Big 5 Plus 1 Babbas Lodge MTB

This weekend I made my way to Babbas lodge for the second leg of the Big 5 plus 1 MTB Series.  It was a sunny yet cool Sunday at the start line of the 70km race. This was not as big participated race as many of the other MTB series races in the country. But there were no shortage of competition. Leading series leader of the USN cup was at the start line, some riders of the COTIC MTB team as well as riders from @Slab.

I did my homework prior to the race. The previous races held at Babbas lodge indicated that the finishing time were quite fast.  I assumed the race would be very fast and flat with no major climbs and elevation.  A vehicle took riders out on the tar with a sharp right turn into the lodge where the actual racing started.  The start was surprisingly calm and the bunch was big. Soon we hit the single track and it was a one on one battle. I stayed at the front and after 5km a group of about 10 riders made the split. Julius Cobbet (Cycle Nation), known previous winner for a few races in this series was riding on a single speed today.  He was the race favorite once again but he soon punctured and was not seen again.

Two riders at the front were clearly in a different league than myself and I was unable to follow. I got to a rocky uphill section and accelerated to get some time on my rivals. Soon I made a thirty second gap on the group behind me and I kept on keeping the tempo.  The route consisted of pretty much a lot of jeep track, some short rocky climbs and fast single track. The speed was very fast and you had to have the correct line around the corners otherwise you were heading for the bush! The loose sand made the route technical and you cannot afford to lose concentration.

I rode on my own for the remaining of the first lap which completed half of the distance. There were some animals on the route including springbok, and cows which I saw. On my second lap I negotiated my way through the back markers of the 35km race, but luckily no problems passing the riders. The single track was the most enjoyable for me with sweeping turns and sand sections which test yours skills on the bike.  The two riders in front made a substantial lead on me so I decided to keep a good tempo staying in third place. I came into the finish and finished in a time of 2:12:54. Third place overall and second Senior men.

The route was very well marked with a bit of everything. I enjoyed the race and was happy with another good performance. Thank you yet again for the great support from my mother and my girlfriend.  

Race results:

1st-  Paulo Van Zweel

2nd- Delaney Impey

3rd- Carel Laubscher

4th- Jason Worman

5th- Johann Naude

Next, I will be racing in the Jackals Trail on Boschkop MTB race.

Until we meet again... Cheers

Carel