Our week in skills, mechanics and the Tour De France - by PC

As the weekend approaches and the start of the biggest cycling race in the world is about to kick off in France it also brings hand-in-hand my annual TDF betting pool! The numbers have been climbing, lots of behind the scenes research has been going on to see which will be the best way to bring in the pot as well as exclusive bragging rights for the next year! This always a great way to get Epic Sport patrons, mtb enthusiasts, team-mates and friends who normally don’t follow this type of cycling discipline to get into this event, create some interest and ultimately lose some of their hard earned money to my bet! But inevitably time will tell!

Another event for Yolande and me this week was the Centurion Hoerskool skills and tech clinic which was held on Wednesday. This is the first time the school has ever had a cycling club and is such a great initiative to give kids a chance to gain exposure to the sport as normal school extra mural activities never really allow for this. 20 kids showed up at Fountains which was fantastic! They were split into two groups where I would take one group through a set of activities to help give them a few pointers of how not to crash on face as well as to be faster and more efficient mtb riders and Andre (Epic Sports Cycle Shop and MTN/Qhubeka Pro mtb mechanic) showed the other group a few basics on bike love.

The parents also put on a great show and supplied wors rolls and support to their kids as well as revealing a new kit and sponsor for their school team! MTN/Qhubeka provided everyone with an Elite Team water bottle as well as some PVM nutritional supplements which they could try out on their ride. The event was good fun and hopefully everyone learnt something. It was also nice to see some of the talent that could possibly be fueling our sport in the years to come so hats off to Centurion Hoerskool for such a great initiative!

Another great initiative is the Epic Sports charity box which has been overflowing with fantastic product in aid of the Jacaranda Charity. Thanks to everyone who has supported this project and please keep those unused cycling products coming as here they will never go to waste!

Well, no racing this weekend for us but instead we will be able to put in a few quality rides! I am happy that I’m recovering well from last weekend and have decided that crashing is not really for me.  I am also pleased to announce that Yolande has now finished her first week back on the bike and is looking good. This will be a challenging road for her but more determination you have not seen so what else to say…..maybe just watch out ladies, comeback 3.0 is underway!

Good luck to all racing in Knysna this weekend all the best to the Tour De France pool, this will be an interesting year!

Till next time,

PC