Full Sus’s eyes and legs in the 2014 Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek is Diana Carolin (follow her on @di_carolin). Di is racing with Rob Cragg for Craft SA in the Mixed category and she’ll be providing daily updates exclusively for Full Sus throughout the race. Here’s how Stage 2 went for her went:
#SwartbergShowdown – 85.9km & 2 781m ascent
Today (Stage 2) we decided to take it easy in the beginning and save something for the big climb ahead. We rode with a bunch until water point one and a it was quite pleasant. Then pleasant ended and pain started!
A steep climb had me fishing for more gears and the only thing that kept me pedalling was the guy behind me.
We saw a couple of casualties on the descent and just kept plugging along until water point two. There was some brilliant singletrack down to the water point which was the highlight of the ride. After water point two we rode through Wildehondekloof private game reserve, which belongs to Robs’ Dad’s friends and they were there to greet us which was pretty cool!
The climbing had begun and the temperatures were soaring. I had to hang on to Rob’s pocket a few times before the pass already. Then we had a quick stop at water point three and it was off to tackle the beast!
Poor Rob suffered terrible cramps on the way up but he soldiered on and we made it to the top with no stops in seventh place today. We were pretty happy with the effort as neither of us are climbers. All in all it was a very tough day and the leg massage and yummy lunch at the finish was most welcome!
Stage 3: MeiringsMagic – 107km with 1 543m of climbing
From Prince Albert to De Rust Stage 3 offers a respite from the relentless climbing of Stage 2. It’s not to be underestimated though with more technical Karoo trails which could see falls and mechanicals influence the day’s results as much as the tired legs from the day before.
#SwartbergShowdown Drama
There was drama at the sharp end of the race with Scott Factory Racing proving too strong for Team Bulls and one half of the Asrin team. Asrin’s Herman Persteiner soloed to ahead and crossed the line just behind the solo warrior Konny Looser. James Reid tried to punch across to his partner but blew in spectacular fashion when the Scott pairing of Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes countered.
With Reid blown the Scott men road to a comfortable stage victory, claiming R125 000 in the process, while Persteiner stood waiting for Reid beyond the finish line. An agonising 2 and a half minutes ticked by before Reid crossed the line, meaning that a half hour time penalty added insult to the Asrin’s guy’s misery.
In the ladies race the Cape Brewing Company – Biogen Toyota, Jennie Stenerhag and Robyn De Groot were imperious all day, earning the R125 000 with a commanding five and a half minute lead over the Asrin ladies team of Catherine Williamson and Alice Pirard.
The GC Results are yet to be updated, but you can view the stage results by clicking here.
Tweet of the Day:
Get Social
Follow the following for all the Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek updates:
@FullSussa – Us (we’ll retweet the rest)
@bridgeCPT – The official race twitter handle (Run by @OliverMunnik for 2014)
@di_carolin – Racing for Craft SA and providing you with daily updates via Full Sus
@Team_RECM – RECM team manager, Kandice Buys, provides the best info from within the race
@TeamBulls – the UCI pro team and prolific tweeters
@Geralddekock – The voice of cycling
@oakpics – Full Sus’s photographic partners and a mad-cap bunch of photographers
@bigshotmediasa – The team behind the amazing daily TV productions
@ZoonCronje – Xtreme Media’s sharp shooter and the eye in the sky
@KathCrabbe – GM of songo.info doing her first Cape Pioneer
Catch the Pioneer on TV
| Date | Stage | Channel | Time |
| 14 Oct | Stage 2 | Super Sport 8 | 21:00 |
| 15 Oct | Stage 3 | Super Sport 8 | 21:00 |
| 16 Oct | Stage 4 | Super Sport 8 | 21:00 |
| 17 Oct | Stage 5 | Super Sport 8 | 21:00 |
| 18 Oct | Stage 6 | Super Sport 8 | 21:30 |
