“Stoltz claims scorching victory” Argus MTB media release

Created on 07 March 2010 Conrad

Conrad Stoltz CT Mountain Bike

MEDIA RELEASE

(Caveman report to follow shortly…)

For Immediate Release

Stoltz claims scorching victory

(Stellenbosch, 7 March 2010) Approximately 4,500 riders battled it out in this weekend’s Cape Argus Pick n Pay Mountain Bike Challenge. The 2010 MTB Challenge will certainly be remembered for its unbearably hot conditions, with temperatures reaching up to 42’C on today’s 35km and 55km routes.

Triple XTERRA world champ, South African Conrad Stoltz, was first to cross today’s finish line, winning the 55km race. “I stopped three times to refill my water bottles. Pros don’t stop,” Conrad explained when asked about today’s heat. Also known as “The Caveman”, American-based Stoltz was impressed with the course: “It’s of a high technical standard and really challenged the riders. My Specialized 29er Epic was the perfect bike for this course- the big wheels just floated over the rocks and deep sand”

Meurant Botha, Co-Organiser of the MTB Challenge, is very happy with how the revised format, which saw the event taking place over two days, worked out. “Saturday had a more laid-back family vibe, whilst Sunday was noticeably more competitive with some great racing. This is exactly how we envisioned it.”

Now THIS is a race report!

Created on 27 February 2010 Conrad

Conrad Stoltz Dan Hugo
Pic by Gary Perkin

Xterra Grabouw

Kevin Flanagan, 23 Feb 2010

Grabouw, 1.5km swim, 25km mtb, 10km trail run

By Kevin Flanagan

I “raced” the Xterra off road triathlon on the weekend. It’s really the grand daddy of off road triathlons in South Africa. It is a series of triathlons held around the country, and it was Cape Town’s / Western Cape’s turn last weekend.

(Note: you have a big artery running down the inside of your legs, so if you want to cool down quickly, drop ice in your pants… this will help explain the last little bit of the race report)

Keeping the faith – Xterra race report

Don’t worry; I’ll be that good oke! I’ll give you +-300 days of warning before the next Xterra. If you think you are going to pitch up on the day, take on the Xterra, go out there and dazzle someone, please kindly get back in your car and go home. I had been warned, I had seen the weather the report (42 deg C), I had even put in some extra training, but crisis I did not get told I was going to be racing in hell.

Click here for the rest of this hilarious piece…

This one time, at band camp, I rode 300 Watts for 3hrs

Created on 23 February 2010 Conrad

300w-for-3hrs

Since I ate my helmet, (and embraced training technology when we started base training about a month ago.) I have been enjoying training with my Power Tap thoroughly. (Rent your Power Tap today from the folks at Saris/CycleOps, South Africa)

For Valentines’ Day, my coach Ian Rodger gave me 3 hrs at 300 Watts. So romantic. I rode to the top of Franschoek pass, and being new to trying to keep a constant power, I’ll tell you, trying to do 300W downhill through the road works in Pniel or down the main street of Franschoek with tourist drivers, speed bumps and couples on Valentines dates, gave a new meaning to “adrenaline”…

Also, going down the pass I tried to shape myself into a parachute, because the 53×11 was not enough. Fortunately those 28mm Specialized Armadillo tires at 60psi helped slow things down and smooth the road a bit.

“Stoltz claims scorching victory” Argus MTB media release

Now THIS is a race report!

Xterra Grabouw

This one time, at band camp, I rode 300 Watts for 3hrs

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