Garmin adidas Set For MTN Blockhouse Ultra Marathon

Press Release : Team Garmin

One mistake or one puncture and that will be it!  You can forget about winning the MTN Blockhouse Mountain Bike Ultra-marathon (110km).

This is what Francois Theron (Garmin adidas) predicted after he had ridden the route with Kevin Evans (MTN).

“It is just amazing that there are no serious climbs on the whole route. You can say it is Johannesburg at its best. The most exciting part of the race will be the single-track sections.

“I cannot see any possibility for one or two riders to get away on their own and eventually win. The finish might even turn out to be a bunch sprint.

“But don’t get me wrong. The race will still be extremely tough.  Because there are no serious climbs, everybody will be racing flat out from the beginning.

“That is why I say one mistake could cost you dearly. For example, if you have to stop to fix a puncture and if it takes a minute or more, I can’t see how you’ll ever catch up with the leaders again.”

At the moment, luck just does not seem to be on Theron’s side.  During the past two weeks a flu bug has been making his life hell.

“I could not train at all. I only started riding again two days ago.  In a way it could be good for me, because my body has had time to rest.  But Sunday could be a very long day in the saddle for me.”

The good news for Garmin adidas is that Marc Bassinghtwaighte is at long last fighting fit.

According to him, he competed in Windhoek over the past weekend in a tough two-day event that his dad had organized.

“I won, but I cannot brag about it because I was the best rider competing.”

Actually, Sunday will be a hectic day for Bassinghtwaighthe. The MTN Blockhouse Race ought to finish by 12:00.  At 18:00 Bassingthwaighte will leave for Australia where he will represent Namibia at the World Cross-country Championship the next weekend.

According to Bassingthwaighte he does not know much about the MTN Blockhouse Race.

“All that I know, is that it is really flat and the pace is going to be fast.  It does not really suit my style of riding, but I will give it my all and see what happens.”

As usual, Philip Buys (Garmin adidas) might be the “Joker” in the pack. Nobody expects him to win, because Buys is at his best in shorter races of between 40 and 80 kilometres.

But because the MTN Blockhouse’s route is so flat, the extra kilometres might not affect Buys that much.

Buys said he had two weeks of good training.

“I have done some good long, hard rides, been to the gym a couple of times and even did some Pilatus exercises. I can only hope that I have not been overdoing things.”