My first National in Port Elizabeth didn’t go as planned and ended on the first lap. Now going into the second round of the SA XCO Cup in Pretoria, just 30 minutes travel from where I live, I was more worried about getting my lines right and not having a mechanical this time around, which was a factor in my last 3 races and knowing that this was a very rough course (which suited the Momsen VIPA just fine!)
I had to pay attention to getting the small things right, especially my tyre and suspension PSI- went a bit higher than I'd normally do. I was ok all day until the call up and then the nerves started kicking in. Off we went, heart rate to its max! My start wasn’t too bad, I pushed as hard as I could but struggled to get my rhythm steady until the fourth lap after catching up with a group consisting of Niels Rasmussen (Denmark), Stuart Marais and Jason Meaton.
Niels played a very tactical game which saw him riding away from us on the last lap; on the second last climb I managed to ride away from Stuart and Jason and bridged over to Neil, but as I got to him he attacked again. I finished 13th Elite Men on the day, only a minute off the top 10 and my overall time was 10 minutes faster than my Provincials which I was very happy about. My teammates Brendon and Alan finished 5th and 6th, and Marco 17th. It wasn’t the best of days for the team, but these guys are fighters. Off to the Pietermaritzburg MTB Festival next.
Thanks for all the support the team and I got from everyone before and during the race, and also for the continuous support from all our sponsors.
'til next time, keep dreaming with your eyes open. O_O
Photo cred: Boogs McFadden
I had to pay attention to getting the small things right, especially my tyre and suspension PSI- went a bit higher than I'd normally do. I was ok all day until the call up and then the nerves started kicking in. Off we went, heart rate to its max! My start wasn’t too bad, I pushed as hard as I could but struggled to get my rhythm steady until the fourth lap after catching up with a group consisting of Niels Rasmussen (Denmark), Stuart Marais and Jason Meaton.
Niels played a very tactical game which saw him riding away from us on the last lap; on the second last climb I managed to ride away from Stuart and Jason and bridged over to Neil, but as I got to him he attacked again. I finished 13th Elite Men on the day, only a minute off the top 10 and my overall time was 10 minutes faster than my Provincials which I was very happy about. My teammates Brendon and Alan finished 5th and 6th, and Marco 17th. It wasn’t the best of days for the team, but these guys are fighters. Off to the Pietermaritzburg MTB Festival next.
Thanks for all the support the team and I got from everyone before and during the race, and also for the continuous support from all our sponsors.
'til next time, keep dreaming with your eyes open. O_O
Photo cred: Boogs McFadden