Sani2C 2017 - 4 days, not 3, of sublime mountain biking!

Another year, another Sani2c. Number 6, to be exact. This year we put a whole new spin on Sani2c, took a few risks and it turned out to be our best one yet. I just cannot stay away from this very special race.


We arrived in Underberg the Monday morning, a day before the start of the Sani2c Trail. We had planned that this year we’ll do a Day 0 ride for the first time. A ride up the Sani pass to the highest pub in Africa the day before Day 1 of Sani2c. We actually planned to do it last year, but cancelled those plans after I forgot my passport at home. This year there were enough jokes going around to make sure that I do not commit such a travesty twice. We left Scottburgh, where we spent the weekend early on Monday morning determined to hit Lesotho by noon. It was a misty and dark morning and the drive to Underberg wasn’t overly pleasant due to the incessant mist. We arrived to a misty Underberg with a minor chance of rain in the air. We had woken up early and did the early drive, we were there so there were no backing out now. We also created an event on facebook for anyone that would’ve wanted to tag along. Arriving at Glencairn farm, where we started, it was just us. That didn’t bug us at all. We were hell bent on Lunch in Lesotho.


When we set off it was still a little misty, but as we made our way to the foot of the pass the mist and clouds cleared completely to what turned out to be a stunner of a day. We had a 10km ride on the tar road before the start of the actual pass. A 20km dirt road snaking its way through the Mkhomazi Wilderness area up the mountain to the top of Sani pass and the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. Once we hit the dirt road we had 13km to the SA Border post and then 7km from there to the top and the Lesotho border post. We knew we had close on 1400 meters of climbing over the 20km distance. Knowing what was waiting for us made this ride really daunting, but not having done so much climbing in such a short distance before also meant that we did not know exactly what to expect. The last challenge was that the top of the pass was at 2874 meters above sea level which means that the air would be super thin. Neither of us have ever ridden at that altitude.


The start of the pass starts gradually and relatively flat. It helps as it saves your legs but also puts a mental weight on you in terms of what is still to come. We climbed 400 meters in the first 10km and another 100 meters in the next 3km that took us to the SA border post. We had 900 vertical meters that we still had to gain and only 7 km to do it in. When we do a training ride at home and we do 900 meters of ascent on a 70 km ride, we’d adjudge that a decent morning out on the bike. Today, we’d do that in 7km.

It was a daunting sight as we left the border post. From a few kms back already we could see the final switchbacks etched into the mountain side. We could also see the road along the mountain side leading towards the switchbacks. The good thing was that we weren’t that far from it anymore. The problem was that we were still much lower and the sight of what was still to come was unnerving as hell. The closer we got the more the road started to spike. Corners became steeper, the road surfaced worsened and the air became thinner. Still we were riding strong and after what was at that point the steepest and most difficult part of the ride we made it to the final stretch of mountain side road that we were staring at for most of the morning. The views were out of this world, barely masking the screaming legs that got us to this point. And soon enough we made it to the bottom of the switchback section.


We stopped here to catch some breath, take in some views and ready ourselves for the last stretch. We had spent nearly half an hour on the last 1.5 km leading up to this point and now had another 1.5km to the top. From here, it’s a daunting sight. You can’t see the top, only a cliff face and a loose, rocky, dirt switchback road. How many switchbacks? I still don’t know. This last section was a blur. This was the toughest climbing I have ever done by a country mile. The surface is harsh, covered by loose rock and dust. The road is steep, at an average gradient of just under 15% for the final 1.5km and the air is thin, at over 2600 meters above sea level. We stopped twice during this last 1.5km, something quite uncharacteristic from the way we ride. Every time we stopped it felt as if my heart was beating in my head. You could hear it, you could feel it, as if it was wanting to escape from my chest. I remember stopping on a corner with 700 metres left to the top and thinking “I’m not sure I can do this”. You’ve always heard these stories of people turning around a few 100 metres from a summit when mountaineering and you can’t help but think “You were right there! Why not just push on for that measly few metres.”. Well, this put it in perspective. With only 700 metres to go we were still far from the top. In fact, we still couldn’t see it. Just a crazy steep road and another switchback. Fighting my way through the thin air I took the last right turn and saw the Lesotho border post as I looked up. Man, what a great feeling. Sani pass – 2873 metres above sea level. We’ve made it to the Mountain Kingdom by conquering the biggest climb we’ve ever attempted. Lunch and a beer at the highest pub in Africa was in order.

The trip down was fast and fun, yet hard on the hands and arms. In no time we were back down the mountain and met up with the family at Glencairn farm. We still had time for a shower before race briefing. An epic day it was indeed, but now it was time for Sani2c.


The next day we woke feeling fresh despite the arduous ride of the day before. We started in the C batch and set off towards the front of the bunch. The plan was clear. Keep it steady and well within ourselves. If we were to ride a hard Day 1 after a tough Day 0, there was no doubt that Day 2, the toughest day of the three, would have us for breakfast. The plan was to sit in the back of the bunches that form over the early stretch of the day as we made our way over the rolling hills of the Underberg area. We did just that and stuck with the front bunch, sitting at the back. I was happy to let the bunch go when I felt we were burning unnecessary matches, even if it meant Erno needed to sit up when he wanted to race. There were a few times during the early parts of the three days when Erno wanted to go hard and I just kept the steady pace. Being more conservative during the early parts of the stages definitely paid dividends towards the latter parts.

Throughout the day we kept a steady pace. A pace that was probably faster than we’ve ever ridden, but still comfortable and well within ourselves. After waterpoint 2 we had 16 kms to negotiate to the finish. This included Bowman’s climb, which was one of the biggest climbs of the day, before a long fast downhill section took us into the final few rolling kms. Going up one of the last hills I had a minor twitch in my left leg but managed it well by pulling back for a short while and having a gel. That was the closest I’d come to cramping over the entire race. We would push on towards the finish and cross the finishing line in a time of 4 hours and 16 minutes, 12 minutes faster than our previous fastest time. The legs were still in good shape even though I could feel we had two days of proper riding behind us. What wasn’t good anymore was my brake pads that I had to replace after that Sani pass descent took its toll on them. Tomorrow would be the big test with the new Iconic climb being a big talking point. But first it was time to eat well, recover, get a massage and sleep early.


We started Day 2 in B batch… and yes, there are still many riders in B batch with terrible technical skills. Be that as it may we still had a rad time dropping into the Umkomaas valley. Again, early on in the day I was very wary of going too hard. We kept a good pace, but I never went into the red. We soon peeled off onto the new route as we climbed our way out of the valley. The climb out is now a few kms shorter but with a sharper gradient, meaning that the amount of climbing remained the same. Iconic climb is a beast of a climb, but after climbing the switchbacks of Sani pass, I was pretty confident I could ride it. It was steep but very rideable. The biggest risk is that there are many riders pushing their bikes and there is only one riding line. You need but one inconsiderate pusher to spoil your climb. Again, I kept a steady pace, expecting a good 40 minutes of climbing on Iconic. I based this on Joberg2c times I saw on Strava. Reaching the top was a highlight and my major objective of the day. We ended up riding Iconic climb in 27 minutes. The new route was a nice change from a section of the race that used to tire me mentally. I had a few bites on a Spur burger at waterpoint 2 and we headed straight into a brand new trail section that was super fun. We headed into the dirt road section between the Sappi highflats plantations and kept on pushing a steady pace. When Erno decided to push hard I felt good and decided to go with. We were flying through the plantations and reached waterpoint 3 in no time. From here we kept the pressure on, the legs never failing. We crossed the finish line in a time of 5:23. Our fastest by more than just the proverbial country mile. The best of all was how good we felt throughout the entire day. We were strong from start to finish. Unexpected, but a great feeling.

We had a relaxing day at Jolivet and, as per usual, we supported the local shool’s fundraiser by doing our bit at the bar. We still hit the tents early to make sure we had a good night’s rest ahead of the last day of riding. We were keen to hit the beach! The morning of day 3 I woke up early with stomach cramps and battled a bit with my stomach through the course of the morning. On the start line I felt rather empty, even though the legs didn’t feel too bad. I kept it steady throughout the first few kilometres and ate everything I had on me. The first waterpoint was 23 kms in and it arrived just in time. I stuffed myself with boerewors, bacon and a bun to try and get rid of this empty feeling. We set off again and I decided to keep the pace conservative. I could see that Erno was looking to go hard but I wasn’t feeling great yet. A few kms after the waterpoint a couple who we’ve seen quite a bit over the last two days wizzed passed pushing a good pace. I started feeling better after the spread at waterpoint 1 and decided to jump on their wheel. Erno followed suit. At one of the crossroads in the sugarcane plantations a biggish group returned from making a wrong turn and we formed one big group. The riders in this group were strong and we were now flying through the plantations and into the forest sections in this group. I felt better and better the more we pushed. We eventually made it to Vernon Crookes and climbed to the top still feeling good. We rode the entire singletrack descent out of Vernon Crookes on our own, flying down with Erno leading the way. Soon enough we made it to waterpoint 2 where we quickly refilled and had a bite to fuel us for the last 28 odd kms. We were both now feeling good. We kept on riding a fast and steady pace. I knew through Rocky Bay trails on the Ellingham Estate we would encounter my last nemesis of the race, a trail section called ‘The Three Bitches’. I was waiting for it to come but was riding so strong that I didn’t even see the route marker announcing the start of, what for me was, the last tough bit of Sani. We pushed right through and before I knew it we were out of Ellingham Estate and pushing towards the final few kms of Sani2c. We were feeling great! The last few kms, even though it’s not an overly tough day, of Day 3 always had me suffering, but today, I was feeling in a different league. We kept the pace on until the end, so much so that Erno almost lost his front wheel and dived off the embankment onto the highway. Luckily he kept it upright and we hammered the final few kms to beach. We ended Day 3 in a time of 3:45. Again, our best time on Day 3 by a long way. We had an amazing day with amazing weather to boot.

The next day the rains started coming down. It rained the whole day every day right through the weekend. We were not only blessed with great legs throughout our four days of riding, but had amazing weather. For the riders starting a day or two behind us it was a torrid Sani with less than half of the field finishing the race. They had a wet and cold Sani2c, whilst we didn’t even start any of our days with arm warmers or a jacket. We were extremely lucky, indeed.


This was our best four days of riding ever. Not only the experience, the vibe and the trails, but the way our bodies rose to the challenge and felt good for every last km of the race. We gambled by riding up the pass, but decided to do it for the experience and that we’ll handle any consequences (.e.g. fatigued bodies) that it may have over the subsequent three days. Turned out that riding at that altitude and going that deep in the red that high up had a major physiological benefit for us. I’ve never experienced such good legs at the end of the tough days. We could push big gears and ride hard in times where we historically were struggling. Our preparation went well and we were healthy, which is extremely important, but I cannot discount the effect that just that one day of altitude riding had on our Sani2c. Yes, riding more conservatively at the start of each day also played a part and I’m sure also a multitude of other aspects I’m not even considering, but the fact remains that a big ride the day before Sani2c were supposed to tire us out but had quite the opposite effect. We’ll just have to do the same in 2018…