Tour de Kranz

The race with the most spectacular views of them all! This one was even more beautiful because of rain that came down the day before the race and made the skies and air crystal clear. I was a very cold morning at about 8degrees celsius and for my friend from Mauritius, it was something completely different. In Mauritius it is very flat and doesn't get as cold as it gets in SA, so it was very hard for her. The altitude also was a bit different to her and often that is one of the big problems when doing bike race in an unfamiliar destination. 

Although the rain might have cleared the air, it didn't make the roads and some single track to nice to ride. I knew how this race was in the wet because of the previous year where i broke my hanger in the wet but still enjoyed the rest of my race. I didn't do to much of a warm up before my race, because i knew how quickly i would cool down in the start shoot where we normally stand for 15minutes. The signature of this race is the downhill start and 2 sharp left turns where the faster guys normally get a big lead quite quickly. I went down with a bit of caution and got stuck behind some riders in the mud, but luckily the first piece of single track was a double track and i could pas the riders who weren't so good on the uphills. My body was a bit cold and it only woke up at 14km's to go where i was already far behind the top 10 but riding with a very good friend, Callan Deacon. We settled into a very nice pace together and enjoy the most spectacular views ever. I even stopped at the water tables where the friendly ladies really motivated us to carry on to the finish. 

I still don't know where I finished overall, but to me that didn't matter in the end yesterday. I wanted to have fun and enjoy the wonderful scenery before the tough school trials start and i get ready to finish my final year of school. 

I also realized why i enjoy riding my road bicycle a lot more than the mtb, simply because i can ride it the whole time and don't have to get off and walk the tracks where it is to muddy. 

Thanks to all involved and the race organizers. Also to my French friend from Mauritius for completing that tough ride and still being positive.

Jaco Pelser