Sus the Magalies Monster Stats:
Date: 24 May 2014
Distance: 45km
Total Ascent: 830m
Report by: Martin Vos @MartinvosVos
In 2011 I did my first ever mountain bike race, the 45km Magalies Monster. Prior to this race I did a couple of road races on the mountain bike I bought at a retail store. Before the Monster in 2011 I bought an Avalanche ATX 26er 24 speed with a 52/46/38 road crank in the front, mechanical brakes and tubes (A very entry level bike). It was great for flat and down hills but for a race like the Monster, it was totally the wrong bike.
It was also the first race I rode with cleats.
Needless to say I had a horror of a race and came home with more than one scar. I finished the 45km in 4:11:53. And I’ve had many nightmares since about the Magalies Monster, and for that reason I have not been back to face it again.
So on 24 May 2014 I decided to face my fears and tackle the FNB Magalies Monster again. I entered in the 45km, with the nightmares of 2011 still haunting me, I did not have the guts to face the full might of the 80km Monster yet.
A friend and fellow mountain biker Robert drove with me to the start as it would be his first Monster. The morning was fresh, with a nip in the air. But we were full of anticipation for what was to come we looked forward to a great day on the bikes.
The event was once again expertly put together by Stillwater Sports and Entertainment, and thanks to some big name sponsors the Magalies Monster is growing stronger year by year. This year was no different, there were a record amount of riders and it showcases the fact that mountain biking is the growing so rapidly at the moment.
The FNB Magalies Monster consists of 80km Monster, 45km Mini Monster and 20km fun race. The event starts and ends at the beautiful ATKV Buffelspoort. The route consists of jeep track, farm roads, district roads, cement climbs, steep rocky and loose rock technical climbs, fast rocky descents and not to mention the beautiful flowing single track. If you had the time to take in the views in and around the Buffulspoort Dam we are truly blessed to ride mountain bikes in South Africa. The 80km Marathon was also the first one day race to add the Tread Buffalo category on the race (for the heavy weights on the bikes)
The only negative experience of the day was the group start. I really would recommend for 2015 that the event organisers look at batch starts, as the race is growing it really would help to prevent bottle necking. We got stuck behind a lot of slower riders in the shoots and unfortunately lost about 15 to 20 minutes trying to work our way through the group. Once clear of the group the race started but I lost Robert within the first 2km, as he was not as lucky as I was to weave through the group. I was very surprised to find that my nightmares were totally unfounded; like they normally are when you face your fears head on. Or maybe I was just that much stronger and wiser that I was when I did my first Monster in 2011.
For a start I was on a better put together bike and had 3 years’ experience on my side. When we hit the first big climb I was surprised and thought to myself “this is rideable” and yes it was unfortunate that I lost momentum due to some walkers not getting out of the way quickly enough, so I had to stroll up the “koppie” for a bit, but not for long I hopped back on and rode most of it out. How I remembered it in 2011 was the downhill section that followed the “koppie” was not rideable either, but thanks to the skills I’d obtained in the years between then and now I rode it comfortably. Again only to be held up a little by slower riders on the single track, but that is part of the racing. The only really un-rideable section for me this year was at about 20km, after a river crossing where the route climbed up a short steep section.
The first 25km of the race took me two hours exactly, so at that point I figured my aim of completing the race in less than three hours was not reachable. But the road flattened out and most of the climbing was done. I dug deep and started flying, I had lots of fun on the last half of the race and finished the last 20km in just about an hour. My finish time was 3:05:49. I’m very happy with this result as you can imagine!
Robert came in 3:50:16 well done on your first Magalies Monster.
McNabs, the feel good company, appointed me as there Feel Good Ambassador and using their Supercharged tablets and protein bars finishing the race I was not even winded and I really felt that I could go and ride the route again. It was that much fun.
While waiting at the finish for Robert I was lucky enough to see the winner of the marathon race Nico Pfitzenmaier coming in to take the first place. We waited around to cheer on some of the other marathon riders coming in, and if the way they looked when they came in was anything to go by the 80km Marathon is not called the Magalies Monster for no reason!
Overall it was a great race and I’d like to say thank you to McNab’s for their support, Stillwater for putting together a great event. All the medics and support staff that were friendly at all the well-stocked water points and the guys building such great routes and of course without headline sponsors like FNB, Isuzu and Bokomo supporting the great sport of mountain biking none of this would be possible.
P.S. I will be back to race it again! Great race…
