuragie Road. Catherine and Ischen crossed the line together on the first days 107km stage in a time of 3h55, 10th & 11th in GC. Caitlin De Wet did well to come in 3rd in the ladies field, even though the distance was quite a bit further than she is used to as a Cross Country rider. On day two everyone awoke to a beautiful but chilly morning The start was once again flat, maybe not quite as fast with the bunch staying quite big for a long time "I was happy when the pace got harder and the group got smaller" Said Ischen Up the main climb of the day around 30 km into the race it was again the Blend Boys, Dave Morrison & Stuart Marais with Petrus Malherbe and two or three brave souls, who broke away, leaving Catherine and Ischen in the second bunch. Day two took the riders through some really beautiful rocky jeep track through farms and the veld flowers were once again unbelievable. "It was wonderful to be in the position of actually being able to look around and enjoy nature whilst racing, for a change" Continued Ischen "Our time of 3h47 for Day two was only slightly less than day one, even though the distance of 97 km was 10km shorter with less climbing (1270m asc), as the terrain was rougher. Again we finished in 10 & 11th position in GC, with Caitlin following as 3rd lady. Grim weather had been predicted for the Sundays stage after two really beautiful spring days in the Klein Karoo. Luckily when everyone woke up at dawn conditions were overcast but there was no rain. On the third day riders were taken on some really great jeep track roads through some game farms and the Mount Hope Nature reserve. With some long drags and climbs which added to the days difficulties During it also began raining which meant for a cold wet finish to the stage. Catherine and Ischen again finished together to take first and second overall. Their total riding time for the 3 Days was 11h04min28sec. Caitlin took the third spot in overall For Team bizhub the mission for the weekend was accomplished, good multi-stage race training, hard riding, lots of accelerations closing down gaps and following attacks to help with leg speed. This all in final preperation for the Cape Pioneer Trek. All good training and practice for the Pioneer, which goes through some of the tracks from today. "The scenery was urm… apparently very nice though I could probably tell you more about which tyres the people in front of me were riding" Said a tired Catherine after the final stage.
Photo attached: Caitlin De Wet, Ischen Stopforth, Catherine Williamson
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"There are so many mountain bike races all over the country to choose from that it is sometimes hard to make your pick" Said Ischen. "But we opted to do the Oudtshoorn 3 day MTB Marathon with Catherine Williamson, my bizhub partner for the Cape Pioneer Trek, she had just arrived back in South Africa from her home country Great Britain on the Wednesday. I reckoned this would be a good way to ease her back into mountain biking as the routes are mainly open gravel roads and not very technical; but good hard riding and long distances for us to get some miles in the legs and spend some time together on the bike. Caitlin De Wet, our younger cross country rider from bizhub, joined us for this weekend's racing to get some hard training miles in the legs".The Oudrace consists of three routes all starting and finishing in Oudtshoorn; each just over a 100km. The first day takes one on a beautiful scenic loop towards the Swartberg Mountains, along the Oudemuragie Road. Catherine and Ischen crossed the line together on the first days 107km stage in a time of 3h55, 10th & 11th in GC. Caitlin De Wet did well to come in 3rd in the ladies field, even though the distance was quite a bit further than she is used to as a Cross Country rider. On day two everyone awoke to a beautiful but chilly morning The start was once again flat, maybe not quite as fast with the bunch staying quite big for a long time "I was happy when the pace got harder and the group got smaller" Said Ischen Up the main climb of the day around 30 km into the race it was again the Blend Boys, Dave Morrison & Stuart Marais with Petrus Malherbe and two or three brave souls, who broke away, leaving Catherine and Ischen in the second bunch. Day two took the riders through some really beautiful rocky jeep track through farms and the veld flowers were once again unbelievable. "It was wonderful to be in the position of actually being able to look around and enjoy nature whilst racing, for a change" Continued Ischen "Our time of 3h47 for Day two was only slightly less than day one, even though the distance of 97 km was 10km shorter with less climbing (1270m asc), as the terrain was rougher. Again we finished in 10 & 11th position in GC, with Caitlin following as 3rd lady. Grim weather had been predicted for the Sundays stage after two really beautiful spring days in the Klein Karoo. Luckily when everyone woke up at dawn conditions were overcast but there was no rain. On the third day riders were taken on some really great jeep track roads through some game farms and the Mount Hope Nature reserve. With some long drags and climbs which added to the days difficulties During it also began raining which meant for a cold wet finish to the stage. Catherine and Ischen again finished together to take first and second overall. Their total riding time for the 3 Days was 11h04min28sec. Caitlin took the third spot in overall For Team bizhub the mission for the weekend was accomplished, good multi-stage race training, hard riding, lots of accelerations closing down gaps and following attacks to help with leg speed. This all in final preperation for the Cape Pioneer Trek. All good training and practice for the Pioneer, which goes through some of the tracks from today. "The scenery was urm… apparently very nice though I could probably tell you more about which tyres the people in front of me were riding" Said a tired Catherine after the final stage.
Photo attached: Caitlin De Wet, Ischen Stopforth, Catherine Williamson
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Neethling wins DCSR Misty Valley MTB Challenge
Team bizhub's Candice Neethling made a journey to the Mpumalanga province this weekend to participate in the inaugural DCSR Misty Valley MTB Challenge.Only 2.5 hours drive from Johannesburg and just a few kilometers above Waterval Boven, lies the Misty Valley Mountain Lodge. This world-class mountain biking event is part of the Highland Meander, where surroundings of unspoiled forest and mountain scenery will make way for the fastest mountain bikers in Africa! The Misty Valley Lodge is situated on a mountain, which is 2100m above sea level with spectacular scenery and incredible MTB trails on the lodge estate and surrounding areas and forests."It was a really well put together event. The course is fantastic and their is a lot of media coverage". Said Candice following the event. "It was a windy day, which made things tough in the beginning, but was an advantage later when we had the same wind blowing from behind. The track was truly amazing. It boasted single track that was from heaven! However, due to the amount of concentration this type of riding required, I wasn't able to enjoy the mind- blowing views, unless I came to a stop,which of course, was not an option. As we continued to wind down deeper and deeper into the valley, I knew in the back if my head that a monster climb lay before me. However, I tried not to let this cloud my enjoyment of the present moment. After a water table at the bottom, I looked up to where I could see the route markers leading, needless to say, it headed skyward! I put my head down to do some work, looking behind me at frequent intervals to check if Samantha Saunders was hunting me down. To my delight, I didn't see her until after I had crossed the finish line. The last 10kms was challenging as it involved a lot of open climbing and the wind was definitely a factor!I was happy to cross the finish line in first place, having won queen of the mountains along the way". Samantha Saunders finished the event in second spot.The inagrual event proved to be a big success, due to the quality of the course together with the hospitality of the Misty Valley Lodge this event can only grow from strength to strength in ther future "We were literaly blown away with the exciting and purposly built trails, and forest tunnel sections which seemed to go on forever!" Continued Candice.
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bizhub to "Ride the Rhino"
28 September 2011 - Three members of the bizhub ladies cycling team will be lining up at the start of the "Renosterveld ride the rhino" on Friday.
The three-day MTB Tour which began as a dream of a man, Justin Basson who had the vision and passion to link the remaining fragments of Renosterveld, whilst using the MTB Tour to generate funds to achieve the goal. What's exciting about the event is that it also forms part of a challenge to help rescue Renosterveld one of the most endangered habitats of the world.
Today only 4% of the original Renosterveld is left remaining in the Western Cape. The event goes one step further as it seeks to raise Rhino awareness, hence the title "Ride the Rhino". This year alone more than 288 rhino's have been poached in SA, this equates to one per day. And an increase of 1000% percent in the last four years.
"The event is supporting some important causes" said Yolandi Du Toit from bizhub. "Sometimes racing is not always about winning but it's also about social responsibility and putting something back into the community, which is why we have decided to support this event. I'll be partnering again with Nicci Grobler, the two of us rode well together in the Sani2C and the Kalahari Challenge. I always look forward to spending time on the bike with her."
Liani Morkel from bizhub will also be participating in the event together with team owner John Robertson "It's all part of a good cause" said Robertson, "and it will give the girls a chance to get their own back at me. Three days of racing with Liani is going to hurt a lot, and its way more difficult than shouting from a team car. Still I'm looking forward to the challenge and spending some time on the bike again in aid of a good cause".
On day three of the event all the riders in the Tour will be trading in their team jerseys for a red rhino jersey, the idea behind this I for the organizers to get 288 red jerseys into the field one for every poached rhino. The event seeks to do the same for the West coast as the Sani2C did for Umkomaas and its people in the form of social upliftment and community involvement.
The race starts at Langebaan Country Estate of Friday morning and finishes on Sunday at Nitida Wine Cellars in Durbanville.
Photo attached: Ms Yolandi du Toit and Ms Nicci Grobler
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The three-day MTB Tour which began as a dream of a man, Justin Basson who had the vision and passion to link the remaining fragments of Renosterveld, whilst using the MTB Tour to generate funds to achieve the goal. What's exciting about the event is that it also forms part of a challenge to help rescue Renosterveld one of the most endangered habitats of the world.
Today only 4% of the original Renosterveld is left remaining in the Western Cape. The event goes one step further as it seeks to raise Rhino awareness, hence the title "Ride the Rhino". This year alone more than 288 rhino's have been poached in SA, this equates to one per day. And an increase of 1000% percent in the last four years.
"The event is supporting some important causes" said Yolandi Du Toit from bizhub. "Sometimes racing is not always about winning but it's also about social responsibility and putting something back into the community, which is why we have decided to support this event. I'll be partnering again with Nicci Grobler, the two of us rode well together in the Sani2C and the Kalahari Challenge. I always look forward to spending time on the bike with her."
Liani Morkel from bizhub will also be participating in the event together with team owner John Robertson "It's all part of a good cause" said Robertson, "and it will give the girls a chance to get their own back at me. Three days of racing with Liani is going to hurt a lot, and its way more difficult than shouting from a team car. Still I'm looking forward to the challenge and spending some time on the bike again in aid of a good cause".
On day three of the event all the riders in the Tour will be trading in their team jerseys for a red rhino jersey, the idea behind this I for the organizers to get 288 red jerseys into the field one for every poached rhino. The event seeks to do the same for the West coast as the Sani2C did for Umkomaas and its people in the form of social upliftment and community involvement.
The race starts at Langebaan Country Estate of Friday morning and finishes on Sunday at Nitida Wine Cellars in Durbanville.
Photo attached: Ms Yolandi du Toit and Ms Nicci Grobler
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Stopforth puts up a brave fight
26 September 2011 - With only two races remaining in the MTN Series, the MTN Hilton Dirt Festival for woman was destined to boil down to a battle of champions.
Only a few points separated the current leader of the series Yolande Speedy (MTN Qhubeka) and bizhub's 2009 series champion Ischen Stopforth. "Although I was close to the lead" said Ischen after the Hilton 50 miler "I knew that I needed to win at least one of the remaining two races which would be Hilton or the MTN Crater cruise and preferably finish second in the other to have a realistic chance of overall victory."
"I was amazed how relaxed I was considering this pressure." Continued Ischen "But I guess at age 39 and the big picture of life, the importance of winning a MTB race in a country at the bottom end of the world evaporates into significance. So my race strategy was to go full gas and give my best but to enjoy the ride as much as possible. Obviously was going to try and shadow Speedy's pink jersey, try and wait for an opportunity to make a break. I knew the route would be super technical, to the advantage of Yolandes , but reckoned that - should I have good legs - I should be able to drop her on the climbs."
"I had opted to race my 26er Specialized S-works Epic dual suspension, after feeling out of control on my 29er last weekend on the single track; and this was definitely the right decision for me for this route. We hadn't even left the Hilton College grounds when it was only Yolandes, Candice Neethling and I off the front. I felt good on the climbs and tried to stay relaxed and focused in the single track sections. The route kept on taking us from jeeptrack off into twirly whirly single track in forest and plantations."
"At one point I slid out on a sandy loose corner, just lost a few seconds but the other two infinitely faster than me in these sections sped off, leaving me to chase again. I eventually caught up with Candice on a climb after the 1st waterpoint, with Yolandes 40 sec ahead. I hoped Candice would come with me but could see the young XC-body was not used to hammering full gas for such a long time, so I chased on without her. The rest of the race was, like Gravel Travel, a cat-and-mouse chase: I would chase hard to catch up to Yolandes and every time I was just about a few pedalstrokes from her, we would enter single-track... and by the time I would exit the single-track she was gone again."
"The route was challenging and one had to really concentrate so as not to miss a sneaky turn-off onto single-track, although it was really well marked. As we entered the final section of single-track climb, I could hear the noise of announcers at the finish line. I dug deep and reeled Yolandes in until I could see the Powerade Tech Zone banner ahead of her with me 50m or so behind her. I changed to a bigger gear, got up and pedalled hard, but the finish line was just ahead of us and Yolandes sped over the finish line a 4 seconds ahead of me."
"I'm not disappointed with my second position; I rode as hard and as well as I could, trying not to make mistakes in the technical sections. But Yolande's really is the Queen of single-track; and - although I might at the moment be stronger on the climbs - she deserves the win and I deserve the polkadot."
bizhub's Candice Neethling filled the third spot on the podium with Yolandi Du Toit from bizhub finishing fourth. The final chapter in the battle of the two champions will come down to the MTN Crater Cruise the queen of the single track versus the queen of the mountains.
Photo attached: Mrs Ischen Stopforth and Mrs Catherine Williamson
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Only a few points separated the current leader of the series Yolande Speedy (MTN Qhubeka) and bizhub's 2009 series champion Ischen Stopforth. "Although I was close to the lead" said Ischen after the Hilton 50 miler "I knew that I needed to win at least one of the remaining two races which would be Hilton or the MTN Crater cruise and preferably finish second in the other to have a realistic chance of overall victory."
"I was amazed how relaxed I was considering this pressure." Continued Ischen "But I guess at age 39 and the big picture of life, the importance of winning a MTB race in a country at the bottom end of the world evaporates into significance. So my race strategy was to go full gas and give my best but to enjoy the ride as much as possible. Obviously was going to try and shadow Speedy's pink jersey, try and wait for an opportunity to make a break. I knew the route would be super technical, to the advantage of Yolandes , but reckoned that - should I have good legs - I should be able to drop her on the climbs."
"I had opted to race my 26er Specialized S-works Epic dual suspension, after feeling out of control on my 29er last weekend on the single track; and this was definitely the right decision for me for this route. We hadn't even left the Hilton College grounds when it was only Yolandes, Candice Neethling and I off the front. I felt good on the climbs and tried to stay relaxed and focused in the single track sections. The route kept on taking us from jeeptrack off into twirly whirly single track in forest and plantations."
"At one point I slid out on a sandy loose corner, just lost a few seconds but the other two infinitely faster than me in these sections sped off, leaving me to chase again. I eventually caught up with Candice on a climb after the 1st waterpoint, with Yolandes 40 sec ahead. I hoped Candice would come with me but could see the young XC-body was not used to hammering full gas for such a long time, so I chased on without her. The rest of the race was, like Gravel Travel, a cat-and-mouse chase: I would chase hard to catch up to Yolandes and every time I was just about a few pedalstrokes from her, we would enter single-track... and by the time I would exit the single-track she was gone again."
"The route was challenging and one had to really concentrate so as not to miss a sneaky turn-off onto single-track, although it was really well marked. As we entered the final section of single-track climb, I could hear the noise of announcers at the finish line. I dug deep and reeled Yolandes in until I could see the Powerade Tech Zone banner ahead of her with me 50m or so behind her. I changed to a bigger gear, got up and pedalled hard, but the finish line was just ahead of us and Yolandes sped over the finish line a 4 seconds ahead of me."
"I'm not disappointed with my second position; I rode as hard and as well as I could, trying not to make mistakes in the technical sections. But Yolande's really is the Queen of single-track; and - although I might at the moment be stronger on the climbs - she deserves the win and I deserve the polkadot."
bizhub's Candice Neethling filled the third spot on the podium with Yolandi Du Toit from bizhub finishing fourth. The final chapter in the battle of the two champions will come down to the MTN Crater Cruise the queen of the single track versus the queen of the mountains.
Photo attached: Mrs Ischen Stopforth and Mrs Catherine Williamson
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Stopforth tough enough for DCM Cape Pioneer
26 September 2011 - One of the real "tough ladies" of South African Mountain Biking, Ischen Stopforth (bizhub), will again race in the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek (17-22 October) this year.
Stopforth was undoubtedly one of the true tour heroes of last year's DCM Cape Pioneer Trek. Stopforth, who raced with Marcel Deacon, crashed heavily during the first stage. Although she had to endure severe pain, they went on to win the stage, taking the early lead in the mixed category. Afterwards X-rays showed that three of Stopforth's ribs were broken.
Stopforth, a qualified doctor herself, knew that quitting the race would be the best option from a medical perspective. However, this was not an option for Stopforth because she does not know the meaning of the word "quit". During the next five days, in spite of the fact that every pedal stroke was a stark reminder that the last place for her to be was on her mountain bike, Stopforth battled on valiantly, ignoring her own suffering. Sometimes she even struggled to keep her tears back.
For this never-say-die attitude of hers, she was eventually rewarded with a fourth place in the mixed category. After this experience that certainly could not have been pleasant, it would have been understandable if Stopforth should have decided to give the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek a miss this year. But Stopforth makes it clear that not riding the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek will never be an option for her.
"Let's be quite honest. The DCM Cape Pioneer Trek is definitely one of the toughest challenges on the local calendar. Last year I even thought that it was harder than the Cape Epic, but after this year's Epic I am not so sure anymore. "What makes the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek a must-do ride for me, is the fact that it is a community driven event. In every town the whole community gets involved."
"You cannot help feeling that it is really important for everybody to ensure that we, as riders, have a memorable experience." Stopforth’s teammate this year is Catherine Williamson. Judging by their respective performances so far this year, they will definitely be contenders in the women's category. Stopforth and Williamson won the Joburg2C. Stopforth, teaming up with Hanlie Booyens, also finished third in the Epic.
Photo attached: Mrs Ischen Stopforth
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Stopforth was undoubtedly one of the true tour heroes of last year's DCM Cape Pioneer Trek. Stopforth, who raced with Marcel Deacon, crashed heavily during the first stage. Although she had to endure severe pain, they went on to win the stage, taking the early lead in the mixed category. Afterwards X-rays showed that three of Stopforth's ribs were broken.
Stopforth, a qualified doctor herself, knew that quitting the race would be the best option from a medical perspective. However, this was not an option for Stopforth because she does not know the meaning of the word "quit". During the next five days, in spite of the fact that every pedal stroke was a stark reminder that the last place for her to be was on her mountain bike, Stopforth battled on valiantly, ignoring her own suffering. Sometimes she even struggled to keep her tears back.
For this never-say-die attitude of hers, she was eventually rewarded with a fourth place in the mixed category. After this experience that certainly could not have been pleasant, it would have been understandable if Stopforth should have decided to give the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek a miss this year. But Stopforth makes it clear that not riding the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek will never be an option for her.
"Let's be quite honest. The DCM Cape Pioneer Trek is definitely one of the toughest challenges on the local calendar. Last year I even thought that it was harder than the Cape Epic, but after this year's Epic I am not so sure anymore. "What makes the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek a must-do ride for me, is the fact that it is a community driven event. In every town the whole community gets involved."
"You cannot help feeling that it is really important for everybody to ensure that we, as riders, have a memorable experience." Stopforth’s teammate this year is Catherine Williamson. Judging by their respective performances so far this year, they will definitely be contenders in the women's category. Stopforth and Williamson won the Joburg2C. Stopforth, teaming up with Hanlie Booyens, also finished third in the Epic.
Photo attached: Mrs Ischen Stopforth
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Erasmus celebrate win at Engen Dynamic in Port Elizabeth
20 September 2011 - Lindi Erasmus, Liliandi Swanepoel en Monique Gerber from Team bizhub woke up to the sound of gale force winds on Sunday morning. "I knew the strong wind was going to make for a nice hard race" said Lindi "and they also don't call Port Elizabeth the windy city for nothing".
The Elite ladies started in the main race group with the u23, Elite men and Vets 30-39. With some Elite men teams from Cape Town and Gauteng coming down to take on the locals. When the start gun went, the pace immediately heated up with a start into the head wind.
"The pace was extremely fast with lots of guttering." Continued Lindi "Lilandi and I made sure to position ourselves in the front of the bunch and avoided being part of the casualties caused by the guttering. With the first big hill coming only 8km into the race, we once again made sure we were positioned in the front to avoid the chaos on the climb, which worked out great as I latched onto the back of the bunch as it crested the hill."
"Liliandi was only a few meters behind and managed to get back onto the group within a few minutes. Heading towards the next big climb, the Van Stadens Pass, the bunch was again guttering but I stayed in front and out of trouble. We had a very hairy decent into the pass and then hit the climb at a hectic pace. I just kept my cool and paced myself up the long climb, reaching the top in the second group on the road. Lilandi did a good ride and managed to hook up with the 3rd group on the road and tried to make her way back but with the head wind the main group was going too fast for them to catch up."
"My group then worked hard to catch the group in front of us and we reeled them in after a few km's. We then hit the last climb of the day, a 7km climb out of the town of Loerie. I had recovered by this time and was feeling good and sat 3rd wheel all the way to the top. In the last 20km, the guys were constantly attacking and guttering but I used my experience of PE winds and hid away out of the wind."
"The final kilometre to victory was very sweet as it is always wonderful to be able to win on home ground. Even though there wasn't a lot of competition with the ladies I measured up to the guys and came out on top! Finishing a credible 37th overall in the men."
Lilandi Swanepoel finished second overall and Monique Gerber won her age category race held over a shorter distance.
Photo attached: Mrs Lindi Erasmus
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The Elite ladies started in the main race group with the u23, Elite men and Vets 30-39. With some Elite men teams from Cape Town and Gauteng coming down to take on the locals. When the start gun went, the pace immediately heated up with a start into the head wind.
"The pace was extremely fast with lots of guttering." Continued Lindi "Lilandi and I made sure to position ourselves in the front of the bunch and avoided being part of the casualties caused by the guttering. With the first big hill coming only 8km into the race, we once again made sure we were positioned in the front to avoid the chaos on the climb, which worked out great as I latched onto the back of the bunch as it crested the hill."
"Liliandi was only a few meters behind and managed to get back onto the group within a few minutes. Heading towards the next big climb, the Van Stadens Pass, the bunch was again guttering but I stayed in front and out of trouble. We had a very hairy decent into the pass and then hit the climb at a hectic pace. I just kept my cool and paced myself up the long climb, reaching the top in the second group on the road. Lilandi did a good ride and managed to hook up with the 3rd group on the road and tried to make her way back but with the head wind the main group was going too fast for them to catch up."
"My group then worked hard to catch the group in front of us and we reeled them in after a few km's. We then hit the last climb of the day, a 7km climb out of the town of Loerie. I had recovered by this time and was feeling good and sat 3rd wheel all the way to the top. In the last 20km, the guys were constantly attacking and guttering but I used my experience of PE winds and hid away out of the wind."
"The final kilometre to victory was very sweet as it is always wonderful to be able to win on home ground. Even though there wasn't a lot of competition with the ladies I measured up to the guys and came out on top! Finishing a credible 37th overall in the men."
Lilandi Swanepoel finished second overall and Monique Gerber won her age category race held over a shorter distance.
Photo attached: Mrs Lindi Erasmus
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Du Toit wins Nissan Down and Dirty
6 September 2011 -Team bizhub added another win to their recent string of Mountain Bike successes at the Nissan Down and Dirty. The race was held onSaturday and forms part of the Nissan Trailseekers Series.
The series is currently the biggest MTB series in Gauteng. This was quiet evident when looking at the strong field which took to the start line together with the number of participants entered into the event. The race was held at Cornwall Hill College in Irene Pretoria. A cycle friendly venue which made for a pleasant atmosphere for the riders.
With the event starting and finishing on the schools athletic field. It gave friends and family the opportunity to cheer riders on while sitting on the grand stand or underneath an umbrella, next to the field. The fairly flat and fast 70km route consisted mainly of jeep track and district roads in and around Centurion.
Despite it being a great summer's day, the strong August wind added to the challenge and difficulty of the course. Having got off to a quick start during the first 5km of the race Yolandi found herself racing alongside Yolande Speedy (Team MTN/Qhuebeka) and Theresa Ralph. "On a long drag into a head wind I managed to open a small gap on Speedy and it grew from there as I managed to sustain my pace whilst battling the blustery headwind" said Yolandi. "I was feeling confident on the day after last weeks win and from there I maintained my lead over Yolande to give me my second victory in two weeks. I was pleased with my performance and very happy to capture my first win at a Nissan Trailseeker event this year."
Yolande Speedy showed her class in only her second comeback ride after her recent injury to finish in second spot. Veteran rider Theresa Ralph rounding off the podium in third. Nicci Grobler from bizhub who switched from athletics to cycling less than a year ago again proved that she's going to be a name to watch in the future, finishing 3rd in the senior womans race.
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The series is currently the biggest MTB series in Gauteng. This was quiet evident when looking at the strong field which took to the start line together with the number of participants entered into the event. The race was held at Cornwall Hill College in Irene Pretoria. A cycle friendly venue which made for a pleasant atmosphere for the riders.
With the event starting and finishing on the schools athletic field. It gave friends and family the opportunity to cheer riders on while sitting on the grand stand or underneath an umbrella, next to the field. The fairly flat and fast 70km route consisted mainly of jeep track and district roads in and around Centurion.
Despite it being a great summer's day, the strong August wind added to the challenge and difficulty of the course. Having got off to a quick start during the first 5km of the race Yolandi found herself racing alongside Yolande Speedy (Team MTN/Qhuebeka) and Theresa Ralph. "On a long drag into a head wind I managed to open a small gap on Speedy and it grew from there as I managed to sustain my pace whilst battling the blustery headwind" said Yolandi. "I was feeling confident on the day after last weeks win and from there I maintained my lead over Yolande to give me my second victory in two weeks. I was pleased with my performance and very happy to capture my first win at a Nissan Trailseeker event this year."
Yolande Speedy showed her class in only her second comeback ride after her recent injury to finish in second spot. Veteran rider Theresa Ralph rounding off the podium in third. Nicci Grobler from bizhub who switched from athletics to cycling less than a year ago again proved that she's going to be a name to watch in the future, finishing 3rd in the senior womans race.
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bizhub fueled by success
28 August 2011 - On the weekend team bizhub added another two victories to their recent success. Ischen Stopforth travelled to the MTN Gravel Travel, which stared on the beautiful Diemersfontein wine farm outside Wellington.
The event is the 6th leg of the MTN XCM series. "I think everyone felt a bit nervous and unsure and the race was sure to be a bit of a surprise with some of the big guns not having competed against each other in recent months" said Ischen. "I was looking forward to the race; having heard lots of great things being said about the loverly single track around Wellington.
"I knew it would be a testing route, with lots of climbing - just shy of 1900m in the 75km race. To my great surprise, I was called before the race start to collect the race leaders' jersey. Only then would I hear that current series leader, Ariane Kleynhans, would not be racing due to injury. I am currently second in the points ranking in the series, so the honour of wearing the pink ladies leaders' jersey was mine for the day!"
Yolande Speedy MTN was also making her a welcome come back to racing after a long lay-off due to vascular surgery earlier this season and it was good to see her back on the start line again. Also on the line-up was Ischens Epic and Trans Baviaans partner, Hanlie Booyens, Karein van Jaarseveld (USN) and Leana de Jager - a new girl from Stellenbosch to watch completed the "whom to watch" list.
"First it was Hanlie Booyens setting a hard tempo at the front." Recalled a smiling Ischen. "When I passed her, Leana de Jager suddenly accelerated and I followed her, with Karien van Jaarsveld and Yolande Speedy. After a while I looked when I looked around, I realised that Yolande had also dropped off the group, only Karien was still with me chasing Leana. Sure enough, at the end of the first downhill section of single track, Speedy was with me again. She is truly incredibly skilful and it is beautiful to watch her just flow through the technical sections. We chased on together until we caught Leana and rode together for a while. I realized that Leana had probably started too hard, as she was not within sight anymore; and I presumed the same was to be said of Karien. So this was actually a battle for first between me & Yolande."
"With about 15km to go on a long climb I picked picked up the pace, hoping that she wouldn't respond. I didn't look back, just rode as hard as I possibly could. When I was told it was less than 5km to go to the finish I stole a peek backwards and could not see Yolande approaching. I knew if I kept the pace up she would not be able to catch me so I just kept on pedalling as hard as I could until I got the finish line." Yolande Speedy (MTN/Qhubeka) came in in 2nd position followed by Hanlie Booyens (Team Jeep/Solomon) in 3rd. Leana de Jager managed to hold onto 4th.
Yolandi Du Toit kept the home fires burning by winning the Eqstra Spring Classic held at the Helderfontein estate in Lonehill on Sunday. She also put a dampener on some of the mens spirits by finishing 11th overall in the Elite mens race.
"There's no such thing as an easy mountain bike race" said Yolandi "I thought being only 45kms this would a good training race to use as preperation for the big events which are coming up soon. But being short, the guys just started so fast it was more like a flat out sprint! Still it was great to look back, and see some guys hanging on my back wheel.
Photo attached: Mrs Ischen Stopforth
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The event is the 6th leg of the MTN XCM series. "I think everyone felt a bit nervous and unsure and the race was sure to be a bit of a surprise with some of the big guns not having competed against each other in recent months" said Ischen. "I was looking forward to the race; having heard lots of great things being said about the loverly single track around Wellington.
"I knew it would be a testing route, with lots of climbing - just shy of 1900m in the 75km race. To my great surprise, I was called before the race start to collect the race leaders' jersey. Only then would I hear that current series leader, Ariane Kleynhans, would not be racing due to injury. I am currently second in the points ranking in the series, so the honour of wearing the pink ladies leaders' jersey was mine for the day!"
Yolande Speedy MTN was also making her a welcome come back to racing after a long lay-off due to vascular surgery earlier this season and it was good to see her back on the start line again. Also on the line-up was Ischens Epic and Trans Baviaans partner, Hanlie Booyens, Karein van Jaarseveld (USN) and Leana de Jager - a new girl from Stellenbosch to watch completed the "whom to watch" list.
"First it was Hanlie Booyens setting a hard tempo at the front." Recalled a smiling Ischen. "When I passed her, Leana de Jager suddenly accelerated and I followed her, with Karien van Jaarsveld and Yolande Speedy. After a while I looked when I looked around, I realised that Yolande had also dropped off the group, only Karien was still with me chasing Leana. Sure enough, at the end of the first downhill section of single track, Speedy was with me again. She is truly incredibly skilful and it is beautiful to watch her just flow through the technical sections. We chased on together until we caught Leana and rode together for a while. I realized that Leana had probably started too hard, as she was not within sight anymore; and I presumed the same was to be said of Karien. So this was actually a battle for first between me & Yolande."
"With about 15km to go on a long climb I picked picked up the pace, hoping that she wouldn't respond. I didn't look back, just rode as hard as I possibly could. When I was told it was less than 5km to go to the finish I stole a peek backwards and could not see Yolande approaching. I knew if I kept the pace up she would not be able to catch me so I just kept on pedalling as hard as I could until I got the finish line." Yolande Speedy (MTN/Qhubeka) came in in 2nd position followed by Hanlie Booyens (Team Jeep/Solomon) in 3rd. Leana de Jager managed to hold onto 4th.
Yolandi Du Toit kept the home fires burning by winning the Eqstra Spring Classic held at the Helderfontein estate in Lonehill on Sunday. She also put a dampener on some of the mens spirits by finishing 11th overall in the Elite mens race.
"There's no such thing as an easy mountain bike race" said Yolandi "I thought being only 45kms this would a good training race to use as preperation for the big events which are coming up soon. But being short, the guys just started so fast it was more like a flat out sprint! Still it was great to look back, and see some guys hanging on my back wheel.
Photo attached: Mrs Ischen Stopforth
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Eight Bells Enduro a highlight for Stopforth
22 August 2011 - The Eight Bells Mountain Bike Enduro hosted for the third year, is one of those races which bizhub's Ischen Stopforth consider to be a favourite on her racing calendar. "It's a real reminder of where I started as a cyclist: a beautiful challenging route; organised by local people enthusiastic about mountain biking." said Stopforth.
The event forms part of the Southern Cape Enduro series and starts & finishes at the Eight Bells Resort outside MosselBay.
This was Ischens third year participating in this event, having won the ladies category both in 2009 and 2010. The 80km route is a challenging route, with 1800m ascent and some very steep climbs of 16-20% gradient. It is a really scenic race with views over the valleys to the Outeniqua mountains on the one side and the ocean stretching to MosselBay on the other, on farm roads, forestry roads and some jeep track through indigenous forest.
"After racing TransBaviaans last weekend I felt surprisingly fresh and managed to get a good weeks' training in. With so many important races coming up including MTN Gravel at Diemersfontein next weekend. I couldn't really allow myself the luxury of too much of a taper for this event and went into the race very much aware of last weekends' race.
It was a beautiful, pristine morning - a definite spring feeling in the late winter, clear skies and a perfect day to be on the bike!"
The race start was quite typical of one of Ischens "local races" with everyone chatting and suddenly they were all off to the so-called "neutral" start, chasing to keep up with the lead-out quad bike.
Before having turned off the tar road towards Bottelierskop, the bunch had already split and Ischen was digging deep to stay with the front bunch.
"I soon realised there were no other ladies in the front bunch and it was time to let go of the ego and the "boy chase". Racing too hard after last weeks' 235km TransBaviaans with important races coming up could potentially just cause damage. So I tapped off and settled into a good rhythm, riding mostly on my own from 25km into the race."
"It was quite a luxury to actually allow myself some time to enjoy the views and spectacular scenery, the lovely jeeptrack sections through pine and indigenous forests and not taking any risks on the descents. Some of the climbs were really very steep and challenging, with gradients between 16-20% , just what I needed to spin out the TransBaviaans out of the legs!"
In the last 15km Ischen caught many of the men who had started too hard. "I managed to finish 1st in the ladies, and in 7th position overall in a time of 3h26" smiled Ischen. A local girl from George, Hillary Johnstone, filled the 2nd spot behind Ischen.
"Again this event reminded me about the importance of supporting local races" said Ishen following the finish. "I mean this is where we all start from the youngest ones and inexperienced racers. It actually meant so much to the organisers and a lot of the participants that one of the top riders was part of the event, while for me it was a super hard training ride in picturesque surroundings, great organisation and atmosphere."
"Its also one of the "perks" of riding for bizhub we do a lot to support events all over the country. Yolandi, Nicci and Liani were racing the Sun City MTB event this weekend and we had Caitlin and Candice at the World Cup in Italy. These days we certaintly do seem to get around!"
Photo attached: Mrs Ischen Stopforth
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The event forms part of the Southern Cape Enduro series and starts & finishes at the Eight Bells Resort outside MosselBay.
This was Ischens third year participating in this event, having won the ladies category both in 2009 and 2010. The 80km route is a challenging route, with 1800m ascent and some very steep climbs of 16-20% gradient. It is a really scenic race with views over the valleys to the Outeniqua mountains on the one side and the ocean stretching to MosselBay on the other, on farm roads, forestry roads and some jeep track through indigenous forest.
"After racing TransBaviaans last weekend I felt surprisingly fresh and managed to get a good weeks' training in. With so many important races coming up including MTN Gravel at Diemersfontein next weekend. I couldn't really allow myself the luxury of too much of a taper for this event and went into the race very much aware of last weekends' race.
It was a beautiful, pristine morning - a definite spring feeling in the late winter, clear skies and a perfect day to be on the bike!"
The race start was quite typical of one of Ischens "local races" with everyone chatting and suddenly they were all off to the so-called "neutral" start, chasing to keep up with the lead-out quad bike.
Before having turned off the tar road towards Bottelierskop, the bunch had already split and Ischen was digging deep to stay with the front bunch.
"I soon realised there were no other ladies in the front bunch and it was time to let go of the ego and the "boy chase". Racing too hard after last weeks' 235km TransBaviaans with important races coming up could potentially just cause damage. So I tapped off and settled into a good rhythm, riding mostly on my own from 25km into the race."
"It was quite a luxury to actually allow myself some time to enjoy the views and spectacular scenery, the lovely jeeptrack sections through pine and indigenous forests and not taking any risks on the descents. Some of the climbs were really very steep and challenging, with gradients between 16-20% , just what I needed to spin out the TransBaviaans out of the legs!"
In the last 15km Ischen caught many of the men who had started too hard. "I managed to finish 1st in the ladies, and in 7th position overall in a time of 3h26" smiled Ischen. A local girl from George, Hillary Johnstone, filled the 2nd spot behind Ischen.
"Again this event reminded me about the importance of supporting local races" said Ishen following the finish. "I mean this is where we all start from the youngest ones and inexperienced racers. It actually meant so much to the organisers and a lot of the participants that one of the top riders was part of the event, while for me it was a super hard training ride in picturesque surroundings, great organisation and atmosphere."
"Its also one of the "perks" of riding for bizhub we do a lot to support events all over the country. Yolandi, Nicci and Liani were racing the Sun City MTB event this weekend and we had Caitlin and Candice at the World Cup in Italy. These days we certaintly do seem to get around!"
Photo attached: Mrs Ischen Stopforth
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Bizhub retain Transbaviaans title
15 August 2011 - The Transbaviaans: titled the "longest single stage team MTB Race". Having won the event in 2010, team bizhub returned to the epic one day marathon with Ischen Stopforth pairing up with guest rider Hanlie Booyens. Both riders have the enviable reputation of being two of the toughest and strongest endurance marathon riders in South Africa.
"It was great for the team having Hanlie offer to pair up with Ischen for the race" said team manager John Robertson "I have a lot of respect for her as a rider and I knew the pairing would be difficult to beat. With some of our riders in Europe at the moment its nice to be able to give other athletes the opportunity to race in bizhub colours".
With a race distance of over 230km the two bizhub girls got off to a good start, they opted for a more concervative approach to the first half owing to the recent changes in the race route.
"We were not sure how tough the new route was going to be as the course had changed from the previous year" said Ischen "we rode in the 2nd bunch until the 2nd checkpoint then we teamed up with two other teams until the big climb at the 140km mark. From here we rode on our own mostly, glad to have had some help earlier on from stronger guys and tailwind".
"We never knew how far we were ahead of the next ladies but just rode a comfortable steady pace. On the big climb of the day we caught a lot of teams walking and no one was catching us, so we knew we were riding strongly as the day went on."
The bizhub pairing finished in 10h20 which gave them the overall win in ladies category, almost an hour ahead of Team Merrell (Andrea von Holdt and Hilana Marais) with Hannele Steyn and Leanne Brown-Waterson in third position.
The route was slightly longer than the conventional route with more climbing - 2900 m ascent over 235km, and the terrain in second half was quite technical with rocky loose climbs, ruts and mud after the recent heavy rainfalls.
"Luckily no mechanicals or incidents, equipment and MagicLights working well which made the race so much more manageable" said Ischen "and also a big thanks to Hanlie for pairing up with me at the event. We both compliment each other well, and I enjoyed riding the event with her".
Photo attached: Podium finish of Transbaviaans
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"It was great for the team having Hanlie offer to pair up with Ischen for the race" said team manager John Robertson "I have a lot of respect for her as a rider and I knew the pairing would be difficult to beat. With some of our riders in Europe at the moment its nice to be able to give other athletes the opportunity to race in bizhub colours".
With a race distance of over 230km the two bizhub girls got off to a good start, they opted for a more concervative approach to the first half owing to the recent changes in the race route.
"We were not sure how tough the new route was going to be as the course had changed from the previous year" said Ischen "we rode in the 2nd bunch until the 2nd checkpoint then we teamed up with two other teams until the big climb at the 140km mark. From here we rode on our own mostly, glad to have had some help earlier on from stronger guys and tailwind".
"We never knew how far we were ahead of the next ladies but just rode a comfortable steady pace. On the big climb of the day we caught a lot of teams walking and no one was catching us, so we knew we were riding strongly as the day went on."
The bizhub pairing finished in 10h20 which gave them the overall win in ladies category, almost an hour ahead of Team Merrell (Andrea von Holdt and Hilana Marais) with Hannele Steyn and Leanne Brown-Waterson in third position.
The route was slightly longer than the conventional route with more climbing - 2900 m ascent over 235km, and the terrain in second half was quite technical with rocky loose climbs, ruts and mud after the recent heavy rainfalls.
"Luckily no mechanicals or incidents, equipment and MagicLights working well which made the race so much more manageable" said Ischen "and also a big thanks to Hanlie for pairing up with me at the event. We both compliment each other well, and I enjoyed riding the event with her".
Photo attached: Podium finish of Transbaviaans
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Caitlin de Wet shows promise at Czech World Cup #6
15 August 2011 - Round 6 of the UCI XCO World Cup series was held in Czech Republic. The turn-out of spectators did not disappoint anyone. There literally were thousands of people out on the course ready to cheer all the international riders, including bizhub's very own Caitlin de Wet.
Caitlin returned to Europe after a short holiday in South Africa to particapate in the remainder of the world cup series events before returning to South Africa in early September.
"I tried my best to keep a cool head on the morning of race day, but the amazing atmosphere on the start line just did not allow it" said Caitlin. "We were nearly 30 starters in the u23 women’s race. The laps were very short, which made it very hard not to get lapped!"
"I did not have a very good start to the race, so I hung back a bit to try and find my rhythm. After the start loop, I slowly found my legs and started to catch the opposition one by one. Unfortunately, due to the very short laps, the Elite Women who started five minutes behind had started to catch us very early in the race. This meant we would have to give way to them on the single tracks. This totally broke my rhythm and by lap 3, I was very frustrated."
"The course was filled with unforgiving, slippery roots and man-made rock gardens, which left very little space for mistakes. It was all about having the power on the ridiculously steep climbs and keeping it smooth on the rooty down hills."
Caitlin was pulled from the race with one lap to go and although she was disappointed about being taken off the course she kept on fighting until the last lap.
"In the end I finished 20th and I managed to move up three spots on the overall u23 ranking from 24th to 21st."
The final round of the world cup series will be held next week in Val di Sole Italy where Caitlin will be joined by her team mate Candice Neethling.
"This week will be all about recovery of the mind and body. Having raced the Val di Sole track twice in the past, I'm confident it will be a good weekend for me!" said Caitlin "and I'm looking forward to having Candice join up with me. Its not always easy travelling all over Europe on my own".
SA Results:
U23 Woman: Mariske Strauss (Contego) 17th; Caitlin de Wet (bizhub) 20th
Junior Men: Luke Roberts 21st
U23 Men: Rourke Croeser 35th
Elite Men: Burry Stander 19th; Renay Groustra 92nd; Oliver Munnik 102nd
Photo attached: Ms Caitlin de Wet
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Caitlin returned to Europe after a short holiday in South Africa to particapate in the remainder of the world cup series events before returning to South Africa in early September.
"I tried my best to keep a cool head on the morning of race day, but the amazing atmosphere on the start line just did not allow it" said Caitlin. "We were nearly 30 starters in the u23 women’s race. The laps were very short, which made it very hard not to get lapped!"
"I did not have a very good start to the race, so I hung back a bit to try and find my rhythm. After the start loop, I slowly found my legs and started to catch the opposition one by one. Unfortunately, due to the very short laps, the Elite Women who started five minutes behind had started to catch us very early in the race. This meant we would have to give way to them on the single tracks. This totally broke my rhythm and by lap 3, I was very frustrated."
"The course was filled with unforgiving, slippery roots and man-made rock gardens, which left very little space for mistakes. It was all about having the power on the ridiculously steep climbs and keeping it smooth on the rooty down hills."
Caitlin was pulled from the race with one lap to go and although she was disappointed about being taken off the course she kept on fighting until the last lap.
"In the end I finished 20th and I managed to move up three spots on the overall u23 ranking from 24th to 21st."
The final round of the world cup series will be held next week in Val di Sole Italy where Caitlin will be joined by her team mate Candice Neethling.
"This week will be all about recovery of the mind and body. Having raced the Val di Sole track twice in the past, I'm confident it will be a good weekend for me!" said Caitlin "and I'm looking forward to having Candice join up with me. Its not always easy travelling all over Europe on my own".
SA Results:
U23 Woman: Mariske Strauss (Contego) 17th; Caitlin de Wet (bizhub) 20th
Junior Men: Luke Roberts 21st
U23 Men: Rourke Croeser 35th
Elite Men: Burry Stander 19th; Renay Groustra 92nd; Oliver Munnik 102nd
Photo attached: Ms Caitlin de Wet
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Neethling wins Illovo Easton MTB Marathon
10 August 2011 - Candice Neethling headed off to the KwaZulu Natal, "the Warrior Kingdom" on the weekend for a day of pure mountain biking bliss at the lllovo Easton MTB Marathon. The race has grown in numbers every year since its inception and boasts bragging rights for being the biggest one-day race in South Africa.
"I was a little concerned that the race would turn into a slippery mud fest" said Candice having remembered the muddy experience of two years ago. "On Saturday the heavens opened to a solid downpour, however the organizers had gone to great lengths to create a "dry route" incase of rain.
Happily on the day everyone's fears of rain proved to be unfounded with everyone waking up to a beautiful sunny day. Competitors were treated to an array of well-prepared single tracks together with some exciting new changes from the previous year.
"At 8'O clock sharp, A-Batch set off at a blistering pace as the King/Queen of the Mountains would be won in the first 3kms of the race. I knew that Ashleigh Parker-Moffatt, Shawna Thunder and Melanie Palframan all had the same idea as I did, go hard from the beginning!" said a smiling Candice "I was determined to reach the summit in first place, which, with burning lungs, I managed to do.
This set the base for the remainder of the race. Winning the KOM prize gave the bizhub rider all the confidence she needed for the remanider of the event.
"The first 20kms was extremely fast until we reached the foothills of what they call the "Eston Alps". This is a 12km climb to the highest point in the area. I made sure that I kept a fast pace throughout the climb, and rode aggressively up the shorter, steeper parts to ensure that Ashleigh and the other girls were not going to catch me. I knew after this climb, that I had a good lead on the rest of the Ladies field. It took a lot of effort on my behalf, but it was worth it. Once the summit was reached, there was a long tricky downhill where many people "hit the deck", but I was extra careful not to injure myself ahead of my European trip."
The last 10km was again, fast and flowing with some beautiful pieces of singletrack. With victory in the bag Candice was elated to cross the line on her Specialized Era dual suspension Ashleigh Parker-Moffat (BMC) still a second year junior put in a great ride to take second place. Robyn Adenorff filled the 3rd spot on the podium.
"This was a superb race to win" said a smiling Candice "This is my last race in South Africa this month as I head off to Europe for five weeks of racing and Cross Country Championships. The organisation of this event was superb and I must compliment the organisers on the excellent prize money. Also well raced to all the other girls. Its fantastic to see so many girls getting involved in this amazing sport"
Photo attached: Ms Candice Neethling
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"I was a little concerned that the race would turn into a slippery mud fest" said Candice having remembered the muddy experience of two years ago. "On Saturday the heavens opened to a solid downpour, however the organizers had gone to great lengths to create a "dry route" incase of rain.
Happily on the day everyone's fears of rain proved to be unfounded with everyone waking up to a beautiful sunny day. Competitors were treated to an array of well-prepared single tracks together with some exciting new changes from the previous year.
"At 8'O clock sharp, A-Batch set off at a blistering pace as the King/Queen of the Mountains would be won in the first 3kms of the race. I knew that Ashleigh Parker-Moffatt, Shawna Thunder and Melanie Palframan all had the same idea as I did, go hard from the beginning!" said a smiling Candice "I was determined to reach the summit in first place, which, with burning lungs, I managed to do.
This set the base for the remainder of the race. Winning the KOM prize gave the bizhub rider all the confidence she needed for the remanider of the event.
"The first 20kms was extremely fast until we reached the foothills of what they call the "Eston Alps". This is a 12km climb to the highest point in the area. I made sure that I kept a fast pace throughout the climb, and rode aggressively up the shorter, steeper parts to ensure that Ashleigh and the other girls were not going to catch me. I knew after this climb, that I had a good lead on the rest of the Ladies field. It took a lot of effort on my behalf, but it was worth it. Once the summit was reached, there was a long tricky downhill where many people "hit the deck", but I was extra careful not to injure myself ahead of my European trip."
The last 10km was again, fast and flowing with some beautiful pieces of singletrack. With victory in the bag Candice was elated to cross the line on her Specialized Era dual suspension Ashleigh Parker-Moffat (BMC) still a second year junior put in a great ride to take second place. Robyn Adenorff filled the 3rd spot on the podium.
"This was a superb race to win" said a smiling Candice "This is my last race in South Africa this month as I head off to Europe for five weeks of racing and Cross Country Championships. The organisation of this event was superb and I must compliment the organisers on the excellent prize money. Also well raced to all the other girls. Its fantastic to see so many girls getting involved in this amazing sport"
Photo attached: Ms Candice Neethling
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Bizhub Riders Target Europe
8 July 2011 - Whist the majority of the bizhub team remain in South Africa, selected riders on the team have taken the opportunity to spend time living and racing in Europe.
Caitlin de Wet has used Switzerland as a home base, from where she has travelled to compete in several Swiss Cross Country events. Together with events on the World Cup calendar
"This year is certainly about gaining experience in international racing" said Caitlin "South African riders need to adjust their racing standards, which in South Africa just cannot be compared to the standard of racing in Europe. I'm really grateful of the opportunity given to me this season."
"I've learnt some hard lesson too! Although some of the races in Switzerland are not World Cup events, it doesn’t mean the European's take it easy! Its is a tough lifestyle venturing into foreign countries by one's self trying to make it big. In many of the XC races, I've been lapped by the top names of mountain biking. But then just before you lose all hope, you manage to produce a satisfying result which gives you motivation for the next race."
"I have improved in many aspects of my cycling career. The demanding XC courses have helped me to gain great technical skills; I have become more independent; not only have I improved physically, but also mentally; I have gained so much experience that I will look back and say, "Wow, what an adventure. Let's do it again!"
"I have shed many tears whilst away from home and out of my comfort zone, but its was all worth it and it has made me into both a stronger cyclist and person."
"We are very proud of what Caitlin is doing this year" said team owner John Robertson. "The majority of her travelling in Europe she does with no support, it's a case of catching a train, finding a hotel. And then finding someone at the event to support her on the day. Many South African's are spoilt they want everything first before the results even come. Caitlin on the other hand has gone out and made her own opportunities in life."
Another South African riders currently campaigning in Europe is first year U23 rider Lilandi Swanepoel. Lilandi is spending a 7 week period training and racing in Belgium and Holland. It's her first time to Europe and although she's embarked on a steep learning curve she has already finished in the top 30 in a couple of races.
"I came here, very excited to gain experience in racing and to get a bit closer to the best cyclist that I can be." said Lilandi when asked about her European experience thus far.
"My first race I did not finish. The racing in Europe is totally different than what I had expected. Sure I've heard that it will be harder and faster than the racing we know in South Africa, but it's really just very different, not always harder, just something else to get used to. Luckily there is a ton of races to choose from every week! And most of them are no further than a 100km from where I stay, in the north side of the Netherlands close to the Belgium border."
"I actually love the racing here! It is very positive! There's always something that's going on, something is always about to happen! A part from the racing and the training, Europe is heaven on earth. Very cyclist friendly and safe, everyone owns a bike! Even the grandmas and grandpas go around cycling with such adorable bicycles with carriers and flashlights! The food here is great! They have the best-baked pastries you can imagine, and so much cheese!"
In August Candice Neethling will be heading to Europe for a short period to compete in two World Cup events.
"Originally we had plans to send over 6 girls for a six week period in the winter to race in Holland" said team owner John Robertson, but we can't do this without some support from Cycling South Africa. Already we are investing significant amounts of money into woman's cycling, but it's a two way street. CSA need to come to the party. Currently they are just not getting enough riders to race in Europe. Without the experience of living and racing in Europe our riders just won't progress to the next level."
Team owner Robertson has been an active proponent of setting up a structure for all South African riders to make use of in Europe. "In effect it would be a home away from home" said John "I would love to see South Africa establish our own cycling centre in Europe, I've always said we have some of the greatest talent in South Africa."
Photo attached: Ms Caitlin de Wet and Lilandi Swanepoel
Caitlin de Wet has used Switzerland as a home base, from where she has travelled to compete in several Swiss Cross Country events. Together with events on the World Cup calendar
"This year is certainly about gaining experience in international racing" said Caitlin "South African riders need to adjust their racing standards, which in South Africa just cannot be compared to the standard of racing in Europe. I'm really grateful of the opportunity given to me this season."
"I've learnt some hard lesson too! Although some of the races in Switzerland are not World Cup events, it doesn’t mean the European's take it easy! Its is a tough lifestyle venturing into foreign countries by one's self trying to make it big. In many of the XC races, I've been lapped by the top names of mountain biking. But then just before you lose all hope, you manage to produce a satisfying result which gives you motivation for the next race."
"I have improved in many aspects of my cycling career. The demanding XC courses have helped me to gain great technical skills; I have become more independent; not only have I improved physically, but also mentally; I have gained so much experience that I will look back and say, "Wow, what an adventure. Let's do it again!"
"I have shed many tears whilst away from home and out of my comfort zone, but its was all worth it and it has made me into both a stronger cyclist and person."
"We are very proud of what Caitlin is doing this year" said team owner John Robertson. "The majority of her travelling in Europe she does with no support, it's a case of catching a train, finding a hotel. And then finding someone at the event to support her on the day. Many South African's are spoilt they want everything first before the results even come. Caitlin on the other hand has gone out and made her own opportunities in life."
Another South African riders currently campaigning in Europe is first year U23 rider Lilandi Swanepoel. Lilandi is spending a 7 week period training and racing in Belgium and Holland. It's her first time to Europe and although she's embarked on a steep learning curve she has already finished in the top 30 in a couple of races.
"I came here, very excited to gain experience in racing and to get a bit closer to the best cyclist that I can be." said Lilandi when asked about her European experience thus far.
"My first race I did not finish. The racing in Europe is totally different than what I had expected. Sure I've heard that it will be harder and faster than the racing we know in South Africa, but it's really just very different, not always harder, just something else to get used to. Luckily there is a ton of races to choose from every week! And most of them are no further than a 100km from where I stay, in the north side of the Netherlands close to the Belgium border."
"I actually love the racing here! It is very positive! There's always something that's going on, something is always about to happen! A part from the racing and the training, Europe is heaven on earth. Very cyclist friendly and safe, everyone owns a bike! Even the grandmas and grandpas go around cycling with such adorable bicycles with carriers and flashlights! The food here is great! They have the best-baked pastries you can imagine, and so much cheese!"
In August Candice Neethling will be heading to Europe for a short period to compete in two World Cup events.
"Originally we had plans to send over 6 girls for a six week period in the winter to race in Holland" said team owner John Robertson, but we can't do this without some support from Cycling South Africa. Already we are investing significant amounts of money into woman's cycling, but it's a two way street. CSA need to come to the party. Currently they are just not getting enough riders to race in Europe. Without the experience of living and racing in Europe our riders just won't progress to the next level."
Team owner Robertson has been an active proponent of setting up a structure for all South African riders to make use of in Europe. "In effect it would be a home away from home" said John "I would love to see South Africa establish our own cycling centre in Europe, I've always said we have some of the greatest talent in South Africa."
Photo attached: Ms Caitlin de Wet and Lilandi Swanepoel
 Lilandi Swanepoel |
 Caitlin de Wet |
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Bizhub enjoy the Tour de Plett cycling festival
Press Release 19 : July 2011
15 March 2010 - Following their participation in the Knysna Oyster festival MTB and road races the previous week. Team bizhub stayed on in Plettenberg Bay to participate in the inaugural Tour de Plett Cycling Festival.
Event Organizer, Danie Erasmus invited the team bizhub to participate in the new event. And kindly provided the team with lovely accommodation at his guesthouse, O’Hannas in Plettenberg bay. "Its really great to see event organizers going out of their way to support the Pro team's" said Yolandi Du Toit. "It makes the riders on the team feel just a little bit special".
On Saturday some of the bizhub girls took part in the Tour de Plett mountain bike race, which took place just outside of town at Wittedrift. The rain from the previous weeks made the course quite muddy with big water puddles turning the testing 75km route into even more of a challenge.
"The route consisted of long rocky climbs and descents, beautiful jeep track in the Knysna and Plett forests and together with spectacular views as we cycled through the Buffalo Hills Game Reserve." said Yolandi. "It's a race with great potential for growth, and it's even better to make a weekend of it with both road and MTB events on offer".
Candice Neethling (bizhub) put her cross-country skills to good use and got off to a flying start to take an early lead. "It was a bit of lonely day in the saddle" Said Yolandi "As we didn't see anyone either in front of us or behind us for the duration of the race, but sometimes this is what mountain biking is about". Candice took an easy victory for the bizhub team followed by Yolandi in second spot. Heidi Koen finished third overall followed by Nicci Grobler (bizhub).
On the 50 km event Liani Morkel also from bizhub finished second overall.
The following day the team took part in the Tour de Plett road race. Despite their exertions at the MTB event the previous day, the girls set out to deliver another consistent performance for team bizhub. "Our aim is not to win every race, although we certainly do try, it just not possible, but its important for us to maintain a strong presence in the sport. Which we've gone a long way towards achieving this year." Said Yolandi "we've participated in more events on the road and MTB throughout the country than any other ladies team in South Africa, this is what racing is about".
On the Sunday another two pairs of fresh legs joined the team, Lindi Erasmus together with SA u/16 TT and Road champion Monique Gerber.
The 110km route took us out and back on the N2 in the direction of Port Elisabeth. On the way back the route veered off into Nature's Valley, which led the race onto Nature's Valley pass. This made the route both scenic and very challenging.
Anriette Schoeman (Nashua Toyota) made the winning move up the 5km Groot Rivier pass with 30km to go. Although Candice Neethling put in a gutsy ride to try and close the gap on Schoeman she was unable to do so.
Further on Candice was joined by Lindi from bizhub who helping in the chase.
Anriette Schoeman took the ladies race in 03:04:43 with Lindi Erasmus 2nd in 03:07:07 and Candice Neethling 3rd in the same time, "Not a bad days racing from a tired mountain biker" quipped Candice at the finish. "Still Anriette was super strong today and she took a well deserved win."
Photo attached: Ms Candice Neethling, Team bizhub, Podium
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15 March 2010 - Following their participation in the Knysna Oyster festival MTB and road races the previous week. Team bizhub stayed on in Plettenberg Bay to participate in the inaugural Tour de Plett Cycling Festival.
Event Organizer, Danie Erasmus invited the team bizhub to participate in the new event. And kindly provided the team with lovely accommodation at his guesthouse, O’Hannas in Plettenberg bay. "Its really great to see event organizers going out of their way to support the Pro team's" said Yolandi Du Toit. "It makes the riders on the team feel just a little bit special".
On Saturday some of the bizhub girls took part in the Tour de Plett mountain bike race, which took place just outside of town at Wittedrift. The rain from the previous weeks made the course quite muddy with big water puddles turning the testing 75km route into even more of a challenge.
"The route consisted of long rocky climbs and descents, beautiful jeep track in the Knysna and Plett forests and together with spectacular views as we cycled through the Buffalo Hills Game Reserve." said Yolandi. "It's a race with great potential for growth, and it's even better to make a weekend of it with both road and MTB events on offer".
Candice Neethling (bizhub) put her cross-country skills to good use and got off to a flying start to take an early lead. "It was a bit of lonely day in the saddle" Said Yolandi "As we didn't see anyone either in front of us or behind us for the duration of the race, but sometimes this is what mountain biking is about". Candice took an easy victory for the bizhub team followed by Yolandi in second spot. Heidi Koen finished third overall followed by Nicci Grobler (bizhub).
On the 50 km event Liani Morkel also from bizhub finished second overall.
The following day the team took part in the Tour de Plett road race. Despite their exertions at the MTB event the previous day, the girls set out to deliver another consistent performance for team bizhub. "Our aim is not to win every race, although we certainly do try, it just not possible, but its important for us to maintain a strong presence in the sport. Which we've gone a long way towards achieving this year." Said Yolandi "we've participated in more events on the road and MTB throughout the country than any other ladies team in South Africa, this is what racing is about".
On the Sunday another two pairs of fresh legs joined the team, Lindi Erasmus together with SA u/16 TT and Road champion Monique Gerber.
The 110km route took us out and back on the N2 in the direction of Port Elisabeth. On the way back the route veered off into Nature's Valley, which led the race onto Nature's Valley pass. This made the route both scenic and very challenging.
Anriette Schoeman (Nashua Toyota) made the winning move up the 5km Groot Rivier pass with 30km to go. Although Candice Neethling put in a gutsy ride to try and close the gap on Schoeman she was unable to do so.
Further on Candice was joined by Lindi from bizhub who helping in the chase.
Anriette Schoeman took the ladies race in 03:04:43 with Lindi Erasmus 2nd in 03:07:07 and Candice Neethling 3rd in the same time, "Not a bad days racing from a tired mountain biker" quipped Candice at the finish. "Still Anriette was super strong today and she took a well deserved win."
Photo attached: Ms Candice Neethling, Team bizhub, Podium
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Neethling continues with her winning streak
15 June 2011 - Team bizhub’s young star Candice Neethling delivered another outstanding performance on Saturday at the Big Induna to claim her first Marathon event. The win comes shortly after her victory in the Subaru Sani2C stage race where she partnered with British teammate Catherine Williamson. In recent weeks she has also won the Compendium MTB Derby held in Natal
Despite the cold conditions in Gauteng the Big induna was held on a beautiful sunny morning in the lowveld in Hazyview. For many of the competitors from Gauteng the weather was an added bonus to a great race as it proved to be a welcome break from the cold wintery Gauteng.
Lining up on the start line together with her teammate Yolandi Du Toit, Candice knew she had a challenging marathon ahead of her with plenty of single track and lots of short steep climbs.
"I decided to put the hammer down from the beginning to see if I could hold the lead, and I had some fun on my bike in the first 40 km loop, yet I still had to put a lot of effort into the climbs to make sure I could establish and maintain a good lead. The first 40 kms went by very quickly" said a smiling Candice at the finish.
"The most challenging part for me was when Estzer Erdelyi (MTN Qhubeka) showed up behind me at the 60km mark and greeted me with a friendly "hallo" which I in turn interpreted as, "now the race is on" I really had to dig deep in the last part of the Marathon.
In the closing kilometres Candice's determination paid off, after putting some pressure onto Estzer on the short steep climbs she established a lead of over 2 min by the finish of the 78km event. "This is my first Marathon victory, which I'm really excited about".
Second over the line was Estzer followed by Yolandi Du Toit from bizhub.
On Saturday Candice will be participating in one of the National Cup series Cross Country events held in Pretoria before enjoying a well deserved weekends break from racing. In July she has another busy month ahead of her. Racing in the Knysna Osterfees and the Tour de Plett Cycle Festival. Towards the end of July she will be partnering with teammate Nicci Gobbler in the two stage Subaru Kalahari Challenge in Botswana.
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Despite the cold conditions in Gauteng the Big induna was held on a beautiful sunny morning in the lowveld in Hazyview. For many of the competitors from Gauteng the weather was an added bonus to a great race as it proved to be a welcome break from the cold wintery Gauteng.
Lining up on the start line together with her teammate Yolandi Du Toit, Candice knew she had a challenging marathon ahead of her with plenty of single track and lots of short steep climbs.
"I decided to put the hammer down from the beginning to see if I could hold the lead, and I had some fun on my bike in the first 40 km loop, yet I still had to put a lot of effort into the climbs to make sure I could establish and maintain a good lead. The first 40 kms went by very quickly" said a smiling Candice at the finish.
"The most challenging part for me was when Estzer Erdelyi (MTN Qhubeka) showed up behind me at the 60km mark and greeted me with a friendly "hallo" which I in turn interpreted as, "now the race is on" I really had to dig deep in the last part of the Marathon.
In the closing kilometres Candice's determination paid off, after putting some pressure onto Estzer on the short steep climbs she established a lead of over 2 min by the finish of the 78km event. "This is my first Marathon victory, which I'm really excited about".
Second over the line was Estzer followed by Yolandi Du Toit from bizhub.
On Saturday Candice will be participating in one of the National Cup series Cross Country events held in Pretoria before enjoying a well deserved weekends break from racing. In July she has another busy month ahead of her. Racing in the Knysna Osterfees and the Tour de Plett Cycle Festival. Towards the end of July she will be partnering with teammate Nicci Gobbler in the two stage Subaru Kalahari Challenge in Botswana.
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Yolandi du Toit: Joberg2c race report
May 2011 - Last year I had the opportunity to participate in the inaugural running of this amazing event. This year I was facing up to the challenge with a brand new partner and a ‘new’ sponsor.
Aurelie Halbwachs and I teamed up under the sponsorship of ‘Develop’ which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bidvest group – the same group that owns bizhub. Develop focus solely on enterprise development and knowledge transfer within the Print, Copy, Fax and Scan arena.
Our 9 day adventure started in my home town, Heidelberg, on Friday the 29th of April. From here we cycled across the Free State, stopping over in Frankfort, Reitz and Sterkfontein. These little towns get very cold at night but the warm hospitality together with the beautiful scenery more than made up for it. In Reitz for example there were kids dressed up in various costumes dancing and supporting us along to the finish throughout the last kilometre. What a treat!
We crossed the border into Kwazulu Natal on day 4 riding from Sterkfontein to Winterton. Day 4 consisted of more technical single track and lots of climbing which made for spectacular views from atop the Southern (Drakens)Berg Mountains. This stage was definitely one of my favourite stages. Aurelie and I even managed a top 20 overall result at the stage finish. From Winterton we visited the ‘Berg’ area and stayed over at Kamberg followed by Underberg. Here we could feel the cold air blowing in from the mountains on arrival but warm jackets and sleeping bags were sufficient to keep us warm. The tranquillity and beauty of these surroundings were truly overwhelming.
From Underberg the race took as onto the same route which the 3 day Subaru Sani2c stage event consist of. Most mountain bike riders are familiar with the Sani2c routes, but this year the organisers truly outdid themselves and added even more amazing single track and bridges to the course.
This year we ended our journey yet again at the sea in Scottburgh. This 910km stage race over 9 days is truly a massive challenge which makes it very rewarding once you cross the finish line at the end.
It is special to be part of an event from its inception and experience its growth with them. For me it was really impressive to witness the improvements the organisers made with the route in only one year. This
year there was more single track, jeep track and smoother riding sections than in the past - particularly on the first 3 stages. The organisation was again top class, the big variety of food was delicious (and never ending) and the scenic routes were breathtaking.
Thanks to all our sponsors for supporting us (Team Develop and Team bizhub) in our endeavours.
Also to my partner (Aurelie Halbwachs ), we rode together as one and as a result managed to finish 2nd overall in the Elite Ladies category.
Results:
1st Team Bizhub (Ischen Stopforth & Catherine Willliamson)
2nd Team Develop (Aurelie Halbwachs& Yolandi du Toit)
3rd Team Axis house velocity sport (Caren Henschel &Heike Jakins)
Aurelie Halbwachs and I teamed up under the sponsorship of ‘Develop’ which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bidvest group – the same group that owns bizhub. Develop focus solely on enterprise development and knowledge transfer within the Print, Copy, Fax and Scan arena.
Our 9 day adventure started in my home town, Heidelberg, on Friday the 29th of April. From here we cycled across the Free State, stopping over in Frankfort, Reitz and Sterkfontein. These little towns get very cold at night but the warm hospitality together with the beautiful scenery more than made up for it. In Reitz for example there were kids dressed up in various costumes dancing and supporting us along to the finish throughout the last kilometre. What a treat!
We crossed the border into Kwazulu Natal on day 4 riding from Sterkfontein to Winterton. Day 4 consisted of more technical single track and lots of climbing which made for spectacular views from atop the Southern (Drakens)Berg Mountains. This stage was definitely one of my favourite stages. Aurelie and I even managed a top 20 overall result at the stage finish. From Winterton we visited the ‘Berg’ area and stayed over at Kamberg followed by Underberg. Here we could feel the cold air blowing in from the mountains on arrival but warm jackets and sleeping bags were sufficient to keep us warm. The tranquillity and beauty of these surroundings were truly overwhelming.
From Underberg the race took as onto the same route which the 3 day Subaru Sani2c stage event consist of. Most mountain bike riders are familiar with the Sani2c routes, but this year the organisers truly outdid themselves and added even more amazing single track and bridges to the course.
This year we ended our journey yet again at the sea in Scottburgh. This 910km stage race over 9 days is truly a massive challenge which makes it very rewarding once you cross the finish line at the end.
It is special to be part of an event from its inception and experience its growth with them. For me it was really impressive to witness the improvements the organisers made with the route in only one year. This
year there was more single track, jeep track and smoother riding sections than in the past - particularly on the first 3 stages. The organisation was again top class, the big variety of food was delicious (and never ending) and the scenic routes were breathtaking.
Thanks to all our sponsors for supporting us (Team Develop and Team bizhub) in our endeavours.
Also to my partner (Aurelie Halbwachs ), we rode together as one and as a result managed to finish 2nd overall in the Elite Ladies category.
Results:
1st Team Bizhub (Ischen Stopforth & Catherine Willliamson)
2nd Team Develop (Aurelie Halbwachs& Yolandi du Toit)
3rd Team Axis house velocity sport (Caren Henschel &Heike Jakins)
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Du Toit peaking for title defence in Joberg2C
20 April 2011 - Defending champion Yolandi du Toit has proved she's peaking at the perfect moment to mount a strong defence of her title at the Fairbairn Capital/Old Mutual joBerg2c mountain bike race.
Du Toit's win in this past weekend’s Mr Price Karkloof Classic should give her a timely confidence boost ahead of the nine-day stage race on April 29. The 25-year-old will team up with top Mauritian rider Aurelie Halbwachs under the banner of new sponsor DEVELOP. "Aurelie and I fit together really well and we’ll be looking for a podium finish," she said."We’ve been friends for years having met in Europe and we've raced against each other at the world road championships," said Du Toit, who is looking forward to riding on the same team for a change.
Halbwachs, 24, rode the inaugural event last year with boyfriend Yannick Lincoln, taking second place in the mixed category. She also won the bronze (road) and silver (time-trial) medals at the most recent African Championships.
The duo's major opposition is set to come from Du Toit's Team bizhub team-mates Catherine Williamson (Britain) and Ischen Stopforth. Williamson finished first at the South African marathon championships in March and then partnered Carel Bosman to an eighth place finish in the mixed category at the Absa Cape Epic. Stopforth, riding with Hanlie Booyens, was third in the women's race and followed up her performance with a fine victory in the first Merrell Tsitsikamma Mountain Bike Challenge on Saturday. "The joBerg2c has been Catherine and Ischen's focus since the beginning of the year," said Du Toit, adding that the event was fast becoming an important fixture on the mountain biking calendar.
"The country needed a long stage race up in the Jo'burg area. The other two majors (Cape Epic and DCM Cape Pioneer Trek) are both down at the coast.” Organiser Craig Wapnick said the first prize for the women’s race had been fixed at a substantial R50 000 to attract and reward the elite riders.
"For an athlete, it's more about the result than the money," said Du Toit. "But it's really gratifying that they are noticing all the time and effort that goes into our sport." The other half of last year's victorious team, Lise Olivier, has been forced to withdraw from the event as she is without a riding partner. Her team-mate - national road champion Marissa van der Merwe - pulled out last week after being included in Cycling South Africa’s six-rider squad for the London 2012 Olympic Games. This means she will have to race in Europe this season to improve her UCI ranking and get accustomed to the racing environment at that level. Olivier's replacement partner - six-time SA mountain biking champion Hannele Steyn - was also ruled out of the race this week due to a knee injury sustained in a training ride crash. Du Toit and Olivier will get another chance at a face-off however when they come up against each other at the three-day Subaru sani2c in May. Their respective team-mates have not yet been confirmed.
Photo attached: Mrs Yolandi du Toit
Du Toit's win in this past weekend’s Mr Price Karkloof Classic should give her a timely confidence boost ahead of the nine-day stage race on April 29. The 25-year-old will team up with top Mauritian rider Aurelie Halbwachs under the banner of new sponsor DEVELOP. "Aurelie and I fit together really well and we’ll be looking for a podium finish," she said."We’ve been friends for years having met in Europe and we've raced against each other at the world road championships," said Du Toit, who is looking forward to riding on the same team for a change.
Halbwachs, 24, rode the inaugural event last year with boyfriend Yannick Lincoln, taking second place in the mixed category. She also won the bronze (road) and silver (time-trial) medals at the most recent African Championships.
The duo's major opposition is set to come from Du Toit's Team bizhub team-mates Catherine Williamson (Britain) and Ischen Stopforth. Williamson finished first at the South African marathon championships in March and then partnered Carel Bosman to an eighth place finish in the mixed category at the Absa Cape Epic. Stopforth, riding with Hanlie Booyens, was third in the women's race and followed up her performance with a fine victory in the first Merrell Tsitsikamma Mountain Bike Challenge on Saturday. "The joBerg2c has been Catherine and Ischen's focus since the beginning of the year," said Du Toit, adding that the event was fast becoming an important fixture on the mountain biking calendar.
"The country needed a long stage race up in the Jo'burg area. The other two majors (Cape Epic and DCM Cape Pioneer Trek) are both down at the coast.” Organiser Craig Wapnick said the first prize for the women’s race had been fixed at a substantial R50 000 to attract and reward the elite riders.
"For an athlete, it's more about the result than the money," said Du Toit. "But it's really gratifying that they are noticing all the time and effort that goes into our sport." The other half of last year's victorious team, Lise Olivier, has been forced to withdraw from the event as she is without a riding partner. Her team-mate - national road champion Marissa van der Merwe - pulled out last week after being included in Cycling South Africa’s six-rider squad for the London 2012 Olympic Games. This means she will have to race in Europe this season to improve her UCI ranking and get accustomed to the racing environment at that level. Olivier's replacement partner - six-time SA mountain biking champion Hannele Steyn - was also ruled out of the race this week due to a knee injury sustained in a training ride crash. Du Toit and Olivier will get another chance at a face-off however when they come up against each other at the three-day Subaru sani2c in May. Their respective team-mates have not yet been confirmed.
Photo attached: Mrs Yolandi du Toit
Williamson confirms her versatility
22/03/2011 - Bizhub's Catherine Williamson proved her versatility to emerge as the overall winner of the SA Marathon MTB Championships held in Inanda valley just outside Durban on Sunday in a time of 04:21:46.
Last week Catherine finished 3rd in the Pick & Pay Cape Argus Cycle Tour and only last month she finished a creditable 4th in her first MTB marathon at the MTN Marathon series in Clarens.
The Championship event was held on a superb newly built course, which contained many kilometres of single track. The conditions themselves where challenging due to the heat experienced by many of the competitors in the Inanda valley which at times exceeded 36 degrees.
"The race started hard, with some big climbs" said Catherine. "Initially, I hung on with the front three riders. Yolandi Speedy (MTN Qhubeka), Cherise Taylor (USN) and Karien Van Jaarsveld (USN) before settling into my own pace in 4th position.
"It got quite technical later in the race with a lot of twisting single track, I think at around the 50km mark the motorbike came past me and informed me I was now in the lead as the front three girls had gone the wrong way on the course. From then on I was riding like a frightened Rabbit, the technical sections are not my strong point and the last 10kms felt like the longest 10kms I've ever ridden. I was very relieved to cross the finish line.” said Catherine.
The 2nd and 3rd positions were filled by the USN riders Karien and Cherise, with bizhub's young Candice Neethling 4th and Yolandi Du Toit (bizhub) in 5th.
Williamson will be teaming up with Carel Bosman for the 2011 ABSA Cape Epic which starts on Sunday. Both riders will be representing team bizhub-Pepto Pro, a mixed team which has been put together by team Manager John Robertson for the ABSA Cape Epic.
Last week Catherine finished 3rd in the Pick & Pay Cape Argus Cycle Tour and only last month she finished a creditable 4th in her first MTB marathon at the MTN Marathon series in Clarens.
The Championship event was held on a superb newly built course, which contained many kilometres of single track. The conditions themselves where challenging due to the heat experienced by many of the competitors in the Inanda valley which at times exceeded 36 degrees.
"The race started hard, with some big climbs" said Catherine. "Initially, I hung on with the front three riders. Yolandi Speedy (MTN Qhubeka), Cherise Taylor (USN) and Karien Van Jaarsveld (USN) before settling into my own pace in 4th position.
"It got quite technical later in the race with a lot of twisting single track, I think at around the 50km mark the motorbike came past me and informed me I was now in the lead as the front three girls had gone the wrong way on the course. From then on I was riding like a frightened Rabbit, the technical sections are not my strong point and the last 10kms felt like the longest 10kms I've ever ridden. I was very relieved to cross the finish line.” said Catherine.
The 2nd and 3rd positions were filled by the USN riders Karien and Cherise, with bizhub's young Candice Neethling 4th and Yolandi Du Toit (bizhub) in 5th.
Williamson will be teaming up with Carel Bosman for the 2011 ABSA Cape Epic which starts on Sunday. Both riders will be representing team bizhub-Pepto Pro, a mixed team which has been put together by team Manager John Robertson for the ABSA Cape Epic.