Endurance rider Dion Guy broke his own record, which he set last year, when the Trans Xhariep finished at the Gariep A Forever Resort, Gariep Dam, on Saturday.
Dion Guy broke his own record when the Trans Xhariep finished at the Gariep A Forever Resort, Gariep Dam, on Saturday. Photo: George Stroebel
Last year Guy completed the 315km race in 12 hours 14 minutes and 36 seconds. At the weekend he finished it in 11 hours, 34 minutes and 57 seconds – just over six minutes ahead of Michael Chumbley.
“It feels great to have broken the record, especially since my main goal was to go under 12 hours and in doing so to break the record.
“My preparation was really good this year. My mental preparation was good leading into the event and my nutrition was very well planned.
“Knowing from last year how the wind was a game changer I knew exactly where we were going into a headwind and for how long. So this year there was a lot more preparation.”
Guy said when he crossed the line he felt mentally fatigued.
“The last 40km were very difficult to remain focused, so crossing the line I was relieved. My body was totally exhausted and will probably be for the next couple of days. But I was very happy to have broken the record.”
The 47-year-old added that it was a really tough race this year.
“The weather however was on our side, with an overcast cool day.
“I think everyone there was in great shape and brought their A game, so there was lots of pressure from the outset.
“Last year I broke away at the 15km mark and rode by myself, with the group chasing. I knew this year they wouldn’t let me do the same.”
He said the pace in the beginning was hard and driven by the team of Aiden Choles and Rudi Jansen van Rensburg, who probably were trying to limit any attacks off the front.
“The bunch split through a technical section and Aiden and Rudi saw a gap and attacked. There were a couple of us that bridged. At the first checkpoint where you were allowed supporters a lot of the front bunch stopped.
“At that point I kept on riding through, rather sacrificing water for a bit of time, which paid off. Mike eventually caught up with me and we rode together until around 70km where we then parted ways.
“This year I was under a lot of pressure. The second solo rider and first team remained within 3 to 5km from me at all times.”
Guy said the weather turned on them at around 190km with a very bad thunderstorm, which turned the road and track to mud.
“Average speeds went from 25km/h and more to around 12km/h with severe headwinds, so it was just head down and remembering everyone was going through the same.
“At that point I started questioning whether the record could still be broken. Luckily from around 260km we had a great tailwind for most of the way home, so that made up for the mud and the headwind.”
He added that they knew from last year the wind was always going to be a challenge, but he was aware of where they were going to have a strong headwind and used that to his advantage, pushing harder through those and trying to increase the time between himself and the chasing group.
“I was also on a Curve GMX gravel bike, so I knew that on the technical sections I would lose time against the mountain bikes. So those sections I had to push a lot harder to limit the losses.
“Interestingly enough, looking at the results after the race, those sections were where I actually increased the time gap.”
Guy said racing in the front by oneself for that amount of time was difficult, especially knowing that the chasers would be sitting and working in groups.
“At that point you just have to remain focused and set small goals from point to point.”
Regarding highlights, Guy said it was weird but somehow these were always the points where he suffered the most.
“Being caught in a thundershower with mud everywhere knowing you still had over 100km with lightning striking around you was definitely one of them.
“Also, it’s a beautiful part of the country, ranging from hills to vast open grassland. It’s just a fantastic way to see the countryside.”
