BSG Energade Big Bay

The final of the BSG Energade Series was held in Cape town, to be exact Big Bay. It was always going to be an unforeseen, hard race with the elements working against us, the cold sea and usually the very strong wind.

I arrived in Cape Town at 11:30, but … my bicycle was still in Johannesburg. The airport personnel promised to deliver my bike within 2 hours in Big Bay, as it was on the next flight. Needless to say, that promise wasn’t kept … my bike only arrived at 22:00. Yes, I did to panic, but luckily all worked out perfect.

I woke up on Sunday morning and the wind seemed calm, but only until I cycled to the venue about 2km from our guest house. The wind was pumping… I was playing with the thought whether I should do a swim warm-up (actually cool down in the freezing Atlantic ocean). Wian managed to talk me into a warm-up. It seemed as if my face was on fire for the first 4 min, I thought I was going to lose my nose - haha.

When the race started, the cold water didn’t affect me as much as I was swimming as fast as I could - not only to keep up with the rest, but also to get out of the water as soon as possible. I managed to catch a wave on the way out … yes, fun in racing as well.


Theo, Rudolf, Erhardt

 On the cycle we were one big pack of about 12 athletes, but a split came at about 4km with 3 athletes going down the road. We chased them down, and once we caught them everybody was lazy and sat up ..… all waiting for the run.

I had a good T2 and was out 6th, I felt good on the run and in the beginning went hard to see what will happen, but at the 2km mark 3 guys came flying past me, they had better legs on the day than I did. But luckily I caught one of them and ended 7th overall.

It was a good and long series, but I had fun and made some new friends. I managed to win the overall Junior Series. Thank you to all my sponsors (TUKS, ORCA, NIKE, CycleOps, FELT, WHASP) for supporting me during the series.

Junior Series podium

Thank you BSG, Energade and Spectrum Sport for organising and sponsoring the events. It was GREAT!!!

Congrats to all the competitors – from first to last – you did a great job.

Till I write again … Cheers
Rudolf

BSG Energade PE

It was race time again on the weekend at Port Elizabeth in the penultimate race of the BSG Energade Series. My brother, Ruan and I travelled Saturday morning, stayed in the hotel in PE and had lots of fun.

Sunday morning we had an early breakfast, got all our stuff together and went to the race venue about 1km from our hotel. We saw the wind was picking up and knew that, with the much smaller field than at the other races, the cycling leg will be tough.

The field was much smaller than normal because of the Africa Cup in Pretoria being held on the same day. Because of this the atmosphere at the race was much more relaxed and chilled, it didn’t even seem as if I was racing that day.

Ruan, Claude, Rudolf, Wian, Richard, Abrahm

I racked my bike and followed my usual routine. Even minutes before the start we were still joking, but when the race started …. we were going out full blast. I was lucky to hang onto Claude’s feet during the swim and made sure I stayed there. Claude, Abrahm and I had a small gap on Wian and Richard as we entered transition and maintained the gap exiting T1. For the first few km of the bike leg, I felt useless. I went through a little bad spot, but soon started feeling better again and worked with Claude and Abrahm on the bike. We managed to increase our lead on Richard and Wian on the bike leg to about 2 minutes.

We entered T2 and were flying out on the run. I managed 3rd overall.

Now – only the final in Big Bay, Cape Town coming Sunday.

Till then … cheers and enjoy…
Rudolf

BSG Energade Vanderbijlpark

Yes, race day at Vanderbijlpark – my home town - so I was hoping for a good race. The weather conditions was ideal – very warm – and I usually perform well in the heat. I followed my usual warm-up routine and felt good even though training the previous week was hard.

The swim didn’t go as planned… I started at the wrong place and took the wrong line. I couldn’t even see the front pack during the swim. I then made an all out effort to try and make up some lost time. I lost about 25 seconds, but there was only 3 guys in the front pack and I made 2nd pack.

All of us worked hard on the bike trying to catch the front pack. We managed to gain a few seconds on them but not enough to catch them. The cycle was fast and flat, I knew running was going to be hard because of the heat and the hard cycle, but I was determined to give a good show for my home crowd.

As we entered T2, I saw the lead pack of 3 just went out. We gained about 12 seconds on them. I had a good transition and was 3rd out of T2 from my pack. Surprisingly my legs felt very good while running I knew that I could do well. I had a tremendous run the day … feeling as light as a feather. It must have been my Nike Lunar Racers 2 that gave me the edge. I finished 5th overall and 1st in the junior category. It was really a hard but enjoyable race. To my surprise, when I got to the finish my mom was waiting there for me with my dog, Macca.  Happiness!!

After the race, we had a braai and a chill at my home in Vtown.

Carlyn, Ruan, Rudolf, Richard

Playing with Macca - Richard,Rudolf,Pieter

This weekend I will be racing in the penultimate race of the BSG series in Port Elizabeth.

Cheers
Rudolf

11 Global Sun City

Time for that day of the week again, race day. This was it was something completely new to me – my first ever Olympic distance race – the 11Global at Sun City in the North West Province. I was quite nervous about the race, because it was double the distance that I normally race. It was going to be tough and to top it all … the bike leg was a time trail.

I felt good during the pre-race warm up. I had a little chat with Hendrik and Erhard before the race just to calm my nerves down. Then I was time to start. I jumped on Hendrik’s feet and stayed there till the end of the swim. The run into T1 was very long (about 500m) and it felt as if I was doing my 10km run before the bike leg even started.

Swim exit

Eventually I got to transition and off I went in hot pursuit of the leaders. When we reached the open road, Erhard took off on his time trial machine and cycled away from me and Hendrik. I stayed behind Hendrik for most of the ride. With about 11km to go I saw that I was catching Hendrik very fast. I decided to pass him since I was feeling good. The only words spoken between us was him saying “nice helmet” with a big smile on his face. I managed to make a small gap on him on the bike, and as I came into T2, I saw him coming down the hill as well.

T2

I quickly put on my Nike Lunar Racer 2 running shoes and off I went for the 10km run leg. Erhard had a 2min lead on me so his lead wasn’t in danger at all. I was in 2nd place for about 3km in the run when Hendrik caught up to me. We decided to run together since Erhard had such a big lead and the chance of catching him was slim. We ran together with Hendrik encouraging me the whole time and telling me that I am doing well for my first standard race …(thanks Hendrik!). We ran together until 9km then off he went… I tried to go with him but my legs had other ideas.

It was a nice fun and hard race and to top it all of I finished 3rd overall so I was very happy with the result.

Thanks to my coach Lindsey for being there to encourage me on my debut Olympic distance race.

Until next time.
Cheers and enjoy

BSG Energade Midmar Dam

Sunday was race day again at Midmar Dam - the fourth leg of the BSG Energade Series(but only the 2nd race I’m competing in).

I was on a “high” from doing reasonably well the previous race, so I was excited for the race to take place. We drove to the venue on Saturday….a 4 and a half hour trip. When we arrived there the weather was a bit bad - the wind was pumping and it was cold. I went for a short swim and met some of my friends at the Dam. I then watched my favourite soccer team, Chelsea play and they won their game.

When I woke up the next morning…well….it was misty and raining. This means it will be a wet and dangerous race, as there was quite a number of dangerous corners on the cycle route. With my bike checked in and warm-up done it was time to race.

The swim was hard and fast, but I didn’t have the best of swims and I knew there was a lot of work to be done on the bike to make up a few places. In T1, I also struggled to get my wetsuit off…haha. The bike was hard as expected, with the rain and the hilly course making it even more hard. We caught a few athletes and formed the 2nd pack. A few athletes crashed on the bike leg on the wet corners. Unfortunately my friend and room mate, Wian was one of them.

My T2 was very fast and I felt really good during the run leg. I managed 8th position overall and 1st junior.

Untill next time
Cheers and enjoy

PS: Follow me on twitter @rudolfn

BSG Energade Germiston

The past Sunday was my first race after World Championships and the three week rest period thereafter. It was Germiston leg of the local SA BSG Energade Sprint Series consisting of 600m swim, 20km bike and 5km run.

I can’t say I was in form, but I was there to have fun and have an extra hard training set. The wind was blowing like crazy at the lake and I knew that it was going to be a long day if I don’t have a good swim.

I went to transition to rack my bike and have a little chit chat with my friends before things got a bit serious. I did my usual pre-race warm up and then I just had to wait for the starter’s gun to go off. The gun went off and so did we. Surprisingly I had a good swim and made front pack. The first 3km of the bike was very hard. Everybody went out full blast with the tail wind. I could just hold on. We were 7 in the front pack and all of us rotated well to stay away. The wind was pumping full blast, but my Felt F1 bike was stable and stiff so it was a good comfortable ride even against the wind. This was a challenging bike course that hurt my legs a lot …. or maybe it was the lack of fitness that started to catch me .. haha.

We entered transition and I had a clean transition coming out 4th and started the run leg. I knew it was going to be a really hard run but I pushed thru the pain to see in what shape I was. I was placed 6th overall and was very happy that I didn’t die completely on the day.

This was a fun race and I enjoyed it a lot.

The next leg of the BSG Energade Sprint Series will take place at the Midmar Dam in Kwazulu Natal on Sunday coming.

So until next time this is me saying: “Cheers and enjoy”

Rudolf

Resting period

It was a long time since I last posted – well – I’m back.

To recap – the well deserved break I had. I was just chilling at home during the University break, catching up with some friends and family. Did stuff I don’t normally get time to do. Could a day consist of 24+ hours? That’s what it felt like – I checked every hour and only 10 minutes passed. Long, long days. When University started again, I had some catching up to do.

After the three week training break, we started very gradually. I felt … kind of unfit? The first swim session …. wow, was really bad …. I thought I was drowning. It felt so ... unnatural? Or maybe I was just not used to training a lot. We are currently in a base phase – so no miracles expected in the upcoming races.

Yesterday and today again testing was conducted at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria for the HP triathletes. On Friday we did the run-bike-run test, cybex and FMA. The bike test was very hard … or am I unfit and not in good shape? But I survived and was ready to face the next day.

Last night, I attended the TUKS Sports Awards Banquet. This was really something special. Thank you to everyone involved.

Today (Saturday) we did the swim test as part of High Performance testing. I thought it didn’t went to bad…

Tomorrow is racing at the BSG Energade triathlon in Germiston!!! Yes, I will participate, don’t know about the racing part, but will still do my best.

Thank you to our Tuks team manager Conrad for all the support. Thank you to my sponsors Nike, Orca, CycleOps and Tuks Triathlon for all the new, nice goodies.

Remember – pain heals and glory lasts forever.

Cheers
Rudolf

Thank you

The training camp in Slovenia will always be one of the highlights of my career to date. I thank everyone that has contributed in any way to this camp. I gained valuable experience from senior athletes and camp management. It was a privilege to be selected to attend this. The excursion was a success with respect to achievements and experience gained.

Thank you to TSA (Triathlon SA) for funding this training camp and race entries.

Thank you to my coach and friend, Lindsey Parry for sharing your experience and knowledge with me. Thank you for believing in me since we met 2 years ago.

Thank you to the High Performance Manager, Emma Swanwick for arranging accommodation, training and events and for sharing advice and knowledge.

Thank you to all my colleagues (athletes) for the fun we had, on and off the training field. I now consider you family.

Thank you to my sponsors, Nike, CycleOps, TSA and Tuks. I am proud using your products.

Thank you to my parents and family for always supporting and believing in me. You are always there when I need you. I promised to make to proud and not let you down.

Last but no means least, thank you to God for giving me with the talent, providing me with the mental and physical strength and will to train and race with dignity. Thank you Lord for all the blessings I receive so mildly.

Now is time to rest – 3 full and well deserved weeks. I will be catching up on my studies and try to be a “student only” for a few weeks. Thereafter I will start with base training and prepare for the South African season.

Until next time
Cheers and enjoy

World Championships

The Euro trip was excellent up to now, with some good results and a lot of fun, but the time for fun and games was over, it was time for the big one – the World Championships in Budapest within a few days.

We travelled from Slovenia to Budapest in Hungary on Wednesday, checked into the hotel and went for a quick run just to loosen the legs from the long 7 hour bus trip. We noticed lots of other athletes from different countries running and cycling…and then a realised …this is it. After the run we had a brief team meeting and then had dinner where we discussed the plans for the next day.

We got up early and went for breakfast before doing a short swim set. We then went back to the hotel and relaxed while waiting for the afternoon run session. The next day was time to do the course familiarisation on the bike and swim, but unfortunately it was raining and cold. We started with the bike session and it was a very scary few minutes of cycling. We were a big group and the roads were wet and the course was very, very technical. About 99% of the athletes managed to ride without an accident - only a few wanted to taste the Hungarian tar. We decided to skip the swim because of the cold.

Later the afternoon, it was time for our race briefing; there the feeling of being at World Champs finally sank in... Just watching all the athletes and listening to the briefing was the sign that ... this is really it. I didn’t know a lot of the athletes, chatted with some I knew, but everyone was focused and ready to race.

On Saturday, it was time for the u/23 girls and men and elite men to race; I had to wait another, long day… I watched the races and this inspired and motivated me a lot. That night at the hotel I was getting ready, packing all my stuff and checked my bike once again. I then realized that I’m only racing at 5:30 pm the next day, so I relaxed and watched some TV. I slept like a baby that night.

I woke up at 8 and went for a short cycle to loosen up the legs. We then had breakfast and relaxed till 3 pm. I went to T2, put my shoes in the box, got some last minute advice from my coach, Lindsey and went off to T1 where the swim start was.

We only received or race numbers there, because someone stole our original numbers. We were pushed for time to get everything ready and still do our warm up. Somehow (with the help of adrenaline), we managed to do all of that and still had time to “good luck” everyone. We then lined up and when they announced: “number 27 Rudolf Naude”, I knew … now is the time, I felt very good and excited.

Surprisingly I had a super good start dove and wasn’t hit once in the first 50 meters, and then everything changed. The swim turned into a boxing match, everyone was swimming over everyone and I got a few punches and kicks but also gave out quite a few. At the first buoy, it was the worst as everyone slowed down to turn and I caused a mass pile up. The only good thing about getting hit all the way is that you know you are still in the race. After the race to transition, I saw that there were still a lot of bikes left so I knew I had a good swim. We got a good rhythm on the bike and at the turn around, I saw that I was 2nd pack and we were catching the front pack. When we caught them we didn’t let up, it was a flat taps bike leg all the way. Out of very turn and corner on the very technical route, we sprinted to get back up to speed, I tried to remain in the top 5 in the pack just to be safe and have a good, clean transition.

Approaching T2, I was still in the front of the pack, which made my transition easy. My transition went very smooth and to my surprise I was 2nd out of T2. The adrenaline was pumping and I went for it, but sadly I started to die slowly. I went out to fast and blew up at the end. I finished 25th , but was hoping for a top 20 … I missed top 20 by 10 seconds – close, but missed. At the finish line, I collapsed - my legs gave in and I was dead tired but happy.
 

My famous collapse!


Click here to view the 5min of the race highlights

Cheers
Rudolf

Bled Junior European Cup

The last race on our trip before World championships, was the Bled Junior European Cup. This was a super sprint format, 400m swim 13km bike and 3.3km run, so this race was flat taps all the way.

The start numbers was dished out randomly and I was lucky number 2. In triathlon you always want your finish position to beat or equal your race number. So this would be quite a challenge this time.

The race started at 10 in the morning. We did the entire pre-race warm up like usual and then we waited in the holding pen for the announcer to call our names to the start and get ready to race. It was a pontoon start this time. The start was quite hectic as the announcer called one minute to go and then within a few seconds he called the GO. It caught a lot of the athletes, including me.

The swim was really hard because of the short distance all of the athletes were swimming together - it was more a boxing match than a swim. I luckily had a good swim, had a good position and just a few minor hits on the head. The first transition was not very successful … it took me quite a while to get out of the wetsuit. I could have almost had a cup of coffee it took so long …hahaha. Eventually I got rid of the wetsuit and went off on the bike. We were a huge front pack and everyone seemed a bit on the edge because there was a huge hill in the middle of the bike lap. When we got to the hill you could cut the tension with a knife, everyone was watching and waiting to see who will make the first move.

It was a Belgium athlete Martin de Bolster who made the first move. Myself, Wian, Henri and an Italian athlete followed him and got an away in a small break. But the break only lasted a few km’s then the group caught us again. I could see that some damage was done as the group was smaller and the athletes looked a bit drained. Then we had to hit the hill again on the last lap. Everybody now knew who the danger man was to look out for. Sure enough he attacked again trying to hurt the pack and dropped another few athletes. Yet, all in vain as he did not manage to get away.

The breakaway group that got caught.

We were a bunch of about 13 athletes that got to transition together and we now knew the race would be decided on the run. My t1 was super-slow and I went to a super-fast t2 - I manage to be first out of transition for the run.

I was feeling really good despite having to cycle a huge hill twice. The run was very fast with Wian catching me about 400m after transition, I tried to stick with him, but I could only manage it for about 1km. He then slowly started to pull away from me. He won the race and I held on to second position. The race number thing … well … it worked out this time.

This was a great day for SA triathlon and for myself. I had a good race and felt good with only one week to go before World Championships.

Rudolf Naude, Wian Sullwald, Lukas Gaggl.

Tomorrow we will leave Radovljica (home away from home) and travel to Budapest for World Championships - the biggest race of the year. The past five weeks was really hard work – in rain, wind, heat and cold … but all worth it.

Two quotes to end with:
Don’t be a spectator, don’t let life pass you by.
The greatest gift we have is the gift of life.

Chat soon
Cheers

Running with my dog

Every runner has a favourite training set. Mine isn’t a hard track set or long run, it’s simply running with my dog, Macca.

Last year for my birthday my parents surprised me with Macca, my one and a half year old Italian greyhound. What an amazing gift. I love running with her, she is the perfect running partner.

Whether it is a long run or a hard track session, she is always there, eagerly joining in. I keep her on her leash until we get to the track, where she is free to fly and have fun while I do my set. Sometimes she joins in with the set, but after I have tried many times to get her even to pant a bit harder, it seems that her energy levels are endless. I crawl home darting for the bed, there she is, ball in mouth, staring at me with sad puppy eyes, to play some more. Usually I do my long runs off road, at a nature reserve close to my house and Macca comes along without fail.

Macca is as loyal as a dog can get. She listens to my every word and call. As we are running she constantly needs to keep me in view, whether she is running behind or usually a few metres ahead of me. She would keep on checking for me, seeing if I can keep up with her. One time, we ran on a single track road and it forked out a few meters ahead of us. Suddenly she sprinted to the left and as a joke I went right, just to see her reaction. She got a huge fright! Sprinted back the way we came to see where she had lost me. I had to chase her, yelling at the top of my lungs, hoping that she would hear me and stop. Unknowingly she turned my long run into a fast interval session.

But that is why I really love running with Macca; I get training done and have fun at the same time with her.

Macca

Thank you for all the support

Until next time
Cheers

Slovenia National Sprint Championships

The past weekend was racing again; this time the Slovenian National Sprint Championships. It was quite close to where we stayed, in a little town called Kocevje.

The Slovenian coach fetched us at 11 o’clock on Saturday morning. We put the bikes on the roof of the car, which I’m not used to and just hoped that the bikes will be in one piece when we arrived at the race venue.

We cycled the route once for warm-up with the Slovenian athletes. The manager told us it was a nice flat and fast route but when we cycled before the race, I thought - okay this is not my idea of flat and fast – this was really hilly. I immediately knew this was going to be one hard race. After the cycle warm-up I followed my usual warm-up routine, but I was so relaxed and calm – I did not experience my normal pre-race nerves.

Even when we started, I was quite relaxed, but I felt very good in the swim. I had a good swim and emerged in the lead pack. The cycle was – as expected - very hard with attacks throughout the whole 20km. I could feel how the energy in my legs was draining. Our group stayed together and after a quick transition, we started the run. My legs felt like jelly for the first 500m, but after that, I started to get into a rhythm and felt comfortable. It felt like the hill was getting longer and steeper on every lap of the run. I ended in 4th position – 1st junior. I am very happy with the result.

Carla van Huyssteen from South Africa won the ladies race.

Prize giving - myself and Carla

My European trip is very enjoyable and I am happy and blessed with what I have and can experience.

Until later
Cheers

Swimming in Lake Bled

I love doing some open water training and today was my lucky day.

The few remaining triathletes at base camp went to lake Bled just 5km up the road from where we stay. We planned to go to the lake at 8 am but the weather didn’t play along. It was pouring down early in the morning and the lightning was frightening. Everybody knows lightning + triathletes in water = less competition for other athletes. Soon after the lightning stopped we decided to go for a swim.

Oggie, Rudolf, Carla, Wikus, Henri

When we arrived at the lake we were greeted by a few ducks and swans. We got into our wetsuits and saw a sleeping duck close to the edge of the water so we decided to have fun and see if we can catch it, but it was to fast for us. So then we started with the training set, which really and awesome set! The lake was crystal clear and you could see the fish swimming close to the edge of the lake.

Today’s swimming was really an amazing experience and it gave me a chance to observe the nature in the same time. I once again realised that I am very privileged and blessed to experience this training camp in the beautiful nature of Slovenia.

Living with other athletes

It’s been just over a week since we arrived in Slovenia and so far so good. My first race was AWSOME and living with fellow team members are really good.

But I have to say it is kind of… different. We are divided into groups to prepare the meals for everybody and we have to do our own laundry. I’m not really used to preparing meals, for me, well… 2 minute noodles or hotdogs is a very well planned meal and I am happy if I can prepare that. It is very different to cook for 12 people not just 1, and triathletes eat a LOT! The more food you prepare, the more they eat. They are not just good at the sport they are very good at eating as well.

Lunch time

During the day we stick to what we like to do normally at home apart from the training sessions. Some athletes read, others sleep and some of us just chill and chat. Everyone is unique and has their own way of doing things and keeping themselves busy. We all get along fine and share a lot of jokes. Everyone does his bit to help around the house to keep it clean and neat.

The person we are renting the home from is always helpful and his favourite saying is: “No problem, it’s okay”.

We train hard but also have fun doing it, this is great way of team building, and getting to know each other better. We all knew each other from events in the past, but there is no better way of really knowing a person than to live together like we do now. Super!!

The team will split during this coming weekend. Some athletes will participate in Kitzbuhel, Austria at the World Championship Series and others will participate in Geneva, Switzerland at the European Cup. Henri, Carla, Wikus and I will stay at home base because we are not participating. It will be fun staying behind at home base as we can maybe explore the countryside or just have some fun here at home.

I’m looking forward to listen to all the “war stories” when everybody gets back.

Race in TISZI

Well we are in Europe for racing and training, some of the training has been done and now it was time for some racing. The first race on the calendar was the Tiszi European Cup. We arrived in Tiszaujvaros at 2pm on Friday afternoon after a long 9 hour trip from Radojvlica, Slovenia. We stayed at the Phoenix Hotel, the official race hotel. After we unpacked, it was lunch time – food from the local Spar.

After lunch we went for a quick jog just to get the stiffness out our legs from the bus trip. I felt good in the beginning of the run but towards the end my legs started to feel very heavy, I thought to myself well okay tomorrow (race day) will be a very long and painful day. After the run, the race briefing was held, there I could catch a glimpse of my competitors. All the athletes looked very focused for the race and I was quite relaxed. They announced that the race was in a funny format but the total distance will be the same as normal junior events. The format would be: 2.5km run, 10km bike, 750m swim, 10km bike followed by 2.5 run. It was going to be a hard race, everyone would start running together and go flat taps all the way. But I had good training background so I knew if I was feeling good I can hopefully stick with them.

We wanted to go for a quick cycle late in the afternoon but a huge freak storm prevented us from that, so that didn’t help me calm my nerves. Lucky my race was only at 3pm the next day so I knew there would be time the next morning to go for a quick cycle just to test the legs and check out the route.


Getting ready before the race

 Time didn’t go by very quick on race day, because the race was only late in the afternoon. This spoiled the whole day because you can’t really do something else except focus on the race. I was in the room the whole day just relaxing and watching TV until it was time to rack my bike and do the pre-race warm-up. I was lucky my race number was 6 so I had a good spot in transition.

I went for my warm-up hoping that my legs would feel better than it had the day before. I was in luck as my legs felt fine through the whole warm-up. Finally, it was time to line up at the start and it was intense as everyone was ready to race and looked so focused. The horn went off and we started off at a blistering pace on the first run. My thoughts from yesterday came back to me about this being a long and hard race. After about 1km, a group of about 6 athletes including myself made a break from the rest of the field and when I realised that, I knew that this will be a good race. We entered into transition with only a few seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Sadly the group didn’t want to work together on the bike and the main field caught us just before transition.

The swim leg was next and I was feeling a bit anxious about it because we were all together and I didn’t know the other athletes swim speed. During the swim and we exchanged a few kicks and punches, but it went by pretty fast. When I got out the water I was in the top 6 position. We were all together except for Henri which had a 25sec gap on us. In the front pack were 6 athletes chasing Henri and we caught him on the bike leg just after the turn around point. Suddenly everybody stopped working. It was a huge task to get them to work a bit to stay ahead of the main pack. I knew then that the race would come down to the last run.

I felt pretty good coming of the bike, but the Hungarians were flying out of transition and at some stage I thought well 4th place is good, but it sucks coming 4th. So I decided to dig deep and hope to catch at least 1 guy. Then at 500m into the second run the overall winner caught me, I was in 5th place but slowly creeping my way back to the Hungarian currently in 4th. When I reached him a gave a big surge to pass him, hoping to demoralize him and not wanting him to follow me for a sprint finish. My plan worked kind of - as I passed him and he looked tired but he crawled his way back to me with 300m to go. The crowd was going mad cheering the local guy on to beat me. I dug really deep and just held on to beat him. I was in 4th place, I was happy about that in my first race of the tour. This race was really hard, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

At the prize giving ceremony, we heard that one guy was disqualified so I got 3rd position. This was AWESOME. I couldn’t believe that in the first race I was on the podium. So after this start I hope that the rest of the tour will be as successful as the first race.


On the podium (4th from right)

 Thank you to all my sponsors and everybody who believes in me.

Going on a trip

We are leaving tomorrow – 2 August, for a training camp in Slovenia and then to participate in World Championships during September in Hungary. I’m very excited and can’t wait spending the time with my friends and training partners.

It will be a total new experience to go on a training camp overseas for this period. During 2009 a few juniors went on a camp for 2 weeks to Hungary. It was a lot of fun and a bit weird learning how to communicate with foreign people when you can’t speak their language. At the end we managed to find a way to communicate with them successfully.

I hope that this camp will give me the opportunity to make new friends and enable me to become an improved and complete athlete.

Thanks very much to TSA and all the team managers in particular making this trip happen. Thanks to my other sponsors, TUKS, CycleOps, TYR and Whasp and last but not least - my parents for always supporting and always being there when I need them. I will make you proud!!

Will be back in 6 weeks in SA, but I will keep you updated on my status and what’s happening in Europe.

About me

A little bit of information about me to begin my blog with:

I was born on 14 February 1991 and raised in Vanderbijpark, Gauteng. I matriculated at Hoërskool Driehoek in 2009.

I started with triathlon about 4 years ago. I was challenged to my first race, with no training experience in cycling. At this race, I was the normal, average Joe and didn’t really know what the sport was about or what to expect. I had some swimming and running background, but no cycling experience at all. Yes, I had a bike for some time, which I had won in a competition, but never rode it. At the start of this race, most of the competitors were wearing their trisuits and other triathlon equipment.etc. I was wearing a speedo for swimming, quickly put on a t-shirt and “tekkies” for the cycling and running legs. Honestly, I have to say, I felt out of place. Nevertheless, I was determined to give it my all. I had a good race (2nd in the Provincial Championships) and enjoyed it a lot. From that moment I was hooked. After that race, I started to train more frequently and specific for triathlon – or at least I thought I did, until I met my coach, Lindsey Parry about 2 years ago. Lindsey took me under his wing soon after the World Championships in 2008 in Vancouver – the most horrible race of my life. This was a nightmare time, but I believe everything shouldn’t be always just good – you have to experience the bad as well. Lindsey and my family helped me to stay positive through this time. He assisted with training programs, advise and the big one - motivation. For the first two months I thought he was crazy and I would never be able to train that volumes and intensity. I have to say, he opened my eyes, helped me a lot and is one of my best friends. I have always worked hard to get where I am and I believe to be friendly and honest in life. I’m giving my mind, body and soul to triathlon. My belief is to stay with the same coach for a prolonged time and not to chase “possible” quick success. This is a physically demanding sport, does test your endurance, but still a lot of fun.

I am currently based at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria, where I study and train. I study BA(Human Movement Sciences)(1st year).

My best discipline is cycling and the training for this is also the most enjoyable. My swimming is currently the worst discipline and also the least enjoyable to train.

I would love to train and participate more in off road races as well, for the sake of fun, adventure and cross training. Currently my schedule is very full, but I do this whenever possible. I also enjoy pure cycle races.

I want to project the benefits of a healthy living lifestyle to both kids and adults alike. Healthy living is also fun.

Who knows what the future will bring.....