Craig Uria, a chiropractor by profession, is hoping to use the Barberton XCM MTB Challenge ultra-marathon tomorrow as preparation for his big goal of the season: the Cape Epic in March.
Uria said some time ago he and Andrew Duvenhage, his intended partner at the Epic, had been labelled “the working-class heroes” as they have full-time jobs.
Craig Uria (pictured) is hoping to use the Barberton XCM MTB Challenge ultra-marathon tomorrow as preparation for the Cape Epic in March. Photo: David Tarpey/Stillwater Sports
Both Duvenhage and Uria, who finished third and fourth respectively behind NAD Pro’s Gawie Combrinck and Nico Bell last year, plan to take part in the 110km Barberton event this weekend.
“Andrew and I want to use it as prep for the Epic since it’s an ultra-marathon with over 2 500m of climbing.
“It’s one of our first big races of prep. It will be a long day in the saddle.”
Uria said he and Duvenhage had remained committed to their build-up since November, which meant they had no time off the bike in the off season.
Despite their day jobs and family responsibilities, the two have not deviated from their plans for the season.
“We both pretty much run our own businesses, have families and get our training done at 4.30 every morning before work,” he said, explaining the origins of their “working-class heroes” nickname.
“Yet we still try to race against the elites and that’s the goal. In the Epic we’ll be racing in the UCI category and I’ll try to hold my own.
“[Therefore] Andrew and I plan to use the Barberton as a sort of dress rehearsal.”
The 37-year-old said the climbing factor in the race was a drawcard for him and Duvenhage and had resulted in them returning to compete every year.
“We are familiar with the route so it never gets easier, but we’ll still hope to be faster and more efficient,” Uria said.
“It’s certainly not too technical, a component I actually prefer, but it has a vast amount of climbing that offers good training.”
Bell and Combrinck are expected to take part again tomorrow. Uria did not see them necessarily as competition but rather as a gauge to see “how long we can hold their wheels for”.
