The first edition of the FPC Down and Dirty was held in Centurion over the weekend and boy, did it make an impact. The race, held at Southdowns Collage, featured a 60 km, 30 km and 2 kid's races that attracted around 1500 cyclists. With the large number of entrants, the race start was pushed back to 8:20 which also allowed things to warm up a little on what could have been a morning in the middle of winter.

The start was controlled by a lead motorbike which kept a sedate pace until we were out of the school and onto the dirt roads. Immediately, the pace picked up with Paul (IMC) setting a fast tempo and after a few kilometres, a lead group of 10 riders quickly formed and open a gap on the rest of the field.

After 5 kilometres, we headed into the first single track section which tested riders with some tight corners and sharp rocks. As we entered the single track, Paul again accelerated and split the field with Melt (MTN) and Francois (USN) staying with him while I was caught napping at the back of the group and was forced to chase. Only a couple of kilometres later, Paul punctured and stopped to repair his tire. This moved me into 3rd and I began trying to chase down Melt and Francois who were now a minute ahead.

The single track sections continued and for a while I battled to get into a rhythm and continued to loose time to the leaders. The relatively flat course meant that there was little time to recover and that gaps would be hard to close. Going along a single track section about 20 km into the race, I noticed that there were no markings. I slowed down and waited for 2 riders who were just behind me to catch up and knowing where to go, I followed them.

Dropping the one guy on the following climb, John Pierre and I rode together for the next 20 km which we covered at a brisk pace. The twisty course and strong wind make for some difficult headwind sections and also meant that you could seldom see riders who were more than a minute ahead of you.