SA XCO Cup #3: Mankele, Nelspruit
The third round of the South African National XCO Cup was held in Mpumalanga Nelspruit (Mankele). It was going to be a fast one: a 4.9KM track with lots of fast-flowing technical single track, one monstrous climb, and a few jumps- this one of the best XCO courses we have locally.
I was finally feeling better than the past weeks, so I was amped about this one; especially as it is only two weeks away from the African MTB Championships and also having some of my old team mates from the Diepsloot MTB Academy with us.
I think the most important thing was getting the lines, tyre and shock pressure right. Time for race day! With all the internationals gone I was now seeded on the 3rd row, not bad.
Heart beating fast on the starting line; I was aiming for a very good race and a very good position. And a good race I got!
This was one of the longest, fastest starts I've ever been in. First lap my battery was low, couldn't hang on. The guys had proper explosive strength which I struggled with, but I still hung on with what I had. From the fourth lap when everyone was a bit tired I started catching up. My race ended with me in 12th place.
My teammate Alan (the “Alanator”) won his first elite race; guess things are about to get exciting for the team and this young champ- another Olympic hopeful? Marco finished 4th Junior and Brendon not having the best day at 13th place. We all popped the champagne and had a drink for Alan. Next for me is African champs in a week’s time, Rwanda here we come!
Thanks to Brandon Whitely for everything, to CSA and Kargo for bringing Diepsloot MTB Academy riders to Mankele, Mr. "All-in-One" Shaun Peschl and all the KargoProMtbTeam sponsors for keeping our mountain biking dream alive.
The third round of the South African National XCO Cup was held in Mpumalanga Nelspruit (Mankele). It was going to be a fast one: a 4.9KM track with lots of fast-flowing technical single track, one monstrous climb, and a few jumps- this one of the best XCO courses we have locally.
I was finally feeling better than the past weeks, so I was amped about this one; especially as it is only two weeks away from the African MTB Championships and also having some of my old team mates from the Diepsloot MTB Academy with us.
I think the most important thing was getting the lines, tyre and shock pressure right. Time for race day! With all the internationals gone I was now seeded on the 3rd row, not bad.
Heart beating fast on the starting line; I was aiming for a very good race and a very good position. And a good race I got!
This was one of the longest, fastest starts I've ever been in. First lap my battery was low, couldn't hang on. The guys had proper explosive strength which I struggled with, but I still hung on with what I had. From the fourth lap when everyone was a bit tired I started catching up. My race ended with me in 12th place.
My teammate Alan (the “Alanator”) won his first elite race; guess things are about to get exciting for the team and this young champ- another Olympic hopeful? Marco finished 4th Junior and Brendon not having the best day at 13th place. We all popped the champagne and had a drink for Alan. Next for me is African champs in a week’s time, Rwanda here we come!
Thanks to Brandon Whitely for everything, to CSA and Kargo for bringing Diepsloot MTB Academy riders to Mankele, Mr. "All-in-One" Shaun Peschl and all the KargoProMtbTeam sponsors for keeping our mountain biking dream alive.