endurance sport

SA XCO #3 and WC XCO Weekend at Bloemendal.

Hot. It was very hot. But the racing was even hotter. (Go King of cliches). On a weekend that turned into a celebration of cross country mountain biking that saw the cream of the crop in South Africa meet at the Bloemendal Trail Park on the outside of Durbanville near Cape Town, the intense heat was the big equaliser. Manage your temperature and look after your bike, and the rest will be easy. That at least was the theory. ItClick to read more and to see the event image gallery

South African National Road Race Championship

(Via Cycling SA) Hayley Preen and Marc Pritzen were crowned the 2021 South African National Road Race Champions in Swellendam today. Pritzen claimed the under-23 title in the same race. Preen won the women’s elite road race (133km) in a time of 4:18:06 while Pritzen pipped Willie Smit to the post in a time of 4:51:42 in the men’s elite race (178km). Pritzen is Namibian-born but is a South African registered rider, allowing him to participate in the South AfricanClick to read more and to see the event image gallery

South African National Road Race Championships

(Via Cycling SA) Ryan Gibbons and Candice Lill claim 2021 Individual Time Trial titles at South African National Road Race Championships in Swellendam On a day not entirely suited to the individual time trial pursuit, Ryan Gibbons (UAE Team Emirates) and Candice Lill (faces.africa) claimed the men’s and women’s National Time Trial titles at the 2021 South African National Road Race and Time Trial Championships in Swellendam. Gibbons completed the 40km men’s time trial course in a time of 51:24.08,Click to read more and to see the event image gallery

Harvest Trail Run

What with the second national Covid lockdown and the uncertainty for event organisers of organising a race that can be cancelled at the drop of a Government ministers fedora, it’s been exactly 3 months and a day since I shot my last sports event. It’s been so long in fact, that high summer has been replaced by the first chilly tentacles of an autumn that is due to make a proper head-on assault any day now. Of course, that’s theClick to read more and to see the event image gallery

The U 2021

Greetings from Piket-Bo-Berg Trails! The U 2021 Date Announced. We’re all about Spring here in our fruit-farming valley. It’s a beaut of a time in the Southern Hemi.  For that reason, we’ve decided to bring our boutique stage race, The U, a few weeks earlier, right into the heart of Spring. Of course, this won’t affect our exclusive offering and we’ll be sure to create a more than ‘EPIC’ experience with our incredible hospitality, personal touches, mind-blowing trails and scenic raceClick to read more and to see the event image gallery

Robben Island Escape

Speedo Robben Island Escape December 2020: The December 2020 version of the Robben Island Escape started with the usual nervous boat boarding for the shuttle to Robben Island at 6:00 am. Below perfectly clear skies, the sun that promised a pleasantly warm day was only now popping the top of its lazy head over the horizon. All of this belied the unseen preparations behind the scenes that had seen the boat skippers crawling out of bed at 3:30 am toClick to read more and to see the event image gallery

PPA, Double,century, heat

Brutaly high temperatures led to heat and strong winds being the order of the day at the 2020 PPA Double Century. Based in the town of Swellendam, the race meanders around Barrydale, Montague and Robertson before winding its way tortuously back to the finish via a series of 3 brutal hills known as the 3 maidens. It got so hot that at 1:00pm when the mercury officially hit 36 degrees C, while some cycle computers were showing in the midClick to read more and to see the event image gallery

A Gloriously Wet and Muddy Western Cape XCO MTB Series #3

This WC XCO race can only be described as a  very wet and muddy affair. These images were taken at an event and in a location that should have been a dry dustbowl in mid-October. The rain gods of Elgin had other ideas, however, producing a non-stop deluge of water here in the Western Cape for the entire week preceding the race. As a photographer, I love this kind of stuff because even though it makes it incredibly hard toClick to read more and to see the event image gallery

Speedo, open water,elgin,swimming

I was lucky enough to be asked to shoot the Speedo open water swim clinic at Elgin River Lodge near Grabouw. The day was a fund raiser to help get Olympic open water swimmer Michelle Weber to the 2021 Olympic Games. Participants learnt some skills and techniques from Michelle and had a practical session in the chilly Palmiet River, which due to a good rain season is full to the brim. Big Bay Events were as usual on hand toClick to read more and to see the event image gallery