First Ascent Cyanosis Win Kinetic AR

 

With two very competitive First Ascent Cyanosis teams once again lining up at the start of an adventure race....

 

With two very competitive First Ascent Cyanosis teams once again lining up at the start of an adventure race the pressure was certainly going to be on both teams for the bragging rights.  The two teams being First Ascent Cyanosis Mixed consisting of Alex Pope; Jane Swarbreck & Clinton Mackintosh against the very powerful First Ascent Male trio of Nicholas Mulder; Ryno Griesel & Nathan Thompson.  The banter had already started on the Saturday before the race when the Cyanosis team had a 4 hour training ride in the Magaliesburg area, so there was no confusion on the start line what the teams intentions were with each other.  Nicholas & Nathan training for ARWC in October elected to ride the 45km’s to the start of the race after a tough training ride on the Saturday so they were well warmed up while Ryno sensibly decided that riding the 85km odd from PTA would simply not help the cause. 

 

The Kinetic team once again showed their class by electing a great venue and superb racing environment where we raced in to a private reserve.  The race started with a 5km orienteering leg where all teams ran about collecting the CP’s in any order, most of the teams followed what seemed to be the sensible option for collecting the CP’s.   The First Ascent Cyanosis mixed team got in to bike transition first followed by a male pair lead by Richard Kolby and then shortly after that the First Ascent male team.  First Ascent Mixed left the TA and were quickly followed by the Richard and his male team mate, the MTB leg was fast and furious and at the first climb the FA mixed team managed to pull a small gap in to the chasing male pair and opened up a further few minutes on the FA male team.   The gap remained the same throughout the MTB leg which followed jeep tracks in the game reserve, it is hard to believe that just a stones through from the hustle and bustle of city life we have these beautiful areas.  Let’s hope they remain protected for years to come…

 

The MTB leg was a tough bike leg with some technical riding, there was a transition towards the end of the MTB leg that would see one member of the team do a 1km orienteering run.  Alex being the mixed teams navigator bounced off his bike in to the orienteering leg without hesitation and with such ease that before Jane’s and Mac’s bikes hit the ground Alex was gone.  The mixed team had put in a 4min gap on to the chasing teams now together, Richard & Nicholas quickly transition for the orienteering leg and as they were running out Alex returned for the mixed team to collect three more CP’s on the bike leg that would lead them back to Makiti.   A small climb from the orienteering transition and collecting the three remaining CP’s on the MTB leg the First Ascent Cyanosis mixed team headed in to Makiti and on to the small paddle with small but solid gap.  A quick paddle around the Makiti pond and on to the last obstacle leg saw First Ascent Cyanosis Mixed Team win the Kinetic Adventure in 1h33min overall. 

 

A superb turnout of over 100 teams of adventure races with the youngest being 10 years old and the oldest being 69.  Kinetic have really made their events family friendly which shows in the turnout of spectators and or supporters.  Well done to Kinetic and a huge thank you to the Sponsors that contribute to the events.

 

A big thank you to Cyanosis’s sponsors who without their continued support would make our ability to race very difficult -

 

- First Ascent outdoor apparel, Salomon adventure footwear, Petzl headlamps and Foodstate vitamins and supplements.
- Specialized bikes and accessories, Summit Cycles in Midrand, Form and Fitness sports supplements, Suunto field compasses and wrist-top computers, O'Neill wetsuits and Island Tribe sun lotion

 

Cyanosis Adventure Racing Team