MTN's Kevin Evans, South Africa's leading Marathon Mountain biker (and the current winner of the National Mountain Bike Series), had luck and good form on his side to finally get a win in the Ride Mag Crater Cruise at the weekend.
 
The Crater Cruise is slowly becoming an institution in Mountain Biking circles in SA, and it seems to attract a lot of 'road' competitors as well.

The latest edition of the race took place on Saturday in Parys, and it proved to be one of the toughest, and most hotly contested editions of the event.

The 101km Crater Cruise is certainly not just a cruise up and down the banks of the Vaal River in the Vredefort Dome! This event packs a punch, and what it may lack in terms of mountains it certainly makes up for in difficulty! It is a hardcore ride to do at full pace, racing from start to finish, that leaves no one with anything left in the tank once they reach Petit Paris.

The 'road riders' that are attracted to the event for the apparent 'easy' dirt roads are slowly learning that there is enough proper technical trail to ensure that riders with great skills and a lot of power and endurance will take precedence in the natural selection that occurs in mountain bike races! Even if they can survive those obstacles, then there are always the corrugations...

And if that isn't enough to finish you off, then the veld stretch after 90km will surely do it.

Back to the race. Things started off gently this year, with a great field ready to do battle.

The tar section early on was perhaps a bit more relaxed than in previous years, as riders knew what was in store for them. A few riders were enticed by the 'hotspot' after 8km to break clear and try their luck.

Nolan Hoffman of Neotel, not too accustomed to the dirt, used this opportunity to take a prize, and shot off to win the prime, and lead onto the dirt sections.

Hoffman lasted in front a short while, but was soon reeled in and the bunch slowly reduced through some single track detours until the first major obstacle of the day.

Suikerbossie (not the one in the Cape) was a stiff sand/corrugated climb, that featured a King of the mountain Prime on top.

Brandon Stewart of DCM out sprinted the bunch for this prize, but Kevin Evans kept the tempo up after that and the bunch quickly split into small groups as the race headed off the district roads, and into jeep track and a game farm before the main rocky 4x4 track that did what was expected - shatter the field!

Although the front group had swelled before this loose rocky climb, it really fell apart as riders tried to get up with out error or stopping. Evans cruised up, and following after him were Jacques Janse van Rensburg (DCM), Marc Basingthwaite and Philip Buys (Garmin), and Roger Beuchat (Neotel). This five man group lead by about a minute after reaching the halfway point.

The chasing group consisted of Mannie Heymans (Garmin), Brandon Stewart (DCM), Adrien Niyonshuti (MTN), Nico Bell (Bells Cycles) and myself, Nic White (Team Medscheme). The chase was on, but there were more obstacles en-route towards the finish.

The technical trail along the banks of the Vaal in the farm of Baskop took it's toll and Brandon Stewart punctured on a rock, eliminating him from the chasing group.

There is no way of knowing what sort of gap you have to make up, but you try to persevere, hoping that you may be going quicker, or that the front riders slow down.

Our little chase of four rode strongly until the Hakuna Matata sandy patch, and we caught Basingthwaite who had succumbed to the tempo of the front group. Perhaps we were getting closer? But still no visual signs of the front group once back on the district road.

This is where the race really unfolds, with 20km remaining, tired bodies, and a corrugated road that is afraid of no rider!

If you have power, perhaps you can go fast, if not, it is very difficult to move forward at all! I felt good, and put my head down, riding clear of my group. I could see some riders in the distance, and knew there was a slight chance I might catch some of the four riders in front if they started to struggle.

I was not so lucky, and once I reached the last section, 11km of it, veld! I was nearing my end.
I could see Beuchat and Buys in the distance, but my 'good' legs had turned bad, I had 'blown'!. I could get no rhythm over the grass tufts, and with jelly legs was bouncing all over the place atop my hard tail BH bike.

Every now and again I got a glimpse of Beuchat's bright orange Neotel jersey, but could not seem to muster more speed to catch him, as I am sure he was failing as well.

It was a real mind game that became just a survival exercise. I just wanted to get the the finish to be out of the pain that I was in, as every part of my body was aching!

I gave up chasing and just wanted to get to the end. The organisers had sent us through a new forest on some single track, which was not so enjoyable while I was in my state, and then finally a change of direction (and tailwind thankfully) toward to finish.

Sensing that I was near the finish, I saw the Neotel orange jersey again, and Beuchat was getting closer to me quite quickly. Coming up to him, I noticed him battling to control, and ride on, a flat rear wheel, which he must have just punctured, and just in sight of the finish, I passed him with just less than a kilometer remaining.

I barely managed to make it over the bridge that leads up to the finish line, and was relieved to get to the end!

Once I had had something to drink, and could focus again, I learned that Kevin had won, riding away from Janse van Rensburg in the veld section! Buys had done the same to Beuchat, all the riders entering the finish arena alone. (Jacques Janse van Rensburg was disqualified after the race for feeding from a motorbike, apparently it's not allowed in the rules)

Last year's champion, Ben Melt Swanepoel (Specialized Mankele), had suffered a flat on the district road on Suikerbossie's Climb, and repairing the tyre, he had been chasing all day as well, finishing just behind Beuchat! He had felt good, but luck was not on his side on the day, and a mechanical had stripped him of the chance to race in the front.

That is the way of mountain biking! If you have bad luck, and suffer a mechanical incident, there is not much chance to get back into the race and challenge for the win! Sometimes things go perfectly, and other times they don't.

I was pleased to get through the race without any incidents, and felt good for 90km, but a bit limited on the difficult rocky ascent. However it is not easy to judge your effort and have strength left all the way to the finish!

The Result (at prize giving)

1st Kevin Evans, MTN (no times available- but approx. 3h34m)
2nd Philip Buys, Garmin 3h38
3rd Nic White, Team Medscheme 3h39
4th Roger Beuchat, Neotel
5th Ben Melt Swanepoel, Specialized Mankele
6th Nico Bell, Bells Cycles 3h42
7th Mannie Heymans, Garmin