Through thin air & thick mud - MTN Dullstroom

thick BILLBOARD THIN AIR & mud THROUGH

MTN NATIONALS Dullstroom

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“Pull, quote”

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Light at the endt of the Grouoers tunnel for Evans

The shot: There were events for all categories age grouoers to kiddies. Here The shot: Afterfrom an incredibly challenging seasonRossouw for Kevin Evans it was really goodmale, to 12-15 Bekker in the junior seem him top category form again.exits I would yearin old thecertainly swim. Bekker wager that had he notbehind suffered that puncture finished 3rd William Kruger and he would have won by a mile category winner Henry Le Roux.

Cycling

Story and Photos: Zoon Cronje

The Spec: 1/200s @ f18 Flash and remote fired Nikon D610 Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 two SB910 info:vignette www.dryland.co.za flashesMore Lightroom More info: www.advendurance.com

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he opening event in the world’s largest marathon MTB series kicked off the 2014 season in the quant Mpumalanga Highveld town of Dullstroom. The MTN National MTB Series driven by Nissan #1 Dullstroom is a new addition on the calendar of the popular series that spans five provinces over eight national events.

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he event attracted an unprecedented 2300 riders with the various distances to choose from: Ultra, Marathon, Half Marathon and Fun

Race. The sharp end of the race saw some of the top names in South

African cycling fight it out in muddy conditions. Following the event many commented that the altitude and route would have been challenging enough and that the mud made it extremely tough.

ZoonCrnje.com / NIKON

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Thin air

The shot: Dullstroom is nestled on the Mpumalanga Highveld at an altitude of 2100m making it an up and coming international altitude training destination The Spec: 1/800s @ f7.1 no flash Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 zoom lens Lightroom levels More info: www.nationalmtbseries.com

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“In perfect conditions it would have been tough and in these conditions it was extremely tough but all in all a proper day of mountain biking�

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Dunkeld delight

The shot: Dunkeld Estate just outside Dullstroom offers visitors horse riding, fly fishing and purpose built trails for trail running and mountain biking making it the perfect host to the 2014 MTN National MTB Series driven by Nissan season opener The Spec: 1/800s @ f7.1 no flash Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 zoom lens More info: www.zooncronje.com

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Road to recovery

The shot: Kevin Evans showed all the signs of firing on all cylinders again after a frustrating 2013 season The Spec: 1/1600s @ f5 no flash Nikon D610 Nikor 70-200mm f2.8 zoom lens Lightroom levels More info: www.nationalmtbseries.com

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Muddy madness

The shot: Heavy rains in the week leading up to the event left a big part of the route drenched making for tough going on an already tough course The Spec: 1/500s @ f5.6 no flash Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 lens More info: www.XtreMedia.co.za

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Taking charge The shot: Getting into the thick of the action you have to make sure you don’t interfere with the riders, the slightest touch of wheels could ruin a race result or end a career The Spec: 1/200s @ f9 flash and remote fired Nikon D610 Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 two SB910 flashes More info: www.advendurance.com

ZoonCrnje.com / NIKON

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he MTN Dullstroom event is the first of 8 National events spanning 5 provinces and boasts more than 16 000 participants .

New to the National MTB Series calendar MTN Dullstroom surpassed wildest expectations with more than 2300 pre entries.

Dullstroom has become an international altitude training destination.

The average height above sea level for the race was 2100m.

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Man on a mission

The shot: Lourens Luus has been threatening to take a big win for a while, riding the perfect race it came down to the line with Charles Keey. It came down to preparation and concentration, Luus walked the run in to the finish the day before and in the dying moments of the race took the right turn delivering him the win.

The Spec: 1/200s @ f11 flash and remote fired Nikon D610 Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 two SB910 flashes More info: www.nationalmtbseries.com

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n the elite men’s race over 120km it was youngster Lourens Luus (Team RECM) who originally hails from Sabie who walked off with the laurels and his first major win.

The women’s MTN Marathon was convincingly won

by Robyn de Groot (Biogen Toyota).

Dunkeld Country Estate played host to the event and has all the makings of a new institution on the mountain biking calendar.

ZoonCrnje.com / NIKON

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On the hunt

The shot: All the big names were eager to see how their form was coming along in this early season tester The Spec: 1/2000s @ f5.6 no flash Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 zoom lens More info: www.mtn.co.za

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Making a move

The shot: Having made sure to be ahead of the front riders at the base of the King of the Mountains climb it was only a matter of watching the action unfold through the lens and capturing it blow by blow as the titans waged war for top honours.

The Spec: 1/1000s @ f4 no flash Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 zoom lens Lightroom levels More info: www.zooncronje.com

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That sinking feeling The shot: Without realising it at the time I captured the exact moment Kevin Evans’ race fell to pieces after attacking valiantly at the base of the big climb of the day. The shot froze the tyre sealant spewing from his cut tyre even before Evans realised what had happened.

The Spec: 1/1250s @ f4.5 no flash Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 zoom lens Lightroom levels More info: www.zcmc.co.za

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Flat out

The shot: Still riding in disbelief Kevin Evans pushes on hoping to reach the tech zone at the top of the climb on a hopelessly flat rear wheel The Spec: 1/2000s @ f14 remote flashes fired Nikon D610 Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 Two SB910 flashes More info: www.xtremedia.co.za

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“It was an honest race,

there was no hiding only suffering”

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Follow the leader

The shot: Eventual winner Lourens Luus and King of the Mountains winner Philip Buys giving chase with Evans still retaining his lead riding his flat tyre The Spec: 1/200s @ f14 flash fired Nikon D610 Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 SB910 flash More info: www.nationalmtbseries.com

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“Had an absolute blast today at #MTBDullstroom” Dakar racer Riaan van Niekerk

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Riding high

The shot: Coming down from the highest point on the route into Dullstroom I seized the opportunity to pull alongside the riders and snap a shot with the town down below The Spec: 1/200s @ f11 no flash Nikon D610 Nikkor 14-24mm lens More info: www.advendurance.com

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Take a breath The shot: The thin air caught up to Philip Buys after his efforts to claim the Kong of the Mountains, yet it seemed to have the opposite effect on Neil Macdonald who found his second wind and rode from far down the field to nearly a podium finish The Spec: 1/200s @ f10 flash fired Nikon D610 Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 SB910 flash More info: www.nationalmtbseries.com

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“The thin air made it tough and the mud only made it tougher”

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Breakthrough win for Luus

The shot: Luus laying down the power fighting off the Blend Cannondale sandwich of Waylon Woolcock and Charles Keey The Spec: 1/640s @ f6.3 no flash Nikon D610 Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 zoom lens More info: www.XtreMedia.co.za

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Leaving it all on the line

The shot: This win has been a long time coming for Luus and he gave every ounce of energy out there to cross that line first, here he is still in pain and disbelief The Spec: 1/200s @f14 remote and flash fired Nikon D610 Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 lens two SB910 flashes More info: www.zooncronje.com

ZoonCrnje.com / NIKON

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Down to earth

The shot: Exhausted from his enormous effort Luus planted down to regain his composure and I got the shot by getting the camera onto the floor and letting the wide angle suck it all in The Spec: 1/200s @ f11 Flash and remote fired Nikon D610 Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 lens two SB910 flashes More info: www.nationalmtbseries.com

“It was one of the toughest yet most enjoyable marathons I ever did�

ZoonCrnje.com / NIKON

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“Great new event

thanks Advendurance” Nico Bell Team RE:CM

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That winning feeling The shot: Lourens Luus and Robyn de Groot walked off with the laurels at MTN National MTB Series driven by Nissan #1 Dullstroom The Spec: 1/200s @ f14 Flash and remote fired Nikon D610 Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 two SB910 flashes Lightroom vignette More info: www.zooncronje.com

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