Mountain Biking race (Legend Gorge MTB Race) 4:19:43 [5] 87.04 km (20.1 kph) +1336m
slept:5.0 shoes: Specialized Epic Comp 2006
0900 - Entabeni Game Reserve, Limpopo. Left 5am for the 270km drive to Entabeni. Luckily it was a late am start, particularly since overcast conditions and a chill wind were also present. Small turnout of about 50 riders on the classic distance event, advertised as 70km and corrected to 75km at race briefing. After start I settled down into 13th and then 10th position. Started noting that each km board was exactly 1.18km on my odometer and thus started planning for a longer race than expected. Caught Brian Gardner for 9th just before the big concrete downhill off the Waterberg escarpment (2000ft in 2km) and re-passed him at the bottom. Then settled into 8th for the tough cycle through the lower reserve. Lots of sand, single track, game viewing, and incredibly lonely, I think I did 25km without seeing a rider or marshal! We then went back up the escarpment on the same concrete track (had to walk about 50%) before I caught 7th and then Ryan Hodierne for 6th. Just missed 4-5 by about 3 mins! Lovely race, very beautiful and quite, as well as challenging. Didn't mind the extra distance either. Av 20.3 Mx 50.7
