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.