650B, The Baby Bear Wheel Size. An article from the perspective of the vertically challenged.

As a slightly vertically challenged individual, or more commonly and ‘endearingly’ referred as a midget, dwarf, hobbit, Oompa Loompa… you get my drift. I am shorter than average; 1.59m to be precise. As most of you can relate, I started mountain biking on a bike with 26” wheels, back in the good ol’ days when another option wasn’t fathomed.

Although 29” mountain bikes are by no means a recent invention, they became a trend a couple of years ago and have since taken the country by storm. I made the transition at the end of 2012. The first thing I noticed was how it seemed to float over rocky, bumpy sections. In places where a 26er would catch and struggle through, the 29er would bomb through smugly, the admin of line choice significantly reduced. The other big advantage is the speed you can pick up and maintain on the flats. Speak to any marathon racer and they will agree that to keep up with a bunch of riders on 29ers in a marathon when you are on a 26er is near impossible.

Now although these pros are significant, there are a fair number of cons. Not only are the wheels significantly bigger, the frame and fork had to grow to accommodate the wheels. Since everything else had grown except me, sadly, major adjustments had to be made to get my setup correct ie. ALL headset spaces removed, negative stem, upside down handlebar, an 80mm fork (less suspension) all to get the front end slightly lower than the saddle. After all this, the bike still felt big under me, the front wheel so far away!

The big wheels took away the responsiveness from the smaller wheels, both on climbs and through tight single track. I felt this especially toward the end of a race when I was fatigued I would struggle to turn the big wheels on steep climbs

Bike manufacturers have noted the pros and cons of 26ers and 29ers and created a new wheel size, the 27.5” or 650B, exactly half way between the two. After doing research, and many people having told me that it would be the perfect bike for me. I spoke to my sponsor Naeem Omar from Valencia and he was keen to see the theory in action. I have been very happy on the carbon 29” Scott Scale 910 which I have been racing on the year, it is light and fast with a superiorly engineered geometry so I was super keen to give the 650B Scale 710 a bash!

I spent the Easter weekend in Sabie and Mankele, the perfect playground for the true test, loads of climbing, single track and kilometers of heavenly Mankele bush tunnels. My immediate reaction to the smaller bike was that it felt like a part of me, and extension of my body. My first ride started on a huge climb out of Sabie, I set a hard pace with sprints in between. The responsiveness of my accelerations was back! The next test was a very bumpy descent. The 710 didn’t float over the bumps like my 29er would but it was comfy enough with impressive rolling power.

The Mankele bush tunnels at the end of a ride are always the highlight, you can seriously pin it through the twisty turny single track shrouded in dense vegetation. There are loads of rocky surprises, small drop offs and roots that keep you on your toes and could easily result in devastating talent and sense of humour failure, the risk making it all the more enjoyable!

With the 27.5” wheels and smaller frame I felt I was able to thow the bike around underneath me, dodging trees and rocks at speed and whipping it around corners. It was exhilarating. THIS is why I ride I thought… The deal was sealed.

650B, the baby bear wheel size… Just right!

The Lowveld Quest - Race Report by Emily Clarke

The 2014 Lowveld Quest was a 4 day stage race hosted by a bunch of passionate mountain bikers and overall awesome people. The stages took us from Lydenberg to Haziview via Mankele (Nelspruit) and Graskop. And a quest it was!!! The race had been something I was looking forward to for months. It kept me going through the last few weeks of my term at uni like a carrot at the end of a stick.  As it drew nearer, however, the nerves built up and I began to stew over who I’d been paired with for the race and the reality of her superior skill and power... well the reality was 100% true but I got lucky.

 

The race began at Hoerskool Lydenberg . Crowds of students cheered as we raced out the school grounds and up the road. The neutral zone ended and the chasing began as riders charged into the dust... and mud.  Amy McDougall and I started off strong and used the stage to find out how we could work together through the race. This is where I found my pot of gold... in my race buddy. From the beginning till the end Amy was like a rock and a real mentor. We unfortunately encountered a hairy decent from the wrong angle later on in the stage and Amy crashed hard resulting in a couple of broken spokes and some “loose toes”.  But nothing too serious ;) We came across the line at Mankele MTB park in 2^nd after an interesting but truly beautiful first stage.

From the race briefing the night before we sort of gathered stage 2 would entail quite a bit of climbing. What I didn’t realize was that the first 40km of the stage would be uphill. And only uphill. It was like mountains built themselves in front of us!!! Conditions were wet and muddy but perfectly cool for a long day of mountaineering on bikes. I was overjoyed as we descended past misty cliffs (a little less overjoyed when I decided to show a tree some love and hug it on the way down but anyhoe...) I vaguely  recalled a comment at the race briefing about there being a decent into Sabie from that point. I fixed myself onto Amy’s back wheel for the last 30km into Sabie and we again finished in 2^nd this time a little closer to our competitors Vannessa Bell and Dalene Van Der Leek.

Stage 3 loomed and more mud and mountains were ahead of us. Both Amy and I were under the false impression that the stage would be less daunting in terms of the vertical ascent involved. Well we were wrong... but the race was on and we were itching for a win. I could feel my legs creaking on the start line but and the wheels started rolling a felt a little fire ignite itself inside me (which may very well have actually been Amy pushing me up yet another hill...) either way it felt awesome and we hurtled up and DOWN the kilometres of fantastic single track cut by Dennis Lowry and his team in Sabie. 

I was in my element :D  As the course got closer and closer to Graskop it felt like the hills got steeper and the mud stickier. Somewhere along the line I hit mute mode (which is pretty close to a complete and utter sense of humour failure) round about which time Amy pipes up “hmm I feel like we in the Lord of the Rings” with a smile on her face, referring to our pretty spectacular and surreal surrounds. Well I think I might have grunted. When the last two kilometres of the race finally ended, we crossed over the finish line in 1^st with muddy smiles on our faces 

I woke on the final morning of the race and just didn’t want to see a positive gradient in front of me. After another fantastic breakfast provided by the NG Kerk, we lined up tackle the final stage of LQ from Graskop to Hazyview. I managed to take a head dive into the ground going down the first decent of the day and bent my handle bars and seat post skew. I got up and could feel my head pounding immediately. We straightened (sort of) things up and began chasing again. In the end we finished up in 2^nd after a tough but fun 4 days of racing. Congratulations and thank you to Dalene and Vanessa on the win and for the great vibe.

Quest was both fun and motivating for me. I feel incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity to race with and learn from Amy. Massive thank to Naeem and the V-team for getting us to the start line and supporting us unconditionally though the race. Huge thanks to coach Bosseau Boshoff at Infinita training academy... the machine maker. Special thanks to Brett Coats and Barry Grobler for looking after us and our bikes so beautifully... literally. Barry from Valencia knows how to do miraculous bike makeovers. Mark, Goeff, Jaco and Brett (race organizers) put on an awesome race from every front. I hope to be back next year for more!

Next stop Expedition Africa.... a race with a bit of a twist J

GP Track Provincial Champs - Race report by Demarco Pillay

Last weekend I took part in the GP Track Provincial Championships. There was great competition as riders came from across the country to compete with hopes of qualifying for SA Champs at the end of the month. Most of the riders were a lot more experienced than me as this was my fifth time on the Track and my 2nd big competition; the first two being the GP provincials in November 2013 and the GP provincial Champs this year.

In the 200m sprint I came 3rd in 13:14 seconds in the quarter finals, the winner's time was 12:98 seconds.

In the sprint final I came 4th losing by a mere point of a second. In the 1500m I finished 2nd and in the 5km points race I finished 3rd.

Track cycling is great and I would like to encourage the team and all other cyclists to try it. It teaches one bunch riding, to sprint and to use tactics to win.

A big thanks for the support I received from my sponsor Valencia and thumbs to my coach Bosseau Boshoff from the Infinita Academy and RRR for the support.
Also a great thanks to Martin (Biggie) for assistance on the track and did well in the race

South African Triathlon Champs -Race Report by Dylan Nortje

After two jam packed days of travelling, arriving at Buffalo Bay in East London I was relieved to give my legs a good stretch as we went for a relaxed pre-race run along the promenade. The next morning was an early start as we wanted to get a surf swim in before the winds and waves got any bigger. Once we emerged from the icy cold water it was straight to the Wimpy to get a hot chocolate and quick breakfast in the tank before we headed off to race briefing.  The nerves were becoming more and more noticeable during the rest of the evening as we started doing the final check-over’s on our bikes and packing the transition bags. We had a light supper and it was off to bed early.

Race morning arrived and the sound of crashing waves and officials talking at the top of their voices made the sleep clear out of my eyes in no time at all. We had a quick hotel room breakfast before heading to the transition to rack our bikes and set out all the needed equipment for what was not going to be an easy day. I managed to squeeze myself a spot in transition and ran over the entire race in my head, ensuring that I had done all the necessary things to make this race as fast as possible. Once my transition was sorted I took a slow walk down to the beach front where I slowly squeezed into my wet suit which possibly saved my life in the water! From that point time flew past and next thing I realised, I was standing on the start line to my begin my first ever SA Triathlon Champs .

The gun fired and it was a mad dash straight into ice cold waves , the swim was intense as it was a big bunch that was not thinning out as it normally would. Once we had passed the turn- around buoy the bunch almost instantaniously split into one long line and headed straight for the beach.  Getting out the water it took a few seconds for me to orientate myself but once I got my bearings it was full steam ahead into a relatively quick transition. Getting onto the bike I realised that the wind had picked up quite a bit and the best way to do this ride was with a bunch. I managed to catch up to a bunch who I stuck with for the entire bike leg , which meant that it was now d who could and who couldn’t run.  Thankfully my coach Bosseau Boshoff had prepared me and I was one of those who managed to find my run legs very quickly. As the run continued my pace became faster and faster. Once I thought I’d had burnt all my matches a marshal pointed me down the finish shoot and it was only another 400m where I had to dig really deep.

Although my result may not have been the what I was hoping for, a lot of lessons were learnt and it has definitely motivated me and I will be back for more next year.  A huge ups to my amazing support back home from Valencia, my coach and teammates. You guys make it all possible. Thank You!!! 

Press release: Team Valencia Performs in the N4 TRAC Cycle Tour

Last week Thursday the N4 TRAC Tour kicked off in Nelspruit. The long hard stages in the renowned mountains of the Lowveld attracted some of the top U16, Junior, U23 and Elite Women road cyclists in South Africa.

Stage 1 started at the Viva garage in Schoemanskloof. The U23 men’s race was 138 km long with 4 KOM’s and 3 Hot Spots, Junior men and Elite ladies started together for 122km also with 4 KOMs and 3 Hotspot sprints. The U16 boys and Junior Girls raced a total of 84km with 3 KOMs and 2 Hotspot Sprints.

Team Valencia Guest rider Dalene Van der Leek finished 4^th Elite Lady in a sprint with An-Li Kachelhoffer, Heidi Dalton (2nd) and Juanita Venter. In the Junior Girls’ race, Tyneale Terry made Valencia proud when she came 2^nd in a sprint finish to Cathrine Colyn and of ASG.

In the U16 category Demarco Pillay won the KOM jersey in a tie with Ekhardt Binding . Although the boys achieved an equal number of points, Pillay won the jersey because he had two wins and Binding had not won a KOM.

Team Valencia finished 2^nd in the Best U16 Team classification and 3^rd Junior/ Elite ladies team.

Stage 2 started in White River on the start of the R357 (the Sabie road). The first KOM was 7 km in,  putting the pressure on for the riders from the start. The route then took the cyclists up the renowned Spitskop climb, the first Hotspot was half way up at 14km the second KOM 29km on the summit. The descent was long and gradual with the 2^nd Hotspot halfway down at 35km. The riders reached a T-Juction which took them into Sabie. Once through Sabie they immediately began another famous climb, Longtom Pass. The 3^rd KOM was at 53km, the top of the 15km climb. After the summiting Longtom, it was more or less downhill all the way back into Nelspruit finishing around the Mbombela stadium and into the TRAC Office ground.

The front ladies bunch finished in another sprint after 107km where Dalene Van der Leek pushed herself onto the podium with a 3^rd place for the day. Tyneale Terry finished on the podium again in 3^rd for their 62km race.

Team Valencia was now sitting 3^rd in the Junior/Elite Ladies Team classification and had moved up to 1^st U16 team.

Stage 3 consisted of two hard short stages; a 30 min (+1 lap) Criterium and a 17km Time Trial. Team Valencia had home ground advantage in the Criterium as the locals race the exact circuit every Wednesday evening.  Damon Halderman, the local Crit hero missed the podium by a hair in 4^th place after experiencing mechanicals. Tyneale Terry finished 2^nd in between ASG girls Cathrine Colyn and Lynette Benson. Dalene Van der Leek finished in the bunch sprint in 4^th place.

Stage 3.2, the Time Trial was 17km long starting on the old N4 towards Barberton and looped around onto the new N4, finishing back at the start. Tyneale Terry made herself and team proud when she powered herself to gold, winning the Time Trial by an impressive 16 seconds. Dalene Van der Leek achieved her second bronze of the tour behind Heidi Dalton (2nd) and Juanita Venter (3rd) despite having any Time Trial equipment. Demarco Pillay won the best U16 Young Rider of the day.

With 3 hard days of riding in the cyclists’ legs, the last stage of the tour started and finished at the TRAC offices just outside of Nespruit. There was one massive climb, the famous 30km Kaap se Hoop. The route was relentless with all 3 KOMs up the climb. Riders were rewarded with a steep, fast and fun 15km descent. The route joined the N4 at 68km, the 3 hotspots separated by 10km each. The final stretch was fast and undulating, bringing the riders into the same finish as stage 2 into the TRAC Office ground. The talented young Tyneale Terry finished 3^rd on the day and proved her consistency by coming 2^nd overall for the tour.

Dalene Van der Leek came 4^thin the sprint and 4^th  overall in the Tour.

The best U16 team of the Tour went to Valencia. The top 3 in the best young rider category for the tour, were also all in the colours of Team Valencia: Demarco Pillay, Hanru  Lubbe and  Devin Shortt  in 1^st 2^nd and 3^rd respectively.

In the Junior/Elite Ladies team classification Valencia came 3^rd for the Tour and Marco Oosthuizen of Valencia earned himself 3^rd in the Best Junior Young Rider category.

All riders took something back from their experience be it good or bad which they will use in their future as cyclists .Sponsorship from Valencia and Team Manager Bosseau Boshoff’s hard work and support inspired the riders and pushed them to achieve the results they earned.