Training Log Archive: nmulder

Cullinan 2 Tonteldoos MTB Ultra

Race my first Ultra long single stage mtb race. This is the inaugural year, and the first ultra race to be held on the highveld. It runs from Cullinan to Tonteldoos, out on the east edge of the highveld near Dullstroom, with about 6 assistance points where Stephanie could meet me with food, water, etc. The maximum I've done for distance before this on a single stage is about 155km on a few Epics and the Attakwas.

Start was at 11am in Cullinan. Quite a warm day about 26'C at the start line. Field of about 100 competitors, with a mix of tandems, pairs and solo riders. I settled down after the start at the back of the lead bunch and tried to stay there as much as possible.

First 14km out of Cullinan was tar road, easy going, a bit of down. We then started with the district roads. These were mostly flat to start with over the first 80km as the race moved east. The lead peleton kept getting smaller until it was just 2 solo riders, a tandem and a male pair. The tandem were phenomenally strong and I had to go 105% to stay in their slipstream on the downhills. Had to use the uphills for recovery. Went through the first two assistance points very quickly, only stopping to swap in new bottles.

The other solo rider (Callem) and I had to let the tandem go at about 80km as we were killing ourselves trying to stay with them. I knew the second half of the race was hillier and more technical, and with darkness coming, I knew they'd need to slow their max speed down and the advantage would change. By this point we were still averaging about 28km/hr. I rushed the 3rd check point / assistance point at 90km intentionally, getting out there quick. I think it put Callem under pressure and he had to go hard to catch me again, but then blew on the first of the bigger climbs at about 100km. Opened up a gap pretty quickly whilst I was also able to narrow the gap on the tandem down to about 30s. A very long downhill after that past Mabusa NR and down to below Loskop dam saw the gap grow again, but only to about 2-3 mins. Quite a bit warmer down in the Olifants valley below the dam wall, maybe close to 30'C, but I had been hydrating well and felt quite comfortable for a change.

Loskop Dam (140km) was the main assistance point. I only spent about 4 mins here though, having a quick eat and drink. Might have downed too much too quickly as I was uncomfortable for the next hour. Left with the Tandem before the next solos and pairs arrived, working well together to get across a flatter section before the first long drag back up the Loskop escarpment. At about 180km, we reached the steepest section so far on the race, a proper rough climb. Without adding much effort I was able to pull away, but a few minutes later I went through my first bad patch of the race. I didn't realize it at the time, but I went hypoglycemic. They caught me again and I actually had to stop and sit down on the road for about 30s. Recovered quickly from this and got back up and riding, arriving only about 2 mins after the Tandem at the next assistance point at 190km mark. It got dark just before arriving at the assistance, but I'd already had bike lights in place since Loskop. Was thus able to have a quick check-in and out whilst the Tandem were still fiddling with their bike lights, managing to open about a 2 minute gap immediately.

I tried to keep a constant pace over the next stage of about 30km. The undulations were getting bigger by this part of the race but I kept the average speed up. The farm roads were also much more washed out, so had to play it a bit safe on the downhills. I saw chasing bike lights on one or two occasions on ridges behind me, but they definitely weren't closing. We had a big downhill into the 6th assistance point in Stoffberg. I went down this as close to the limit as possible, bike lights were holding up nicely.

Spent only about a minute in the point before heading out on the last 40km section of the race to Tonteldoos. We had a 9km tar road section to start with, which ate up some of the distance quite nicely. Then turned off onto more farm roads that were also in an iffy condition. About 15km out, we started one final big climb. I had another low point here, but I saw it coming this time and was able to pop some additional food to prevent a big low. The severity of the climb was higher than I was expecting (the pass even had a nameboard!). A nasty sting in the tail which topped out about 6km before a gentle down to the finish. This was the first cold section of the race as we were now in the high altitude grasslands of the escarpment, but arm warmers were enough until I crossed the finish line in Tonteldoos.

Finished shortly before 11pm at the Tonteldoos show grounds which were all set up for the Highlands Festival the next day. Average speed, including stops at assistance points was about 22km/hr according to official results. Waited for the next finishers, the tandem about 30 minutes behind me and the next rider another 15 minutes. Then drove to Dullstroom for a bed, as all the accommodation was already full in the area.

Bike stats
Tm 11:29:03 (so about 15 mins lost time along the way)
Av 22.4
Mx 56.6

C • Well done! 2

Easy ride to test out legs and bike after a service.

Av 20.3
Mx 48.2

Short run in Craigavon to loosen up before this weekend.

C • What's coming this weekend? 4