[KTM]

Kye Anderson Takes on Sea to Sky

5 years ago | Words: Kye Anderson | Photos: Red Bull Content Pool/Future7, Wayne Orsler

Sea to Sky is without a doubt my favourite hard enduro race of all time. It’s got the perfect mix of everything spread over four days of racing. The days aren’t ridiculously long, so you get a time to chill out with your buddies by the pool and beach – which complements the chilled out Turkish lifestyle everyone can’t help but soak up.

Turkish Police

In Turkey, it isn’t uncommon to see the police casually cruising the streets with heavy artillery hanging off their belt without a worry in the world. But in countries like Turkey and Romania I have learnt the law along with road rules can be a rather large grey area. One day we were on our way riding to the pits – or ‘the paddock’ to the locals – when I was pulled over by the police and spoken to very sternly, not really knowing what I had done wrong, I apologised and continued on my way still confused as to what had happened. This then got me thinking, what if I was to get pulled over and detained on the way to the start line or worse in the middle of the race and I couldn’t do what I came here to do? Could I smooth them over?

To test it, a mate and I made a plan; the very next police officer we saw we would get photos with them, give them a couple of stickers, and of course cash, if need be.
Sure enough, the next day on our way to the service station we came across a crew of heavily armed police officers – they were more than happy to get in front of the lens with us, and they enjoyed the typical foreigner attention. It worked a treat!

The Pre-Race Training/Bike Shakedown

After arriving in Kemer on Sunday night, I was up early the following morning raring to go. I don’t know if I was more excitement to go riding in the hills with my buddies from all over the globe or to see my KTM 300EXC TPI fresh as a daisy again courtesy of KTM; after it was tortured in Romania some months before.
After a giant breakfast with my South African mate, Barende Erasmus, we head downtown to the pits are to sort a few logistics out before we headed to our resort for a swim in the Mediterranean and some lunch – hard life I know, but you have to make the most of the beautiful scenery.

Post lunch we came together with a mixed bag of riding buddies ranging from Aussies, South Africans, Poms and an Austrian. We headed for the main river bed/canyon that started at the beach straight up to the mountains. The limestone rocks were so smooth you could’ve made a bathtub out of them, but that made it entertaining when one of the boys went arse over tit on one of the many rock climbs.

Tuesday rolled around and it was time to for Sea to Sky mountain tour day. All the competitors were escorted to the top of Mt Olympos (2366m above sea level) to inspect some of the final sections for Saturday’s Mountain Race (the final leg of the race). You have a bit of freedom up top, so myself and a couple of mates peeled off to explore possible lines.

The Beach Race

Wednesday’s Beach Race is always an exciting spectacle for everyone. It’s a 15 minute + 1 lap on a hybrid motocross/endurocross track in front of a packed crowd. The track had a lot of sand, natural jumps and a tapped out long straight along the shoreline. My result in the Beach Race determined my starting order for race two out of four.

Starting off lucky number seven, I took off for my qualifying lap all fired up to make a clean run at it. Coming off the top gear I came into the first of the many huge man-made waterholes to find a rider stuck smack bang in the middle of the only dry line – might I add, it was high tide. I was forced into the deeper saltwater, my bike didn’t like that at all. Throughout the next three waterholes and rock sections my bike was coughing and wheezing like a pack a day smoker at an Aussie pub. But I got there in the end, making sure I played it smart in my second qualifying run.

For me, the beach race is a balance of getting through clean without damaging yourself or the bike so that the remainder of the week can be as stress and trouble free as possible. It really has no influence on the final result.

The Forest Race

The Forest Race has always been a favourite of mine; weaving through the pine trees and rocks gardens – thrown in for good measure. For 2018, the word “rocks” was definitely a talking point. Right from the get-go, the track started with a loose rock infested mess that seemed like it went on forever.
Eventually, we were onto the good stuff – racing through Camyuva local’s backyards and blazing trails with the beach in sight. I started picking guys off pretty early on and kept the theme going throughout the race without too much drama.

The track was poorly marked in some sections and many people got lost, but if you kept your wits about you and played it smart it was all ok and achievable.
The last section of the Forest Race was a climb to the top of a small mountain. The terrain got reasonably technical, but the most challenging thing was the heat – it was 35 degrees celsius plus. But I thought to myself, if I’m feeling the heat then the Europeans must be suffering much more than me.

As I crossed the line, my main man, Rupert Walkner – KTM’s Head of Enduro Research & Development – was waiting for me, eagerly waiting to tell me I had got seventh place. I thought it wasn’t possible? But sure enough, it was true.
It did feel great to get a result like that after the rotten luck I’ve had in Europe this year.

 

The Canyon Race

For 2018, the Canyon Race was introduced to the event. Being a new race no one really knew what to expect, but one thing was guaranteed; rocks, rocks and more rocks. I’m sure that Turkey farms all of the rocks in the world and then distributes them globally. There is just a ridiculous amount of rocks in this place.

Starting off the Canyon Race in seventh place just behind Sherco Racing’s Mario Roman was a really cool feeling. Especially when he’s someone I’ve admired at home on YouTube.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpTobcunpXX/?taken-by=kyea64

Throughout the canyon race, my lack of trials skill started to show. I pinballed my way through a lot of rock sections tearing holes in my poor Troy Lee Designs gear but without it I would have been tearing holes in myself.

I made a couple of silly mistakes and slipped off the extremely narrow track, it cost me some precious time and allowed my mate Michi Walkner to catch and pass me. I tagged onto the back of Michi until the very end, coming home in twelfth place. I wasn’t overly happy with the result but it was definitely a step in the right direction.

The Mountain Race

Picture this; it’s the night before the main race of the entire week – the Mountain Race. You’ve done all the hard work and kept it together to give yourself the best chance of a good result you can. Then boom, something odd is going inside stomach while you’re eating dinner.
It was like someone had turned the tap on and broken the handle off in the process. It couldn’t be shut off until the early hours of the morning, only to be back on in the morning after breakfast.
But that wasn’t going to stop me from racing! As I lined up for the start – ready to roll with a roll of toilet paper stuffed in my bum bag just in case that elusive tap breaks again – I aimed for the top of the mountain and set sail for the day. I was determined to get myself back inside the top ten. I firmly believed I could make it happen after the Forest and Canyon races. The first half of the race went reasonably to plan to hang just outside the top ten, battling with my mate Barende Erasmus, a rock specialist from South Africa.
I figured if I could hang in this position until the later stages of the race when the track gets much tougher and everyone is fatigued I could pick a couple more off and make my way sub top ten. Unfortunately, my stomach had other plans. I had no choice but to lose a couple of positions due to the intense nausea and stomach cramps I was experiencing. But I was determined and soldiered on to the top of the mountain where the weather had turned what can only be described as apocalyptic.

A major weather event coming across the Mediterranean Ocean pushed galeforce winds and rain sideways like tiny bullets across Mt Olympos. As if riding on a knifes edge over boulders 2300m above sea level wasn’t tricky enough.

I entered the last hard and technical section with the finish line intermittently insight as the clouds and rain covered and then uncovered my vision repeatedly. Just as I started pivoting around the boulders and scaling the wet limestone, a gust of wind blew me and my bike off balance and we both were pinched on a sharp rock. As I picked the bike up, I realised the extent of the damage – a split fuel line. The fuel pump was spraying the last litre of fuel I had in the tank on the ground and into my mouth courtesy of the wind.

I wasn’t going to give up so close to the finish! I pushed and dragged my bike 300 metres over boulders until I flagged someone down to get me some fuel to try and at least ride a small portion of the remaining track to aid my completely cooked body. All while I was losing position after position. Each one felt like a kick in the guts, the same guts that were kicking me inside and out.
Eventually, with some help from my girlfriend, Lesley and some kind competitors we managed to drag my bike up the final rock ledge and push it across the line to what was a bittersweet ending.
It was devastating considering by results in the previous days. But I never gave up and got myself another Gold Class Finishers Medal, my third one in a row.

2018 has been tough for me in Europe, things definitely didn’t go to plan. Most of which has been out of my control, but after Sea to Sky, it has rejuvenated my motivation to go home get surgery on my beaten wrist that has been bugging me for years, heal up and come back swinging. I’m a fighter not a quitter.

Fast Facts About Sea to Sky

  • The Gold Medal is awarded to riders who finish the race within seven hours.
  • On average only 30 riders are gold medallists.
  • The fastest riders finish is just over three hours.
  • It costs just shy of €500 Euros to enter.

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