2014 is hier!

Die NUUS. 
Na ‘n moeilike 2013 is ek baie dankbaar om te kan sê dat my kontrak met VELO Life Racing Team vir volgende jaar hernu is. Daarmee saam volg daar ook vir my ‘n groot aanpassing omdat ek Somerset Wes toe trek die 29ste November om in Velo Life se tak daar te begin werk op die 1ste Desember. Ek is bevoorreg en opgewonde oor die nuwe avontuur wat vir my voorlê daar langs die see. My fietsryplanne is nog nie finaal ten opsigte van die spesifieke dissipline waarop ek sal fokus nie, maar met padfietsry wat so groot daar is, hoop ek om ook daarin verder te kan gaan en goeie resultate te bereik. Ek wil baie dankie sê aan Velo Life vir die geleenthede wat hulle my bied en ook al die “brands” wat ons gaan ondersteun in 2014. 

The NEWS. 
I am grateful to annouce that after a tough 2013 my contract with VELO Life Racing Team has been renewed for next year. With this comes a big adjustment for me, because I will be moving to Somerset West on the 29th of November where I will be starting to work for Velo Life in their branch down there. I am very privileged and excited about this new adventure that is awaiting me down there next to the sea. My cycling plans for next year, regarding which discipline will be my main focus, hasn’t been finalized, but with the road cycling that is so big there, I hope to take this a bit further and achieve great results. I’d like to convey my thanks to Velo Life for this opportunity and also to all the brands that are supporting us in 2014.

J. Pelser

"watch this space"

End of November i will be sharing some big news and what my life will be like for the next year, so stay tuned. 

J. Pelser

UCI World Cycling Tour - Pietermaritzburg

The decision for this race cam quite unexpected and exactly a week before the race. I though Amashova Road Race was my last for 2013 but proved not to be when my mountainbiker team mate Alan Hatherly and i decide to do the race together with the plan in mind being that i would work for him as the race was very important to him. I knew i had my next exam on the monday and thought it would be a great study brake.

It was a chilly morning as usual in Noodsberg just outside Pietermaritzburg and racing started of fairly comfortable with no real attacks going of or getting anywhere. Some junior cyclist tried to get off the front, but went at the wrong times and always on the downhills where they soon "ran" out of gears. For myself i am used to racing in the bunch now, but for Alan it was a little different to the cross country mountainbiking where he normaly is on his own. He managed to calm himself a bit and to stay put in the bunch and didn't try to cover every attack. I was very impressed with him for that reason. I didn't really warm up, so on one of the hills i jumped and went to the top alone where i was burning in the red zone. I sat up and let the peloton catch because i knew there was no point in going further on the downhill and i wasn't warm yet. 

Still on the first lap of 3 Alan lost his one bottle on a bumpy section of the road which costed him a lot on the last lap where he bombed out and had no more energy. I caught up to him and asked him if he is coming but all he could say was: "do you have a GU for me please?" Unfortunately i didn't have any left and was running low on fuel too but pushed myself to the finish and got 8th in the 16-29 age category. 

I can't say that i am happy with the result because we didn't get Alan where we wanted him, but looking back at that week where i was in study mode and resting and then doing the hardest road race of my live, i am satisfied. 

I had a year with more ups than downs, the funny thing is that i didn't get faster with all the up's but that's life. I also loved the fact that my father did most of the races that i did and never quit or pulled out. I think he even did more races than myself this year. I thank him for allowing me to comete and the support! 

A massive thanks to VELO life Racing Team for all the wonderful tours, trips and support in 2013! I'm happy to be in this family instead of it just being a team! 

Thank you to the fans!

J. Pelser

Amashova Road Race 2013

The race started quite fast with many of the pros jumping at the front. I managed to stay safely in the middle of the peloton closely behind my team mate Alan Hatherly for the first few kilometers. As we reached the first uphill called Fox Hill i felt strong and good so i stayed in the peloton, but close to the top my body froze completely and my arms started cramping. It was a very weird feeling that i have never experience before. That emediately through be right ou the back of the peloton and all hopes of finishing in the main bunch in the end. I managed to stay in a 2nd group where we worked really hard to try get back to the peloton, but funny enough, all the guys in that group was Juniors and with our restricted gears it was even harder. I soon passed Alan where he unfortunately had gotten a puncture and had to fix it. At the end of the day he also worked really hard to try to catch our group but got another puncture that through him out of the race.

in the last few kilometers i played it safe and in the finish straight i jumped on the left hand side of the road and got myself ahead of our group and finished 5th in the Junior Boys category but very far down on the winners time.

I had a fairly good race, but I did not have the outcome I was expecting. I will now focus on my final School exam and do one last race on the 27th of October for my team mate Alan Hatherly. It is a really important race for him and I really hope to help him get the result that he wants.

Till next time.
J. Pelser

Photo credit to Alan's mother.

Busy week ahead of Amashova...

Firstly i write my first final exam for matric on Tuesday and things are heating up with all the studying. 

Secondly i'm doing a little bit more training and riding before Amashova road race which i am really looking forward to and excited for on Sunday.

Till next time. 

J. Pelser

Noodsberg Road Race #2 of 2013

After a long brake from racing, due to trails exams, I got back into it with the Noodsberg road race. I did the previous one earlier in 2013 and i knew the course pretty well. I love the route because it has everything in it. It is a very challenging route but you are still able to enjoy it.

It was a very wet day the day before the race with rain pouring down everywhere in KZN. I decided that i was going to change my attidude and be positive towards the next day and no matter how cold, wet or rainy it was, I would still race. With road racing in SA we often have really early starts because of road closures and how busy the roads get. It is just for our own safety.
the race started of with a neutral start, but when that was over, Luke Roberts, myself and Keagan Matthews jumped out of the peloton and managed to make a small gap but decided to sit up and wait because it wasn't such a clever move because it was so cold. The peloton stayed together and quite big until one of the first big hills came where it soon split up to smaller groups. I didn't know where my form was and how strong I was before the race and then I realized that I wasn't that strong because I slipped out of the back of the peloton. Now I was in a smaller group and knew there wasn't a chance that i would catch the main bunch again, but that didn't stop me from trying.
I rode away from the small group with two other guys and finished in front of them in 19th place overall. I was quite impressed but still not happy with the level my fitness was at. I also got a 2nd place in the u19 age category with which I am pleased but it felt like a replay of earlier in the year where I also got a 2nd place.

My next race is Amashova and I'm really excited for that and looking forward to that.

Thanks and see you at Amashova

Also thanks to Cally for the cool picture at the start.

Here is a photo of the u19 mens podium: