Big5 MTB Weekend

This past weekend was the start of the Big5 series in Zululand up the North Coast of KZN.
For the first year this year they started off the series with an Expo to show case cycling brands and brands around the Zululand area.
I was invited up to the Expo which i was very happy about and decided to go there with three brands, Merida, USN and BuzzRack. Rodney Fowler from BuzzRack came down for the weekend which was a huge help.
The Expo was a good success and a nice idea, and i'm sure it will grow from strength to strength each year.

At the expo they had a small sprint shoot out style race which i decided to give a go! It was a 2,2km circuit consisting of urban and off road track. Tyronne white had set the fastest time so far and it was fast so it would be a serious sprint! Sean Merredew then went and beat Tyronne's time by a mere two seconds making it even more of an ask. I then had my turn on the circuit and raced it with Sean on his second go at the record! There is not much to say other than that it was a flat out sprint from start to finish, and unfortunately i was not able to crack the fastest time and came in with the third fastest time 10 seconds down, non the less it was great fun!

On the Sunday was the first of the Big5 series races, the Zini classic help in Mtunzini just 40km south of Richards bay. The event this year was held on the Mtunzini golf course which was a really great venue.
The 50km  race started just after 9am and already the temperature was soaring...we were in for a hot day on the bike.

The race started on a steep tar down hill into the Mtunzini estate, we were led down the hill by a lead motor bike and as we hit the dirt it pulled off and let us free to race.
The pace in the beginning was mellow as no one wanted to come to the front leaving myself and Tyronne White to set the pace for the first 4km till we the hit the first climb. Ty went hard on the climb trying to break up the bunch which he succeeded in doing and myself, Dave Leiman and Jeremey Tompson were the only one's to hang on. Ty then went hard again at the top and Leiman got on his wheel and i was slightly behind with Tompson. I pushed hard to try and stay in contact with Ty and Leiman but i wasn't able to, although i kept the gap at around 500meters till around the 20km when i slowed the pace slightly to recover. I was then caught by one of the Zululand cycles riders and i sat his wheel as he tried to go past...i hung on and once recovered i attacked and opened up a gap between him and myself.
I continued to chase hard and try to limit the time between myself and the two leaders, i then entered the awesome single track layed out for us and quickly forgot about the chase to enjoy the reason i ride MTB in the first place.
I ended up crossing the line in 3rd place, 7min down on Tyronne and 2mins down on Leiman. Over all i was happy with my race and my result and the legs felt good...just in time for Sani2c which starts this Thursday morning.

Overall it was a great weekend.
A very huge Thank you has to go to Zululand Cycles and especially the Dalton family who really made me feel welcome in their part of the world and went out of their way for me.
I would also like to thank Shane and Daryl Webster for accommodating me and putting on a great event!

I will definitely be back to Zululand for the next events.