The hill2hill is similar to the Comrades in the cycling world in that there is a huge publicity drive in the media, bets to enter are made over a couple of beers at the beginning of the year and many people use it as a goal event for the year.

This year was no different with the entries being full weeks in advance of the closing date and a record field at the starting line. The big difference this year was the quality of the mens top contenders. The starting line up was like that only seen at SA Championships with all the big teams of South African mountain biking in attendance for the 2011 hill2hill 105km marathon.

The general direction of the route hadn’t been changed but merely refined for a more enjoyable and tougher race. The biggest change was at the start where the riders used to fly down Taunton Road and cover 16km in 20min, this was not the case in 2011 and an extra 10-15min was unfortunately to the overall time with the addition of 6km of single track. The track was brilliant even if it did add the extra time but more importantly the route was far safer than before by taking the riders off the main tar road at 60km/h.

The start was frantic as usual and a small breakaway group formed as we hit the tar. The riders in that group were all capable of taking the race to the next level but the pace slowed and tactics took over with nobody wanting to make the first move on the tar section between camps drift and the first King of the Mountain point 30km in. The first to go was Brandon Stewart followed by Burry and the rest of the top 10. I went hard with the group and stuck for another 5km until mikes hill. It was here where I was joined by Mannie Haymans. I stuck his wheel for a good 6km. We were now 20seconds of the lead group and I could see them as we rounded each corner. The big break came at Bartlett’s estate where Brandon went super hard followed by Burry. This split the group and I found myself off the back loosing 4min in time. The final 20km of the race were extremely tough with the severe heat making each pedal stoke a huge effort. Climbing up from the ark water table was like war zone. We were now catching the majority of the 40km back markers who’s started at the same time as us.

The ride into the finish was straight into a head wind, which didn’t help the legs, but we still pushed through and I finished in 4hr18min in 11^th place overall.

I was extremely happy with the result and even happier that I finished without any mechanical issues unlike the previous years.

A huge thanks must go to Powasol for the excellent lube, it lasted the entire race without one top up. Another thanks must go to Bmax, as nutritional support over long races such as these is critical.