Dischem Ride for Sight 12 February 2012 - By Andrew Reeves

On the 12th Febuary the Mr Price vets team lined up at the start for the 116km RP Ride for Sight in Boksburg, Gauteng.


The 7 team riders were; Dirk Barnard, Emile Fouche, Sean Merredew, Gwyn Pine, Andrew Reeves, Werner Venter and Mike Viljoen.

With the undulating but relatively flat route a break away was possible but a sprint finish was also a likely event.

Our large bunch started at 06h35 on an unusually cold summer morning and we took a good few kilometres to defrost.


After only 2 kilometres Werner Venter unfortunately crashed out with a number of other riders. He was unable to continue and we later learned he had broken his elbow.


There were a few attacks early on but the pace was not too hard yet. At about 40km Jeremy Maartens of MTN started attacking up a hill, this caused a break of about 7 riders to get away. We did not stay away for too long though with a lot of other riders eager to chase.


As we were caught Maartens went again and the bunch let him go, many were not expecting him to get far. But being an ex pro with serious time trialling ability he managed to hold off a chasing bunch for 40kms on his own.


After much chasing by Emile, Mike, Dirk, Gwyn and other teams he was only caught at the top of Heidelburg hill 80+kms into the race.


After that there were a flurry of attacks and counter attacks, but every time the large number of riders in the bunch meant the groups were dragged back.


With no James Louter or Jacques Fullard to contend with Sean and I were ready to go for the sprint finish, but Julius Cobbet was ready too.


With a large bunch sprint inevitable we started searching for the best bunch position, and coming in to the final S-bend corners it was MTN leading it out. Unfortunately I punctured within the last 500m but managed to hit the final straight in the lead. Sprinting with a rear flat I was going nowhere and got totally swamped by the bunch.

Sean sprinted well and timed his effort better, getting 4th place in the end.


A charging Julius Cobbet won the bunch sprint convincingly.

Waterside Wimpy Newcastle Road Race – 5 February 2012 - by Dirk Barnard

Sunday morning dawned with the expectation of heavy rain which was forecast but with the weather gods being on our side no rain. It was still heavily overcast with a slight breeze just to keep things cool. For the first time this year we had a full Mr Price Vets Team present at the race. Yes, that means that even the wily old fox BRYAN CUSACK was in our midst and, for the first time, the only rose between the thorns Isabel Moolman. In the mix with us we had to contend with the local lad AC Swanepoel, from Cycle Lab there was Werner Moolman, Brett Berriman and Trevor Row, Martin Atterbury wearing his white outfit (brave considering rain was forecast) and the sprightly Mr Price Junior Liam Mooney.


The start gun went at 06H15 with the Juniors, U 23, Elites, Vets 30-39 and Vets 40-49 all starting together. With the first kilometer being a steady climb the pace was very sedate until we got to the top where Sean Merredew took over and showed us how to descend. As the first couple of kilometers was verily all down hill the first attack come from Mr Price's Sean Merredew. This was however reeled in by the Cycle Lab team. The Mr Price Vets team was riding very aggressively with a couple of attacks one after the other. This made the Cycle Lab team work hard to reel in every break. About 1km before the turn off to the dam another attack came from Dirk Barnard followed by team mate Andrew Reeves, Junior Liam Mooney and AC Swanepoel. A gap of +- 20 seconds opened and with the first real climb of the day it looked like the break might get away from the bunch. As we crested the short but steep climbed I glance over my shoulder to see the main bunch behind splintering a bit with the Cycle lab team pushing the pace to reel us in. The break got caught before the next 90 degree turn from where the pace and bunch settled in for a while. Not being content just riding the auto bus Emile Fouche put in a well time attack getting away on his own. The gap grew steadily. With the Cycle Lab team on the front the gap stayed constant. As we made the final left turn toward the turn around point Emile Fouche was still ahead of the bunch but with the longest and most testing climb just a few kilometers away, it would really put Emile to the test, especially with the road not being in the greatest condition, lots of pot holes and even a +- 50 meter stretch of gravel to contend with. As we hit the bottom of the climb Liam Mooney took up the pace and Emile was back in the pack. With the pace and effort picking up all the time Sean Merredew attacked about half way up the climb followed by team mate Mike Viljoen and local lad AC Swanepoel. By the half way turning point they managed to open a small gap on the following bunch consisting of Mr Price's Andrew Reeves, Brian Cusack, Liam Mooney, Martin Atterbury and Cycle Lab's James Burne.


A small chasing bunch of 6 formed behind the 7 leading guys with the Cycle Lab team having the most to lose. The gravel section on the descent proved to be somewhat of a race decider as unfortunately Werner Venter punctured and Mike Viljoen picked up a slow puncture which was luckily very very slow. Soon after the right turn back to the dam Sean Merredew, Mike Viljoen and AC Swanepoel were reeled in by a hard working Martin Atterbury and James Burne. As the trio was caught Andrew Reeves' chain somehow managed to twist, which left him standing hopelessly next to the road where Emile Fouche and Cycle Lab's Werner Moolman stopped to assist. With great sportsmanship Werner Moolman gave Andrew Reeves his bike to complete the race, taking himself out the race. The leading bunch of 7 were now just watching each other and riding at a steady pace and things would surely be decided on what the locals call “The 3 sisters” just a few kilometers from the finish line.


The chasing 6 become 4, with 2 Cycle Lab and 2 Mr Price riders. Needless to say Mr Price had a nice ride all the way to the main road where we could see that we were not going to catch the main bunch ahead of us. We started to work with the Cycle Lab guys. Up head the battle started on the bottom of the final sister where AC Swanepoel attacked. He was followed by Martin Atterbury with Sean Merredew not far behind. Battling with his slow puncture Mike Viljoen and Bryan Cusack steadily pulled themselves back to the trio in front with Mike Viljoen managing to pass Martin Atterbury. Bryan Cusack used his experience to hold off the two youngsters. Sean Merredew was now chasing hard to catch AC Swanepoel but to no avail.


In all, a tough undulating route that tested the legs.

Final result:


1 AC SWANEPOEL


2 SEAN MERREDEW Mr Price


3 MIKE VILJOEN Mr Price


4 MARTIN ATTERBURY Mr Price


5 BRYAN CUSACK Mr Price


6 LIAM MOONEY Mr Price


7 JAMES BURNE Cycle Lab


8 ANDREW REEVES Mr Price


9 DIRK BARNARD Mr Price


10 TREVOR ROWE Cycle Lab

The New Fast One - 29 January 2012 - by Werner Venter

On Sunday morning, 29 January we lined up for the 2nd edition of the “New” Fast One outside the Midvaal Racetrack. The Mr Price vets team was represented by Emile Fouche, Mike Viljoen, Andrew Reeves, Dirk Barnard and I. With the top club structure falling away, the VA group was fairly large with most of the big teams represented and a few new teams and individuals also joining the extremely competitive 30-39 age group.


The racing started out at a fairly sedated pace of about 45km/h. One or two small attacks was made, but was reeled in easily and it became apparent that this race was probably going to end in a large bunch sprint. Our team was very active and put in a few attacks and covered all the important moves. At around the halfway point in this fast and furious race, our new found strong man, Mike Viljoen put in a big attack that resulted in the move of the day. In the break was Mike, Rowan Tyler (Fego), Craig Harvey (Cycle Nation), two MTN Club 100 riders and a rider from team without sponsor. With most of the big teams represented, most of us were happy to sit back and make the teams who missed the move chase down the break. Mountain biker, Nick Portius (Specialized) tried hard to bring the gap of over a minute down with the help of some of the other smaller teams. With around 25km to go we eventually caught the break and the racing was back on. Through Walkerville and Henley on Klip, the route makes a few twist and turns and we knew that we needed to be at the front of the bunch or risk being dropped from the group. We did just that and with around 10km to we could see MTN Club 100 organising their lead out train and it was then that Dirk Barnard (Mr Price) put in an attack to upset their rhythm. Dirk was soon reeled in and then Andrew Reeves (Mr Price) put in another attack. The finish was a 6.5km drag which was far from flat-but even the incline did not drop the speed below 50km/h! We tried to lead Andrew out for the sprint, but were outdone by a better organised MTN Club 100 team. The race was won by James Louter (MTN), with Andrew finishing in 5th place. All of us came in with the same time. After the race we learned that Emile punctured with around 3km to go-really bad luck after all the work he did for 99% of the race.


It was a very good race for our team, and even though we didn’t get the result we were looking for, we really enjoyed ourselves and proved to ourselves that we don’t need to stand back for the big teams.


Final results:


1. James Louter


2. Jacques Fullard


3. Julius Cobbett


4. Craig Harvey


5. Andrew Reeves

Photo by Mandie Herbst

KZN Champs - 21-22 January 2012 - by Mike Viljoen

This past weekend Durban became witness to arguably the best cycling event ever seen! The annual KZN Cycling champs was run over 2 days - Saturday hosting the Time Trial and Sunday the Road Race. With world class athletes participating over a world class course, the weekend was bound to bring fireworks to the tar!


The 30 + team was out in full force for both the time trial and road race . Most of us did the time trial as training for tours further down the line when there is no choice in doing the time trial. For some this proved easier than others, as on this flat circuit loop, there was no time to relax. We had 5 laps to do for a total of 45km. Sean was able to grab a podium in the 30+ cat with a fantastic third.


The following morning took us up the hill into the mountains for the 126km circuit race around Westville. As tradition would have it the start of the day brought rain – not something we really wanted as the down hills were as brutal as the up hills making an already brutal course even more testing. We were to start with the elite and u23 bunch which contained the likes of Burry Stander, Kevin Evans and David George. Not to mention the many other notable campaigners on various international circuits. If that was not enough to scare off any sane person I’m not sure what would!


Never the less we started the race and the heavens opened. Thankfully that kept the rather large and anxious peloton under control for the first 2 laps before the early break was to make a move. Aston Davies and Myles von Muschenbrook went away and managed to amass about 1m30. The lap circuit was a great way for spectators to keep in touch with the race with the climbs up towards Cowies providing fireworks on every lap! Gradually the pace set by the pros and the gradient split the group with three quarters of the bunch disappearing after about lap 4. At this stage the break was brought back and all was neutral again. A few more accelerations were metered out and on lap 8 another Split happened with about 10-15 riders getting away. At this stage only 3 30+ riders were able to hang in with Mr Price riders Sean and Mike in a perfect position to take the podium.


In the final lap Burry Stander and Kevin Evans attacked the bunch and managed to stay away to the end. With the split having enough of a gap, the final climb became a battle field of attacks with overall and category contenders fighting for line honours. Mike made the first move , attacking Nick Portious. All Sean had to do was sit and wait and then ride across to Mike and take the win in the 30+ cat with Mike taking second . Rounding out the results was Emile Fouche with a fine 4th. A really well worked result for the team!


The chase group still had catagory prizes up for grabs. Recently moving up to the 35 + cat, Mr Price team rider Andrew Reeves had to fight it out with Matt Goetch of Fego eventually securing 2nd spot.


Overall a great weekend of racing and a great start to the season for the team.

Mr Price KZN Vets 2012 Team

Herewith we would like to Introduce the Mr Price KZN Vets team for 2012!

Cat 30-34:

Sean Merredew
Mike Viljoen
Werner Venter
Emile Fouche

Cat 35-39

Andrew Reeves
Dirk Barnard

Cat 45-49

Bryan Cusack
Gwyn Pine

We are looking forward to a great season ahead!

Momentum 94.7 - 19 November 2011 - by Mike Viljoen

Saturday 19 November saw the vets 30-34 racing team very happily leave the misty, rainy weather of kzn behind and make the trek to the sunny skies of guateng. Knowing that we were not going to have any back up vehicle, we decided to use the trailor as practice in changing tyres. True to form, we changed the shredded wheel better than any formula 1 garage would expect(half an hour) and continued on our way, safe in the knowledge that nothing would stop our success !




As tradition would have it a pre-race warm up was had, dinner served at Primi and race tactics discussed for the morning. Thankfully a sneaky back entrance just round the corner from the Town Lodge allowed a not too early wake up and warm up to the start at 05h40. By the time we arrived the main contenders were lining up including: Fego ; Cycle Nation; Computer Smith and MTN Club 100. Two main thoughts for the race were going on : MTN would want to keep it together for their sprinter James Louter who at this stage had good sprint legs. Cycle Nation would want to break it up for either the in form Julius Cobett or experienced craig Harvey. For us, we were outnumbered by all the teams so were hoping for a break to go and at least be represented.


The start was slow to say the least with the m1 not having an early break as per tradition except for a dab off the front from Fego rider David Imrie. This was left alone for most of the m1 but was slowly and easily dragged back . no real attempt was made after that - most knowing that the worst was still to come. Coming off the m1 , the early hills hit hard - shattering the bunch and allowing about 20 of us to get away . luckily MTN sprinter James Louter got caught by the big moves on these climbs and was left behind . unfortunately for us we lost Werner Venter aswell by trying to avoid a rider losing his chain ! Cycle Nation remained in tact with Fego losing Imrie aswell.


Going through the cbd was a semi relaxed affair with the only move going as we left the cbd from MTN rider Jeremy Martens. MTN soon realised that their tactics weren’t going to plan so spent most of their time on the front doing the work with Cycle Nation making the big attacks. It did become evident that TCS rider Jaco Fereira was turning out to be the one to watch as he sat quietly at the back of the bunch hardly breaking a sweat and using his team to perfection to bring moves back and hurt the bunch when required.


The second set of hills that followed were ridden at a fairly tough tempo with a few moves going off the front but not enough were represented so were dragged back. Once on the n14 , computersmith riders suddenly woke up and started attacking the bunch , knowing that the hardest part of the ride was about to hit us once we left the highway. Luckily the bunch was able to stay intact leaving the N14. Summit road was where it all went down with a massive attack coming from Jaco Fereira and Julius Cobbet which in the gutter wind was the decider. Going with was an MTN rider and later Craig Harvey aswell as Brand du Plessis from TCS. Unfortunately us and Fego missed this move and a flat out chase was on. This was the move of the day as Jaco and Julius attacked again and rode clear to the finish, leaving us all to fight for the minor placings.


Julius was able to out sprint Jaco for the win with the remainder of the final move coming in to complete the top 4. Andrew was able to take 10th , Emile 13th and Mike 15th. Not exactly what we wanted but a hard fought race non the less .

KZN Lassen Series Race 11 - 13 November 2011 - by Andrew Reeves

On the morning of 13th November a bunch of about 60 dedicated roadies lined up for the final race in the 2011 Lassen clothing road race series.The weather was perfect, a little overcast with no rain, comfortable tempratures and only a slight wind. The race was held on the NMR circuit, a 5km flat criterium type circuit. This was a nice change from the hilly Vans circuit where all the previous races in the series had taken place.


Just after 7am the racing got underway, and the bunch was straight into it, as there were points and cash hotspots up for grabs at the end of nearly every one of the planned 20 laps. The attacks were going off the front all the time but with a lot of fresh legs in the bunch they kept being reeled in. The cash hotspot sprints caused major accelerations and the bunch began to split up. A few breaks got small gaps but with the wrong combination of riders they were chased down.


At the halfway mark Deno van Heerden (Fego) attacked and Sean Merredew (Mr Price) followed him, Brett Berrimman (Cycle Lab) then jumped across to them with myself on his wheel. With riders from 3 main teams represented the bunch did not chase seriously and the break was allowed to move clear.


This proved to be the winning break and once the riders settled into a working rythmn a steady gap of about 1min was held over the bunch. Some riders did try to cross over to the break but since Mr Price had 2 riders in the break they wouldn't allow riders to get away and neutralised their attacks. Myles van Musschenbroek did manage to get into the break and then we had 5 riders in the break.


The finish of lap 19 was a cash sprint and Sean asked if I was going for it, I did and got the sprint. Myles then came steaming past me and I jumped onto his wheel and we were away. That last lap was a blur of flatout pacing as we worked hard to stay ahead of the 3 riders behind.


At the finish Myles opened up the sprint and kicked really hard but I just managed to squeak past him and win by a tires width. Sean came 3rd with Deno and Brett finishing off the top 5 places.

All the riders agreed it was a good race on a nice fast circuit and the race was enjoyed by all.


The Mr Price Vets team would like to say a BIG thank you to all the organisers, marshals and officials who worked so hard to make this race series a success. Of course a huge thanks goes to Lassens sportswear and Crusader Logistics for their generous sponsorship of the races.






Andrew Reeves