Gauteng Provincial 2 Voortrekker Monument - Arno du Toit

With the season just about getting into full swing with races every weekend all over the country it’s  hard to stay focused on the bigger picture and keep on training through the smaller events. Missing out on the MTN Sabie Marathon last weekend due to my brothers wedding, meant that we could do a solid build before recovering for the first SA XCO Cup in PMB on the 15th March.

However even after being sent and chased over Klapperkop about a thousand times by Coach Paul last week, I was excited for the 2^nd leg of the Gauteng XCO Provincial series held at Voortrekker Monument on the weekend.

The course was pretty basic. Loose and rocky with a bit more climbing than we are used to having here in and around Pretoria. For myself the race went pretty much as planned except for not being able to cleat in on the start line, like an amateur. Team mate Nic Popich got the whole shot, but then let me through at the top of the first drag.

I went fairly hard to open a gap on the rest of the field and then settled into a comfortable rhythm trying not to make any mistakes. Even though there weren’t any real technical sections on the track, you had to stay focused all the way through. The smallest mistake on these sharp rocky surfaces could see you pushing your bike or leaking lots of blood all over yourself.

In my own mind I counted myself lucky a few times. Pushing into corners a bit too hot or overtaking other riders and knocking a couple of rocks pretty hard. Luckily the Conti tyres held up well as always. I was a bit nervous that there might be some minor issues with my bike seeing that we only built the new one on Thursday. However it was perfect thanks to the mechanics at Epic Sports.

In the end I was happy with another win for the season. Things are coming together nicely. Well done to all the other Academy members and a big thank you to everyone involved behind the scenes for giving us riders such a solid foundation to perform from.

Till next time!

Adt