The first leg of the MTN Ultra Marathon series took place on the weekend in Oudtshoorn, and the Attakwas, going into its forth year, was no doubt a suitable event for this ultra series!

The race is extreme in every sense of the word, extreme distance, 137km, extremely technical, and extremely hard! I reckon this will be rated as the toughest single day race in the country. Usually the route makes the race hard enough, but being part of the series this year, with the caliber of riders that came to take part, made it even tougher and faster than ever before.

Conditions on the morning were perfect, and a record number of entries saw batches leaving from the Chandelier Game farm, to start the first part of the race in the reserve. As usual there were a couple of guys eager to turn the pace up from the beginning and one had to follow all the moves just incase someone slipped away. But you always had to keep the distance in the back of your mind, and I think I had the biggest advantage over everyone as I had done all previous Attakwas races. I knew the route well and also the conditions of the terrain, so right down to tire choice, I was confident, but not sure where the form was compared to the rest of the guys.

The race consists of three sections for me, the first 45km, rolling through tough jeep track, then the “Attakwas” trail, a 35km hard jeep trail through the Outeniqua mountain range, and finally the last 60km of gravel roads to the finish in GrootBrak. The race only split up into pieces once we hit the start of the Attakwas trail, and it was only Burry Stander (Specialised/Mr Price), David George (Fullimput) and myself, riding a new bike for the first time in four years, a Volcan FS1. As we hit the hardest climb through the trail, Burry and myself opened a gap up on David, and then further extended this as we hit the technical descend down the other side. Things were looking good, and I was sure that Burry and I could work together once on the open roads. Unfortunately for him, he had a puncture only about 500meters from the end of the roughest part of the trail. This however left me out on my own, with a slight headwind, 60km of rolling roads, a chasing bunch behind me and no body to talk to!

I had timed the gaps to David George who was chasing by himself behind me, and he was clearly putting in a big effort to catch me as quickly as he could. I knew what still lay ahead and managed the time gaps with care, not to let myself get caught in the cat and mouse tactics, simply to conserve as much energy as possible for the tough final 15km. Dave was bridging a gap of about 4minutes, and just before the last two hard climbs, had me down to just 40seconds! This was where I used all the last of my saved energy and really powered up the climb to see if he had any thing left. It was as much as I could do, and if it was not enough, too bad. However, it was more than enough, his hard effort to catch me taking its toll, as I managed to ride close on 5minutes into him over the final 10km!

A close fought battle in the end, but a great way for me to start the season in pursuit of  title number 6! Many other top riders suffered multiple punctures and mechanicals, but the Karoo terrain is relentless and I’m sure valuable lesson were learned out there! Also special mention to team mates Adrien, 5th after traveling back from Rwanda only 3days ago, and new team rider, Yolande Speedy, for winning the ladies by sheer dominance. (Over 35minutes and incredible 19th overall!)

Provisional results:

1st Kevin Evans (MTN/Energade) 5hrs43min

2nd David George (Fullimput) 5hrs48min

3rd Max Knox (DCM)

4th Ben Melt Swanepoel (MrPrice/Specialised)

5th Adrien Niyonshuti (MTN/Energade)

For more information, go to www.mtncycling.co.za.

12.07.09
Fairfield, California

A two-year contract extending primary title sponsorship of Jelly Belly Cycling Team was announced by Jelly Belly Candy Company of Fairfield, Calif. The longest running sponsor in the US pro peloton, Jelly Belly team members are known for their colorful jerseys and the sports performance jelly bean Sport Beans® by Jelly Belly.

The team also announced new sponsors for the 2010-2011 season. Kenda Tires signed on as presenting sponsor for the upcoming season. The Jelly Belly Cycling Team presented by Kenda plans to contest the NRC Calendar in the US and several UCI races overseas. More new sponsors signed for the season and providing equipment are Focus for bicycle frames, Pactimo apparel and DeFeet socks.

New riders
With the commitments from Jelly Belly and Kenda Tires, Team Director Danny Van Haute has signed several new riders, most notable Mike Friedman, formerly of Garmin Slipstream. Friendman was on the 08 US Olympic team for track cycling and is expected to bring a depth of experience to Jelly Belly. Anthony Colby is also new and a veteran climber, along with Jonathan Chodroff who is a time trial specialist.

To add more spark Sena Mazich and Kaevin Stolier, both move up from the Waste Management team, Jelly Belly’s feeder team. Two additional rdiers Jacob Rathe and Carter Jones will ride for the U23 National Team and will join Jelly Belly at key races.

Returning riders
Fice returning riders have been the heart of the team for several years now. Brad Huff, Bernard van Ulden, Keil Reijnen, Will Routely and Jeremy Powers are the core team members who have helped bring the team record to new heights in the last two seasons.

Team camp begins February 9 in San Marcos, Calif.

Team Director: Danny Van Haute

Team Partners

• Jelly Belly Candy Company – Fine Confectioner
• ARAMARK – Worldwide Leader in Business Services
• Kenda Tires – Performance Tires and Inner Tubes
• Focus – Bicycles
• Lexus – Leading Luxury Autos
• 3T – Forks, Handlebars and Stems
• Pactimo – Technical Performance Clothing
• Rudy Project – Performance Eyewear
• fi’zi:k – Saddles, Handle Bar Tape
• DeFeet – Performance Socks
• Gatorade – Hydration and Nutritional Manufacturer
• Cat Eye – Computers and Heart Rate Monitors
• Park Tool – Bicycle Repair Tools and Pumps
• Rv Inno – Automobile Bicycle Racks
• Arundel – Water Bottle Cages

Media Contact: Danny Van Haute (760-822-4812)

Jelly Belly® is a registered TM of the Jelly Belly Candy Company, Fairfield, CA 94533.

Compton, will resume her racing after a brief rest at her home in Colorado Springs, Colorado with the Blue Sky in Boulder, Colorado at the end of the month before leaving for Europe to resume her World Cup campaign. The number one status is a first for any US male or female cyclocross athlete.

Katie believes she can defend her lead in both the World Cup overall and the UCI overall points lead until the end of the season, “it’s a great start to the season and I’m really motivated to win the World Cup overall for my new sponsor, Planet Bike. The fitness is good and the bike is dialed in,” said Compton.

4:55 am, arrive – pitch black, spilling 4 steamy 20oz cups of coffee and a pint of dulce-le-leche creamer only to find a wild-eyed and rabid cyclist, pacing the Pactimo tent trackside talking to himself. I can see his breath. As I approach, he sees my Pactimo jacket and unleashes a string of profanity laced encouragement. I offer him a cup. But he is foaming at the mouth to get on his bike.

“@#%)*(&_&_**#&-A man we’re (*^&^*%*(^ing CRUSHING THEM. (*(**&_(&ing A is that COFFEE? You *(^^&^&^)ing ROCK man. Who are you? Do you work for Pactimo? I’d love that (*^)^)&^)&^ing coffee but I don’t want to mess with my system before going out. I’m up next. Hold it for me willya?. Karl should be in, in about 30 seconds!” Oh man, I’d love that coffee. &%^% That’s him I think”

I see a line of 3 or 4 halogen lights bumping on in the blackness. I thought they were planes coming in to DIA.

Karl is on the 3:30 to 5am shift. They’ve been at it for 11 hours. Shawn is trying to get some shuteye in the coldest part of the night. She is dreaming of deer. More likely venison, as she has nearly center punched a big muley at speed on her last shift.

Pactimo has secured a spot next to the start finish officials tent. Literally. They have tied their tent to the start finish line tent straps to keep from blowing away and no one challenges them. Totally Prime!

30 seconds on the mark, Karl skids to a halt, swipes his card and the rabid rider shouts “34!@(^%(%!, you’re CRUSHING THEM” and is gone. I fumble with the coffee and try to find Kark without shin-boning myself on a tent peg.

Karl is his usual incredibly grateful self and fixes himself a cup and huddles under a blanket for a moment before changing out of his sweaty. He gives me the run down on Thane, who, at the Lemans GP style start of the 24 hours of E-Rock, sprints to the line and disappears in a cloud of dust. He has told Shawn he would “set her up” 31 or so minutes later he reappears over the last hill minus the other 68 or so teams chasing him. They would not show up for another 2 minutes. 8 miles, 800’ of climbing and he’s got em by 2 minutes Karl tells me. This man was born to race and everyone knows it. As the Pactimo bubble jersey completes lap 1, Shawn takes off and Thane gives chase, pacing her, passing her. This continues and he returns after a mile of this. Shawn continues with the whole field chasing her.

This is my first exposure to 24 hr mtn. bike race. But I have raced the Paul Revere 24 hr Daytona on a Yamaha RZ500, ridden a 4 man Boston-DC RAAM qualifier on a borrowed Cannondale with Rob Kish and driven non-stop from Denver to Washington DC so I feel I am qualified to at least bring coffee at this sort of thing. My graying peloton is happy with a 30-40 mile loop around Chatfield and the occasional Deer Creek/High Grade. Once a year I summit Mt Evans from Bergan Park to see if it will kill me. But this!

The sun is starting to light up the sky and the temperature is starting to drop. I am planning on staying one hour and hitting Cheesman Canyon to fly fish. Thane burns by setting a 33 minute lap in the barely dawn I know this will not likely happen. The only thing I miss is the smell of 2-stroke oil.

6:30  – As Thane wraps up his 3 laps and Shawn begins to stir in her cocoon. 6:45 she is dressed, has downed a Dulce coffee and is ready for action. You would think I rescued her dog from a burning house she is so thankful for the coffee. Pactimo has put 3 full laps on second place in class. 24 miles. They are in a 5 way tie for 4^th place overall having completed 18 laps. Three other teams of 8 have completed 19 laps.

7:00 – I wonder who this thoughtful, quiet well spoken, intelligent guy is, when suddenly I realize it’s Thane without the delirum of caffeinated competition! Thane convinces the guy who traded us 2 Pabst Blue Ribbon beers for a few scoops of Daz Bog for some boiling water to make a fresh press. I realize they really didn’t NEED the coffee.

8:00 am The music come back on. Everything gets better.

8:10 The wind starts to blow. 30mph steady, 50 mph gusts in the back section. I tell the Shawn and Thane my Wyoming wind joke, but they don’t get it. The one where when the wind stops, the whole town falls down? They are talking about the deer again. I am not sure if the things the team is eating are dried figs or Peyote buttons. I try some to see.

10:00 Karl is napping in the tent, I tell Shawn that in just 24 hrs she will be on a road bike doing Elephant Rock. Karl awakens screaming and thrashing and energes from the blowing tent holding a ham and cheese sandwich in his mouth. I believe he slept with it there.

11:00 – I try to pretend I am a mechanic and help them unload, I clean the bikes after each session. They sparkle and I try to convince them that they will ride faster on a clean bike. They seem to agree, but probably only to make me happy. At one point, we add a link to Thane’s chain and adjust the cable for a bit of drag on the middle ring. We manage to not make it worse! It actually works better than it did when we started! The wind is so bad, we take the tent down. It takes a looooong time. We spill things and mash our fingers. We sit in the wind like non English speaking Bedouins in a foreign country.

11:15 I realize I have had to pee since 6:15 am. and 40 oz of super high test joe. I buy a slamming breakfast burrito from the Mexican guy and his 2 boys. They make it to my liking fresh for 5 bucks. The cilantro / onion/ jalepeno mix and home-made salsa is outrageous. Shawn gives me e-Rock socks. They are always giving me stuff.
Noon – Pactimo is up by 4 laps. They can neither add, subtract, reason or carry a conversation topic for more than three sentences. But they can still ride burning consistent laps. Thane offers me a beer. It is after noon and I accept. He hands me a bag of pretzels. “Gluten free” he notes. I will mechanic for this guy anytime, anywhere…the beer is a Dales Pale Ale.
1pm – I am fed, burped, I have dumped and ready to ride a lap. I can probably talk them into it. They need sunscreen instead. The wind howls and the sun blisters my lips. Karl and I watch the riders and note the ones that have that look of panic in their eyes. The ones that can still do math.
2:15 – ONLY 4 HOURS!WooHoo!  I tell them. 4 HOURS???! they cry. I do the math. You can each just do one, 1 hr lap. And then one more. They eye one another like cannibals to see who will get voted off the island and have to do the extra lap. They still continue to burn off sub 40 minute laps.
3:30 The lead is 4 laps, Shawn cuts 5 min, Karl cuts 5 min and Thane cuts 10 minutes off the second place team. They are 10 min away from lapping them again now. Ed calls, Thane tells him not to come, it’s too windy. He shows up w/pizza and beer.
4:00 I can no longer do math, I need tubes and to prep and pack for tomorrows ride, the cars are packed, the W is in the bag. Karl is out for the last shift.
4:05 The country-western version of the Ramones “I want to be sedated” blasts over out heads. No one seems to notice or care how bizarre this is.

4:06 NOTE to self – Must do this next year.