XCO National Champions & Cape Argus Pick and Pay cycle tour.

Cyclists and non cyclists alike are very familiar with the Cape Argus
Cycle Tour which took place this past Sunday in Cape Town. What
‘some’ people weren’t aware of was that they were missing out on some
good cross country mountain bike racing on the day before the Argus.

On Saturday the 12th of March the South African National Cross
Country Championships took place at Delvera Wine farm just outside of
Stellenbosch.

The event was scheduled to take place at District 6 in Cape Town but
last minute decisions saw the event move to Delvera farm which luckily
had trails already laid out for people to enjoy in and around
Stellenbosch.

I travelled to Cape Town a week before the event specifically to train
on the course. With the final 5.8km circuit only marked out on
Thursday, I spent the other days training on Dirtopia’s trails. This
was truly a fun ride as it took you over some awesome technical single
track laid out on a ‘koppie’ on the far side of the farm. As a XC
course has to abide by certain standards the course was laid out
closer to the farm, unfortunately missing out on the amazing single
track. Instead the 5.8km route consisted mainly of a very steep uphill
and downhill.

Whatever the course - my Specialized Era and I were up for the challenge!

The u/23 and elite ladies set out to race 5 laps of the 5.8km course.
In the ladies u/23 category there was some tight racing between
Mariska Strauss (Team Contego), Caitlin De Wet (Team Bizhub) and
Candice Neetling (Team Bizhub). At the end Mariska had a great ride
coming back from a tiring 2010 season to win the u/23 National Jersey
with my team mates Candice Neetling and Caitlin de Wet in 2nd and 3rd
place respectfully.

In my category (elite ladies) Yolande Speedy (Team Qhubeka/MTN) had a
dominant race and added another national title to her name with Swiss
rider Arianne Luthi (Team Contego) in 2nd, Samantha Saanders
(Mankele) in 3rd and me in 4th place at the end.

Since I’ve been involved in cycling foreign riders are allowed to
compete at a National Championships to raise the standard but aren’t
eligible to get a medal at the end, only the prize money and UCI
points that go with the result. This is how it worked and always had
worked all across the world. I myself have even raced in Belgium’s
National Championships on the road and there you also can’t get a
medal - just a mention if you do manage to garner a result.

Therefore I thought that I would get the Bronze Medal as I was the 3rd
South African to cross the finish line and everyone at the race also
assured me of this. Finally at prize giving the South African silver
medal was awarded to Swiss rider Arianne Luthi on Alec Lenfurna’s
decision.

I was disappointed to witness the podium presentation instead of being
on it myself but what hurt even more was when I asked Alec about it
and he basically told me off for questioning his decision.

The following day our team lined up for the Argus Pick and Pay Cycle Tour.
We had great weather on Sunday making it a perfect day to be outdoors.

Our team put in an excellent performance at the end with Catherine
Williamson from England finishing on die podium in 3rd place.

Next up for us will be the MTB Marathon National Championships in Kwazulu-Natal.