Press Release: Mud, Rocks, Uphill and Single Track .The Sabie Classic, Not a Race for the Faint Hearted.

Last Saturday the second leg of the 2014 MTN National Marathon series, the Sabie Classic was held in the quaint town of its name sake. Wet weather a few days prior, and a solid overnight rain on Friday evening made for a mud bath for everyone in the Marathon and Ultra Marathon. Both races were riddled with mechanicals, DNFs and crashes. Fortunately for the Half Marathon and smaller races the next day, the sun came out and dried the track making for a more pleasant day in the saddle.

Representing Team Valencia in the 75km Marathon was Samantha Sanders and Amy McDougall. Sanders had an unfortunate crash down one of the first technical descents of the day the slippery rocks resulting in a deep gash in her left arm and a fractured right thumb. Like a trooper she rode all the way to water point 3 to her tech team and pulled out. She was gutted at her first DNF ever but has been discharged from the hospital and is on the mend.

Amy McDougall proved that perseverance pays when she came 3^rd overall. She started in 9^th place and worked her way through the field, passing her competition as they experienced mechanicals and crashes “I am super happy with a result that was way better than I had hoped for. I loved the mud and challenging conditions. I experienced no problems with my bike and the professional support from Team Manager Naeem and coach Bosseau before the race and at the tech zone was awesome!”

The following day in the 45km half marathon Kirsty Shuttleworth 2^nd Youth “I loved the mud and the awesome single track, I’m very happy with my result. Thanks once again to Valencia for the support!”

In the 16km race, Youth rider Hanru Lubbe won the race overall, narrowly beating Sub Junior Ryan Terry by 39 seconds. Terry who finished 2^nd overall and first in his category says: “I had a great race, the conditions suited my race strategy. I would like to thank my manager Naeem Omar, my coach Bosseau Boshoff and my dad for the support.”

The Valencia tent was a haven to many grateful, mud covered mountain bikers with poofs, ice cold cool drinks and a delicious braai.
The Valencia kit was seen on the top steps of the podium to back markers who rode merely for the love of mud, socialising and to challenge themselves mentally and physically. It is always great to see big smiles and the great vibe that follows the Valencia crowd wherever they go.

Next up for the crew is the 3^rd leg of the MP provincial XCO series to be held at Mankele.

Sabie Classic Race Report by the Wounded Bear aka Justin Victor

Marathon:

 The Marathon was really fun and wet, muddy and then it got really muddy and slippery and it was wicked fun, then sort of slippery and muddy towards the end...

I'm really happy with my 12th Position in Cat.

16KM Fun Race:

 Racing was intense with the 13 year old  boys and girls attacking early on the first 500m, I tried to keep in contact with them but the pace was too high and I felt the elastic snap 300m after the neutral zone. Feeling the fatigue of the early heavy pace I just wanted to maintain position, BUT ALAS.... Mr Mike Terry came passed me up the first climb of the day and I tried to hold his wheel, but with his new form and quitting smoking I knew it would be a tough task. After about 3 minutes of trying to hold Big Mike's wheel I slacked off and decided to reserve some energy for the last kilometers of the race. There was a slight bottleneck on the first single track and that gave me chance to elbow my way towards the front of the pack, but I knew that my race was over and I wouldn't be able to catch the leading group. After the halfway mark I felt the heat of the day setting in and knew that I would need to stop at the water point for at least 10 minutes to get rehydrated and adequate nutrition if I was going to be able to maintain my race pace. After a good hour and twenty minutes of intense racing i came into the finishing chute to receive a well deserved applause from my many fans and an awesome medal. I would just like to thank my sponsors, friends and family for all the support that they've given me over the years of my racing career. I would not be where I am without you guys. Thanks a MILLION!!!!!

Press Release: Team Valencia represents at SA Road Champs and season opener of the MTN National Marathon series.

Last week riders from all over the country, across all ages descended upon Durban in hopes of earning the green and yellow stripes of the SA Champs jersey.

For Tyneale Terry, this was her first SA Champs experience. In the 21km Time Trial on Friday she came 9th in the highly competitive junior category. Two days later she achieved yet another top 10 when she came 10th in the 72km road race in an impressive time of 2:29:25.
The talented youngster is elated with her result and motivated to improve and set new goals for the future. "SA Champs was a great experience for me as a Junior lady. I was happy with my performance and look forward to the upcoming season! Thanks to Valencia for making it possible."

Damon Halderman also competed in both the Time Trial and road race. For the 18 year old it was his second and most successful experience at an SA road championships. Halderman also competed in the Time Trial and Road Race. In the Time Trial, the promising young rider achieved 14th place and in the grueling 126km road race in a time of 3:46:36.
"The racing was hard and close, with only seconds making the difference!  The time Trial was windy but a fantastic route. The support from the locals and my team was incredible! It was a huge improvement on last year thanks to my coach Bosseau Bossoff from the Infinita Academy. This experience would not be possible without the support of Naeem Omar from Valencia and my fellow Valencia teammates." Says Halderman.

Demarco Pillay raced the Time Trial in the U16 category. He finished in a competitive time of 36:50 for the 21km. Pillay was forced to forfeit the road race due to an unfortunate crash.
Ryan Terry, younger brother of Tyneale Terry raced in the U14 category in the road race. Also his first experience at SA Champs he achieved

On the other end of the cycling spectrum the first race of the National mountain bike marathon series was held in the high altitude town Dullstroom with recent rain making for a muddy experience for everyone!

Representing Valencia in the Elite Women's category was Samantha Sanders and Amy Beth McDougall. The ladies raced on the top end of the race against the best in the country. Both were lying in
the top 5 for the majority of the race. Sanders kept a good strong pace for the full 77km coming 3rd overall and third in her age category. "The racing was really top notch. Robyn and Ariane set a hot pace from the start so when I lost a bottle in the first 10km I decided to rather stick with them in the break. The two mountain goats dropped me on the climb.I rode in a lonely 3rd place until I passed Arianne who had punctured. The hour I spent without hydration caught up with me and so did Jeanie Bombford. We rode the last 10km together but in the chaos of the bee infested single track home she managed to edge ahead of me to take 2nd."

McDougall had a slow start lying in 6th place for the first 20km but got stronger working her way up to 4th overall and 1st in her age category. "The route was hard with loads of climbing and the high altitude and kilometres of mud adding to the challenge! I am really enjoying the handling and feel of my new Scott Scale 29er. I was happy with my result but am looking forward to achieving better results and reaching my goals with the assistance from my new coach Bosseau Bossoff from the Infinita Academy and the fantastic support and sponsorship from Valencia Cycles."

Down in Durbanville Cape Town, Emily Clarke achieved her spot on the podium coming 3^rd in the 99er MTB Marathon says Clarke: “There was loads of awesome single track and plenty of climbing, which made it a fun but challenging day out. Thanks to Valencia for the support and making it possible!”

The sponsorship and enthusiastic support from Naeem Omar of Valencia sifts through to the riders as he makes it possible for the riders to work hard towards achieving their goals in a positive environment.

This coming weekend Valencia will be well represented at round 2 of the Mpumalanga provincial XCO series will be held at Curro College in Nelspruit.