RVO Sagana Hills race report

The 2 day format worked perfectly for family and supporters who enjoyed Savage Wilderness Camp facilities, relaxing by the pool, zip lining across Tana River, kids racing around on their bikes, some even tackled the river for white water rafting. The spectator points were in remarkable locations, the Keringet / USN water points replenished riders for the rigours lying ahead. Back in camp, the Castle-Lite chill zone with complimentary beer proved to be a winner before and after massage sessions.

A few teams raced for glory while the majority enjoyed their adventure across the widely varying landscape. The undulating countryside was sparsely populated while the mountain tops afforded incredible vistas across a wide area, it’s a pity that Mt Kenya was hidden by cloud.

Congratulations to the Shane Burke and Richard Walker (Ghosty Leprechauns) for winning both stages, earning the winners trophy of an RVO lion sculpture.

Stage 1 (58 km) was much hotter than expected, riders wilted on the easy terrain before WP1 at 31 km. Thereafter, the trails crossed a series of valleys that included riding the magnificent railway bridge, 40m above Maragua River. Day 1 was all about navigating a labrynth of rural access roads, footpaths and bridges; a joy to ride meandering trails without any technical sections. The final 7 km of single track into camp was all fun.

Stage 2 (46 km) was proper MTB riding with 2 mountains and 60% single track, technical sections sharpened everybody’s skill sets while rewarding the fast and furious. Up front, the miserable few raced for KOM glory. Geoff Handley and Ben Playle (Rwanda) were first team up the 2nd mountain splitting Shane Burke and Richard Walker, their prize Keringet picnic blankets will be used while waiting for slower climbers to catch up. Exciting yet perilous descents down both mountains were thankfully incident free, after 30 minutes of ascending to KOM top, the descent took only 8 minutes of uninterrupted brake squealing.

Once again, the Seeing is Believing Team of Douglas Sidialo and pilot Joseph Mwangi were strong as ever on their tandem; I rode alongside them for a few km on stage 2 fascinated by their harmony. Soon after I decided to push ahead I punctured, they promptly stopped and Joseph eagerly pushed me aside to patch my tube (I had earlier ripped the tire sidewall so was using a tube).

I am indebted to James Savage and his entire Savage Wilderness Camp Team, without their incredible support I could never have created such a fun event. His team built the wooden bridge across the Makutano River on stage 1; for stage 2 they excavated the steep chute into the sand harvesters’ canyon plus the smaller exit chute; they managed the forest access and passage across the numerous farms we traversed; their vibrant team created a party while staffing the water points; their kitchen turned out delicious meals. Thank you to the entire Savage Wilderness Team.

Without the committed support of event sponsors, we could not possibly host events at such scale,I am therefore extremely grateful to the following sponsors:  

  Standard Chartered awarded their silky cycling shirts to the winning teams of U40, +40 and Buffalo Power (+180kg combined).
  USN energised all riders with their nutrition supplements that were desperately appreciated on stage 2. They also awarded 8 USN bottles to the Savage Cycling Team for their sterling effort.
  Keringet supplied the water points and issued a technical t-shirts to each rider plus a pair of picnic blankets for the KOM prize.
  Castle-Lite quenched rider thirst with complimentary beer in the Castle-Lite chill zone
  AdGifts managed site branding and the RVO start/finish banner
  Jenexis Designs designed the souvenir rider boards

Mark your calendars for next year’s RVO Sagana Hills on 16-17 May 2015 when I look forward to hosting you again.

Results for 2014 are below
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by Eric Nesbitt