Muscle Science Blog (165)
Blogs from Muscle Science Head Quarters in Durban
Staminade Powered Nolan Hoffmann wraps up Msansi Tour with a Big Win!
Written by Muscle ScienceSome great news for the Tasol-GT cycling team - fueled by Staminade
Athletes, Nolan Hoffmann and David Maree both secured wins for the on the final stage of the inaugural Mzansi Tour.
Hoffmann won the "Dash for Cash" Stage 5b while David Maree walked away with the HOLLARD King of the Mountain jersey for the best climber in the week long tour.
The team was labelled the most impressive all round team of the competition fighting for survival. Hoffmann, Maree and the team account were massive trends on social media platforms around Johannesburg.
Get all the details here:
http://tasolgt.co.za/2013/04/22/hoffmann-wraps-up-mzansi-tour-with-a-big-win/
Here is an update from Pierre Carter, one of our Staminade athletes that was selected as the only South African athlete to take part in one of the world's toughest adventure races, The RedBull X-Alps 2013...
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The Red Bull X Alps is a race down the spine of the Alps starting in Salzburg Austria on the 7th of July, and ending in Monaco on the Med, covering around a 1000km as the crow flies. One can follow it Live 24/7 on www.redbullxalps.com.
The X Berg starts at the “ Windmill (Olivier’s pass) and ending at Underberg country club, going via a couple of turn points Namely the Mighty Sentinel Guarding the way North to the sandstone cliffs of Kwamiya and onto Cathedral peak, then the Matterhorn above Champagne Castle hotel and on to the finish in Underberg, were one inevitably has to negotiate or go round Giants Castle, before descending into Luteni and onwards to Underberg giving you a 180km of a lot of up and down!
You can’t compare the Red bull X Alps with the X berg, but the latter still carries a big punch! Despite the distance! The 180 km could be achieved in one great flying day during the X Alps, except the berg as a flying site does not deliver these sort of days, if you are very luck you may get 50 km out of a day, and these will be few and far between. Thus making for good tactical, rout finding, walk and fly, hike high, land high and try stay that way till sundown and getting back into the same position at sunrise, for the following day.
The race its self has a twist, as you don’t merely race against your fellow pilots, but also race against different disciplines, in this race we had Mountain bikers, Road Bikers, and adventure racers.Getting the formulas right to make it an “ equal” race proved difficult, and as predicted with no good flying days due to a very strong inversion that lasted for 2 days, the road cyclists won by miles. : )
We now have a better idea of what can and cant be done in trying to cover the berg, and what to do as well as what not to.
The next race will prove to be even more exciting and a lot tougher for the cyclists making sure that all disciplines have a chance to get to Underberg.
I must say the race took me past some amazing and beautiful spots in the berg, areas I had never seen or even new existed and showed me a side of the berg and its people, living in places you would not expect to find any one!
The feed back we had from the other 28 participants was positive and they all loved the idea and the concept, we did have a problem with the tracking, were friends and family found it difficult to follow and with the berg being a bit remote not all the data from the trackers got out to the website to show who was were. We will be working on this and have it rectified for 2014.
The final score board came out as follows:
. 1 Zamperinis Team - cycling road - 360 km - 48 hrs. – Goal
. 2 X Berg Team - cycling road - 360 km - 36 hrs. - Goal
. 3 Bad Medicine Team - mountain biking - Giants Castle - 30 km short of Goal.
. 4 Skirling Spiders Team – Mountain biking – Injasuthi / White mountain – 55km short of Goal
. 5 Pierre Carter – paragliding - Injasuthi valley – 70 km short of Goal
. 6 Fly Fish – paragliding – Cathedral valley – 110km short of Goal
. 8 Milk Stout Team - Running / adventure racing – Ndedema gorge – 90km short of Goal
. 9 Go Fast - paragliding - TP 2 – 140km short of Goal.
All in all it was a fantastic experience and a great turn out at such short notice. And with all the Red bull consumed they surely will fly through the rout next time round.
We hope to see all back and more for 2014
Cheers from the X Berg TeamDominant Performance from Tasol-GT at SA Track Champs
Written by Muscle ScienceTasol – GT Pro Cycling Team put in another strong showing at the 2013 SA Track Championships over the past Easter weekend winning 8 National titles in both the Elite and Junior ranks.
Nolan Hoffmann and Jevandre Pauls won three events each while Kellan Gouveris surprised the velodrome to win the Elite 40km points race. The team pursuit of Hoffmann, Pauls, Gouveris and James Perry went on to win the 4000m event in a time of 4min33 in what was not the most attractive team pursuits to watch.
Pauls undoubtedly was one of the talks of the championships with the very dominant performance by the East London based youngster. Just one month ago the 17yr old won the SA Road Championships in Nelspruit. Two days before the SA Track Champs he won the final stage of the 5 day Junior tour again on the hilly terrain in Nelspruit.
“We were a bit worried about how he would go on the track as all he managed to do was two days on the track ahead of the champs.” said Team Principal, Dean Edwards.
Pauls went on to win 5 out of 6 events in the Junior Omnium giving him his first gold of the champs. He then went on to win the 15km Scratch Race and the 30km Points Race. He finished 2nd in the Junior Elimination race and was part of the Open Team Pursuit which won gold...
Read the full report here
Rain on Friday night made for prime riding conditions on Saturday with everyone having a great time on the course. However heavy rainfalls Saturday night turned the course into a slip and slide near the top steeper sections. With a different format of racing seeing as though it was a UCI sanctioned event saw the Elite riders seeding early. The track had improved since practice but was still rolling very slow. Tiaan Odendaal seeded 1st, myself 2nd, and Louis Smith 3rd.
1) Hayden Brown
Thanks to Max cluer sports marketing, KZN MTB and Greg Minnaar cycle store for putting on a great event. Looking forward to South African champs on the same course in a few weekends time.
1st Win for Tasol-GT from their development rider Jevandre Pauls
Written by Muscle Science17yr old Jevandre Pauls secured one of the biggest wins of his career on Saturday (23 Feb) by winning the Daily Dispatch Classic in his hometown of East London. Paul is a junior riding for Tasol-GT, proudly sponsored by Staminade!
Paul was the only representation the team had at the Eastern Cape classic, while the Elites took part in the Carnival City Classic which saw team leader Johann Rabie finish 2nd to Tyler Day (Bonitas)!
A great achievement for the Tasol-GT team! To read the full article, click here
Check out some pics from the game on Saturday 16th February 2013 at Kings Park on the MSP Facebook Fan Page
Tommy Ballantyne from Independent Newspapers in Durban caught up with the Hoff as he was leaving his base in Mallorca over the weekend.
1. You have now campaigned in Europe for the past four months, how has it gone and do you feel it will be beneficial ahead of the worlds in a weeks time?
I have been competing on the 6-day racing circuit and its the first time that i did a full schedule like this. Mentally and physically i benefited allot by doing 6 out of the 8 six-days on the calendar. Therefore i think i am ready for the worlds.
2. With just one week until the worlds how has your preparation gone and do you think you can go one better than last year and win the rainbow jersey?
I’m in good condition ahead of the worlds and my spirits are high. We took a different approach this time around using the six-days as preparation as the racing there is at a really high level. I’m feeling confident that i can go one better this year and i really want to win.
3. We always hear how hard it is to make it in Europe on the road and Robbie Hunter recently expressed in the media some of his difficulties he faced in order to make it. What have some of the difficulties you’ve had to face while you have been campaigning in Europe if any?
Its really tough making it in Europe and hats off to Robbie for being so successful! Just as on the road, the track is also very hard. When you come from a non traditional cycling country the European guys dont show you the same respect like to the other riders and you have to fight in the racing the entire time just to ride at the front of the peloton. The hardest part is always the difficulties getting around. If its not getting to a race, its trouble getting to the airport or train station and also visa problems. I have been lucky, my soigneur that i work here in Europe and at the six-days helped me out allot.
4. Being based in Europe for the past four months must have been an expensive exercise with the current exchange rate and economic climate. Who funds a trip like this for you?
Its been really expensive thus far, but my team back home, Tasol GT has continued to pay my salary whilst here and some help from Cyling SA I’ve managed to survive. Dean (Edwards, team owner) is doing allot of the admin behind the scenes and that makes it so much easier for me, it feels like he is here with me the whole time.
5. With most races in South Africa ending in bunch sprints your road trade team in SA Tasol-GT must be battling without you. What do you want to say to your sponsors and team who have supported you on this journey and given you the freedom to realise your dream?
I’ve been speaking allot to the guys and everybody is missing me in the races. I realise my absence is putting extra pressure on the guys. But at the same time I’m really greatfull to the team for allowing me to pursue my goals on the track and without their support it wouldn’t have been possible. Dean has done allot to convince the sponsors as he really believe in what i can do internationally on the track.
6. Will you be doing any other events at the worlds besides the 15km Scratch?
Unfortunately the qualifications for the worlds is so difficult i had to focus 100% on just the scratch again. There was only one qualifying event each for the scratch or the points and with our limited budget we had to decide, so naturally for me i was always going to be the Scratch.
7. After the worlds what’s in store for Nolan Hoffman?Will you be taking a break?
Maybe just 3 days break. I am rushing back to join the team and I will start SA Road Champs. I want to help as much as I can to guys who can medal. And then there is the Argus. That is a big goal for me personally.
8. Long term what are your goals on the track?
Commonwealth games!
9. Do you feel we could get more youngsters onto the world track endurance stage?
Their is no shortage of talent in this country. I think it will happen and with Deans plans and vision our team will fast track the guys. However funding is always a issue and we need proper funding to do it.
10. If so, what message do you have for the youngsters who aspire to launch their international careers via an extensive track program?
As a young rider you need to do allot of road racing to get a good endurance base in addition to the track. The perception allot of young aspiring track riders have in this country is that you only need to train on the track. Good endurance track riders and well established road riders/sprinters. That is the fundamental of being a good track rider
Muscle Science would like to wish The Hoff all the best!
Check out the latest race report from Tasol-GT
Staminade athlete to take part in RedBull X-Alps 2013
Written by Muscle SciencePierre Carter, one of our Staminade athletes has been selected as the only South African athlete to take part in one of the world's toughest adventure races, The RedBull X-Alps 2013.
On July 7th, 2013, Pierre will be among 31 of the world's top adventure athletes on the Red Bull X-Alps start line in Salzburg, Austria.
Taking place on the 10th anniversary of the first ever Red Bull X-Alps, the 2013 competition will be the sixth edition of the race and it promises to be an action-packed fight to the finish! The exact route will not be revealed until Spring 2013, but one thing is certain; it will be spectacular, and require athletes to call upon all their experience, fitness, and mental strength to make it to Monaco.
With five months to go, Pierre will prepare for this epic contest and will be fueled by Staminade! Keep a watch on the competition via the RedBull X Alps news page.
Team Muscle Science would like to wish Pierre the very best of luck in his preperations for the race and we'll be standing behind him in his quest to finish top of the world!
Pierre is also currently completing his own challenge called 7 Summits / 7 Flights where he aims to climb and paraglide off the 7 major summits in the world. To find out more about this challenge, visit www.7summits7flights.co.za
Follow Pierre on Twiter @7summits7flight and Facebook @pierre.carter.58 where he will be sharing his journey to the Red Bull X Alps Race as well as his 7Summits/ 7 Flights challenge.
Go Pierre!
Fueled by STAMINADE all the way to the Mountain Top!
Written by Muscle ScienceTony Hampsen-Tindale, an adventure junkie and big Staminade supporter, recently summited the Nevado Alpamayo Mountain in July last year. "I used Staminade to help me propel to the top" says Tony.
Located in the Cordillera Blanca chain of the Peruvian Andes, at 5917 meters, the Nevado Alpamayo Mountain is not only beautiful, but a challenging climb to the top.
Trekking and climbing for three weeks, Tony made it to the magnificent top. After his climb, Tony spent some time in Peru, photographing the Inca ruins.
Tony sent us this pic of his climb - Isn't it just awesome?
