Training in paradise getting ready for ITU African cup Mauritius

Welcome to Paradise.

It is so nice to end of the years racing in paradise. I cant wait for the race tomorrow. It is going to be great fun racing here again.

I am feeling good about the race and will give it my best shot. There is a nice, strong field here compared to last year so it’s going to be hard work to defend my 3rd place from last year.

I am busy keeping my legs up and rested for the race, but it is really hard not to do a lot of the activities that are availble here at the hotel. Luckily we have some time off after the race so will do all the stuff we want.

Here is my bad boy Argon18 for tomorrow’s race. Going to fly arout those corners. Really now, it’s the best bike I have ever riden. A big thanks again to Argon 18 South Africa for this amazing bike.

Here is a little clip I have put together of some training in paradise.

All the best for all the other South African athletes racing tomorrow. Do your best and God will do the rest. A big shout out to my best friend in the whole world for her first ITU race. Good luck Robs- have a good one and enjoy!!!

Will see you on the flip side. Keep on

Pretoria Africa Cup and Vanderbijl Park BSG Triathlon

Pretoria Africa Cup

It was a great day for racing in Pretoria. The previous two years that this race has been held have been ridiculously hot, with temperatures going up to 35 degrees. This perfect Sunday it was not too hot, with a bit of a breeze. I was so over the wet weather from the previous two weekends races.

I was feeling good leading up to the race and so I was keen to have a good one. It was also the first time that I was going to race with the CycleOps Carbon G3 wheels. They are very nice and stiff, as well as super light! Just point them and they go!

I no longer try and swim in the front. So I just fight for a nice set of feet to follow and what do you know? I am in the front pack every time. In this race we were about 6 guys who were swimming together. We completed the 1500m in about 18min.

Just out of T1 and Abrahm Louw, Erhard Wolfaardt, Rudolf Naude and I had dropped the rest and we already had a big gap. Boy, were we hooking it on the bike! I took a quick look at my CycleOps Joule to see that I was riding 580w sitting at the back of the pack!!
That first hit on the bike was hard!

About 2km into the bike leg I hit one enormous pothole and my back wheel popped and that was the end of my race. I was extremely upset, but unfortunately that is racing.
The funny thing is that last year I also had a flat, but had to walk a lot further back to the start compared to this year. So that was a small improvement HAHAHA.

In the end it came down to a sprint finish between Erhard and Abrahm, but Erhard took the win with his long giraffe legs going super fast in the final 50m.

Well done to all the guys who raced that very tough route.

Next it was time for the final race of the BSG Energade series which was held at Emerald Casino in Vanderbijl Park.

A lot of tired and broken athletes came together on the banks of the Vaal River at the end of a long season. Just one race left in which we would try to kill each other and then it would be time to have some fun in the sun.

For the first time this season there was a bigger field with some international athletes racing with us.

The swim went smoothly until the last bouy when I was kicked in a place where no man wants to be kicked. It was the worst feeling I have ever experienced. I was still with the front group, but I saw that I was dropping big time and I was planning to stop as soon as my feet hit land because I was just in so much pain!
As I got to the end I saw that I was still in the group and then made the decision to stay in the race even though I was still hurting.
Onto the bike and our group was a bit off the pace which meant that the first 5km were going to be a nightmare. After a while of hooking it in the big blade we all came together. Unlike my race in Potch where I just sat at the back resting my legs for the run, this time I did some big turns at the front. With about 4km to go Pieter and Abrahm got away and made a small gap on us, but all of us left T2 together.

Out on to the run and the first 1.3km was all uphill. Oh my greatness that was some crazy, legs burning like a bonfire and feeling as though they were going to explode running.

I ended up 6th in the race and 5th overall in the series. I am really happy with this as that is my best ever placing in the BSG tri series.
Praise the Lord for a great season. It didn’t start too well, but the ending was great.
Thanks to INOV8/Rebel for all the support. It is really a blessing to be a part of the team.

Here is a slide show i have put together. All the photos was taken by Chris Hitchcock. well done Chris really good photos. Thanks you so much for them.

Now it is off to Mauritius for the last race of the year and I hope to end it off with a big one!