First riders finish 2,400km Freedom Challenge

Thursday, 01 July 2010 07:27

First riders finish 2,400km Freedom Challenge

In the very dead of night on Tuesday, June 29, Trevor Ball and Ugene Nel crested the Du Toits Kloof Pass and started the last 10km descent down through the Hawekwas forest to be the first riders to the finish of the 2010 Freedom Challenge non-stop mountain bike race from Pietermaritzburg to Diemersfontein Wine Estate in Wellington.

Ball and Nel's lights were seen crossing the dam wall at Diemersfontein at 1:48am. Despite the late hour Ball's two children were wide awake and excited by their father's return. The adventure racing duo were part of the first group of riders to leave Pietermaritzburg on Saturday 12 June, and successfully completed the 2,400km race in 16 days and 20 hours. Whilst they had not set out to win the race or set new records they were determined to remain the first two tyre tracks on the race course. Entering the last third of the race the determined pair started riding substantial distances and, over the last few days, worked off very little sleep as they rode deep into the night.

Leaving the support station at Rouxpos in the Swartberg foothills on Sunday morning Ball and Nel rode over 200km through the Anysberg Nature Reserve, across the Little Karoo to Montagu and on to MacGregor arriving just before midnight. They slept for an hour and then continued on, following the old wagon route over Coeniesrivier into the Agterkliphoogte Valley. Resisting the lure of great food and hospitality at the Oestervanger Guest House on the farm Kasra they then continued over the Trappieskraal to Trouthaven in the valley of the Holsloot, arriving in the early afternoon of Monday.

Aware of the 10km portage up the valley of the Stettynskloof that lay ahead they then pushed on. Arriving at the Stettynskloof Dam with three hours of daylight remaining, the fatigued pair elected to run the footpath that now threads its way up the valley, rather than risk having to find their way through at night. In the last light of the day they emerged from the valley and were able to pick their way down to the Elandspad jeeptrack.

The last 22km of the race route from the Elandspad through to the finish at Diemersfontein Wine Estate normally take riders two hours to complete. It took the exhausted Ball and Nel eight hours. Notwithstanding their debilitated state the two arrived in Diemersfontein in high spirits, "it was the best adventure yet" Trevor Ball "you think 16 days is impossible but then you get there and you find you can. Unbelievable fun." The two were being chased across in the latter half of the race by fellow adventurer Alex Harris. At one point Harris was only six hours behind them. However, their long nights and little sleep allowed them to keep ahead of him.

Alex Harris, the Freedom Challenge dark horse, arrived in Diemersfontein 12 hours after Ball and Nel, finishing on Tuesday at 14h10. Harris who started in Pietermaritzburg three days behind them, was forced to chase the two across the country, "you know what it's like chasing after two tyre tracks for 14 days and to know that you are moving faster then them but still can't catch them" Harris completed his race in 14 days 8 hours and 10 minutes, the second fastest recorded time in the history of the Freedom Challenge.

Whilst this was Harris’ first Race Across South Africa it was not his first time on the race course "I spent time in some of the tricky sections to make sure that I didn't have any navigation issues" Harris credits his quick time to sticking to his race strategy. "My strategy was to ride strong every day and avoid doing risky portages at night". True to his strategy Harris arrived at the final support station at Trouthaven at 15h40 on Monday. When some of the other serious contenders and veteran campaigners might have pushed into the night, Harris bunked down for the night; "I wanted to do Stettyns in the light so I could see the path but also to appreciate the beauty of the valley after a very long race"

Firmly settled in at Diemersfontein, Harris must now wait to see how the rest of the field fares. Leading contender, Carl Crous, left the support station at Cambria on Sunday night at midnight and rode up the length of the Baviaanskloof to Willowmore, arriving in the late afternoon. Leaving again at midnight he continued across the expanse of the Moordenaars Karoo to Prince Albert. However, like so many of the riders further back in the field he was lashed by gale force winds and often forced to push his bike. Despite arriving in Prince Albert in the early afternoon and marginally ahead of Harris on lapsed time, he stopped for the day, stating “The wind has taken it out of me. My race is over”. However, by midnight he was on the move again and it must now be seen whether he can better the pace of Harris over the last 500km of the race.

Elsewhere in the field, Giant rider Glenn Harrison riding a 29er seems set to better the existing single speed record for the Freedom Challenge Race Across South Africa. After battling corrugations and rain in the Moordenaars Karoo, Harrison was then confronted with heavy headwinds as he rode across the Little Karoo towards Montagu. Now, with a small weather window, he is riding towards the Stettynskloof and the possibility of finishing on Wednesday, a day behind Harris with whom he started in Pietermaritzburg and at least five days inside the existing single speed record that was set by Andre Britz in 2006.