Bull of Africa

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Cyanosis Powerade… in another kind of place

Lisa de Speville / 30.06.2005

The one benefit of reporting from a home-based race is that I have the pleasure of seeing dear friends out on the route and in some way I am able to “watch over� them. For weeks I’ve had AR-ers asking who I would bag for a win and how I thought Cyanosis Powerade, Mazda Salomon, DueSouth and company would perform against teams like Balance Vector, Merrell/Wigwam Adventure and Cross Sportswear, who we’ve seen only on tv and online.

In terms of South African placings… my money has been on Mazda Salomon and Cyanosis Powerade. I was uncertain whether they would win but believed a Top 3 would be well within reach. But which one would place ahead of the other? I’ve been sitting on the fence.

Mazda’s greater experience is unquestionable. They’re fast and strong and they know what these foreign teams are like first-hand. Cyanosis\' captain and navigator Nicholas Mulder has been a dear friend for almost a decade so I’ve been privy to the team’s goals and aspirations.

Over the past year they’ve knuckled down, their attention focused on the AR World Champs in November. They are committed to a strict and intense training program. They have revamped their lives to make space for additional training hours and have cleaned out their kitchens to make way for a proper nutritional program. Locally they haven’t lost a race in… well, a long time. They also have not had the opportunity to race against Mazda for at least 2-years (?). Back then they had a substantially different team. Here Mazda had a new combination. We’ve had no base for comparison.

Cyanosis shot off at the start, on foot. They had worked through their maps and knew that if they did not reach the paddle put-in by 10h00 on Sunday morning that they would be caught in the darkzone. This would be the make-or-break point in the race, especially if a team ahead of them got through. They knew their race for a top ranked placing would be over there and then. So, they pushed hard, slightly out of their comfort-zone through the first two checkpoints, settling down to a more comfortable pace as they advanced.

Cyanosis were together with Merrell and Mazda on the next mountain bike leg and this is where their race took a dramatic shift. Team mate Clinton Mackintosh took a turn for the worse and even though they rested before the start of the river trekking section for a few hours, Mackintosh’s condition continued to decline.

Deciding to carry on unranked with only 3 team members could not have been an easy decision. But, this they did and throughout the race they have performed consistently, staying within the Top 5.

An hour ago, standing around the fire at the finish race director Hano Otto asked Erica Terblanche what they found the hardest section of the race to be. He asked specifically whether it was the last 70km trek. “No,� she replied. “It was motivation. It was deep in our hearts and at times I thought my heart would burst like a pomegranate.

“This is another kind of race Hano,� she said. “You will have a lot of mixed feelings from teams about whether they liked it or not. This one isn’t a crowd pleaser. For that the race would have to be somewhere like in the Garden Route. In the Richtersveld you are this,� she indicated a centimetre-long space between her thumb and forefinger, “… close to death. There is water at some fountains and where plants are growing there must be water underground but everywhere else there is nothing. And it looks green everywhere because they had a little rain recently but the plants are thorns. This is a hard, hard place. It strikes deep.�

This has been a very difficult race for the team – and also for Clinton who has been waiting here at the finish for his friends to arrive. When Nic, Erica and Arrie crossed the line this morning, welcomed home by Clinton, marshals, competitors and friends, my heart went out to them. As I looked up at Nic… I felt teary and emotional. Those racers reading this can probably relate… we’ve all had our disappointments at some or other stage.

From this outside this sport appears purely physical. The reality is that it is psychologically and emotionally demanding. When the odds are down and days remain it is so easy to opt out. But to continue… this is admirable. Balance Vector too had to contend with an ill team-mate when George Christison’s condition went downhill, also less than 24hrs into the race. Further back Red Ants, Century 2000, 8848, Jeep and Tension Structures are minus team members. These teams are still out there in this dark night.

Adventure racing is an unforgiving mistress to those under her spell. Triumphs cannot be taken for granted and disappointments can be expected. Lessons are learned with each race and each experience prepares you for other races… other challenges.

Cyanosis… (and other teams keeping it together out there),
Be proud of your achievements here. In AR nothing is a given. Merrell/Wigwam Adventure’s Robyn Benincasa’s words at the finish summed up a string of their past races where wins were not forthcoming and their hopes dashed. “A race… We’ve won a race�. This time, they did it.

Other races, other places, another time.

ENDS
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