Comments on i-flex Momentum National Duathlon Series 2010
The fifth event of the i-flex Momentum National Duathlon Series 2010 hosted in the mountain bike haven of Giba Gorge seems to have been a hit amongst the race favourites.
Comments start:
“I thought that the whole route was great. I spend enough time riding my MTB to be able to give the bike route a full go but I think that it was good for mountain bikers. The run was also great. I was actually wondering why they don’t organise some trail run races down there.’
“My only criticism would be that the routes were open to the general public to ride on. I had to slow and stop a couple of times on my second lap to wait to get around people who weren’t in the race. This was not a train smash because I was not ‘racing’. I know that had I been racing, I would not have been able to contain my impatience as well as I did. So I am sure the guys at the front would have found it frustrating.” Donovan van Gelder
“Giba Gorge has a good mix of fast and intermediate trail running sections and it’s not too technical.” Charne Bosman
“The course was awesome, the run was pretty fast and flat and my little legs battled to keep up wit the guys. The bike was phenomenal, single-track was perfect for me. I’ve done three off-road duathlons before this but I had a lot of fun at Giba Gorge.” Tyron White
“Tyron White made up an incredible amount of time on his 29er, that guy can ride,” said Carel Bosman afterwards.
“I actually found the course pretty difficult. I’m not used to the single-track so I battled quite a bit on the bike but I’m happy with my result overall.” John Ntuli
“I train here at Giba all the time so that definitely played to my advantage. I thoroughly enjoyed the course that the Series laid out for us. This is my third off-road duathlon and I’m still a newbie when it comes to trail running, so I had to make up a huge amount of time on the bike. My coach Carl Storm said I should give the race a bash and I’m glad I did. I’m really getting into multisport and I’ll definitely be back next year.” Shawna Thunder
Thunder tip: It’s very important to try and get there the day before to check out the course. Giba is very technical and you don’t want any nasty surprises along the way. Be prepared.
“I had great fun. I’m new to mountain biking so I didn’t have the confidence to tackle the more technical parts of the bike route at full speed. I’ll definitely be back next year though.” Lisa Baumann
“I loved every moment of the race. I’m actually more of a mountain biker than a runner, but I did like the fact that we got to do two laps of the run and the bike.” Laetitia Botha
Laetitia’s tip: I think it’s easier to take time out of someone on the bike compared to running, so work on your riding if you’re not a strong mountain biker or roadie. Just because you’re a strong runner doesn’t mean you’ll do well in duathlon. Don’t neglect the bike aspect.
“I really hope the KZN round of the Series comes to Giba again next year. The bike course definitely rewarded the riders with more technical skills, in some places there was no room for error.” Brand du Plessis
Brand’s tip: Set yourself achievable goals and work towards them. Love what you do.
“I was really surprised to see how well Brand du Plessis rode the mountain bike course, as road is his preferred discipline.” JP ten Napel
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