My first race for each season is usually an event which I
organise and run, the Avis Van Rental Paarl Downhill challenge. The event is
growing each year and this past year had all the top riders from around the
country present including world top 15 rider, Andrew Neethling. It’s always a
tough one for me because I am so focused on running things it makes it tricky
to concentrate on racing too. I had a great run this year and managed to get 2nd
place just 0.4s off Neethling. I was so glad to have that over with so I could
focus purely on racing from then on! The next few events were local; SA National
cup rounds 1 and 2 as well as the African Continental Championships in KZN. All
these events went very well for me, I was 2nd at both national
rounds and 3rd at the African champs event.
I was beyond gutted! I flew back to Cape Town and made the
tough decision to have an operation on it so it would hopefully not happen
again. I knew this meant missing a few races but I thought it was the best
decision for the long term. I had it sorted and I was actually back on a
downhill bike in 5 weeks which is unreal, for most people it takes at least 12
weeks. It was weak and a little uncomfortable at first but I made the best of
it and tried to build my speed back up. In June I was back in Europe and my
first event was the Willingen Wheels of Speed DH challenge in Germany. The
track is a little different to the norm; it was a bit smoother and faster with
big jumps all the way down. I thought it would be a good introduction for me
with a weaker shoulder. I was over the moon to get a 5th place there
only 1.5s off the win with a tough field of riders. I knew the next few races
would be a little harder as they were European cups.
Next up were rounds 1 and 2 of the European cup series in
Austria and Germany. I had a bit of a tough time with them, the tracks were
rough and it made it difficult for me to hang on and ride at my best. I ended
with a 51st and 46th at both rounds which was not too bad
at that stage. I had always had a bit of bad luck at European cups for some
reason and my career best was a 15th place in Chattel in 2012. The
plan was then to go to France to race the Crankworx Les 2 Alpes event but I
decided to go to Schladming, Austria instead. I had some friends there and it
is arguably the best track around so it is great for training and I thought it
would be very good to get some bike time. It was exactly what I needed and
after a couple of weeks I was feeling quite a lot better and I came a long way
with my bike setup which I had battled with. Schladming is a great place to go
and loads of fun besides the good riding. There are mountain go carts which are
the best things ever, a push go cart which you rent and fly down a 7km mountain
road at around 70kph! After the fun and games I was on a plane home for SA
national champs in PE. It was good for me to go home for a few days and unwind
too. The track in PE was average I have to say; it was a fun single trail and
fairly fast but there was not much to separate riders which made it tough. The
track was super tight and tricky to get up to speed but it was the same for
everyone. I ended up getting 2nd place behind Tiaan Odendaal. I was
4s off him and I was really disappointed because it’s such a big goal of mine
and I put so much focus on it. I think sometimes when you want something too
much you can push too hard. It’s still a big goal of mine and since my first
national champs in 2010 I have been 5th, 3rd, 3rd,
2nd so hopefully 2014 will be my year J
I was soon back on a plane and off to Andorra for my first
World Cup of the season. My travel buddy and partner in crime was Sam Bull. He
collected me from Geneva and we drove for 9 hours to Andorra. This meant that since PE I
had been travelling for around 35 hours and was in desperate need of sleep! Now
a World Cup is the toughest level of racing in the sport and also has a much
tighter schedule than most other races. You only have 1 day to practice the
course before you need to qualify to get into the final. This might sound easy
but you need to bear in mind that only the very best riders even attempt to
qualify for a world cup. There are usually a couple of hundred who try to qualify at each event and you only
get 1 chance to achieve it.. So if you
have a crash or a mechanical problem that’s it, all over. It is quite a lot of
pressure to get the job done and it’s the reason that racing the world cups is
so tough.
However it’s the same for everyone and I just needed to pull
out all the stops. We had walked the track and I knew it would be tough as the
track looked like the most gnarly track I had ever ridden, super steep, rocky,
fast and long. My weekend unfortunately took a bad turn as I had a small crash
and sliced the palm of my hand open. I needed stitches and due to the position
of the cut I was unable to ride. I kept my head high and moved on to the next
European cup in Pila, Italy. It’s one of my favourite tracks and I had a solid
ride getting me into 19th spot which was awesome! It was my second best result ever
and my second top 20. Pila is definitely one of the best places to ride and
train in all of Europe. Next up we decided to make the long trek to Ilmenau in
Germany for a German cup round. I had podiumed there in 2011 and I was looking
forward to going back for the win!
The track had changed so much and it was all new. It’s a bit
of strange one there as the track is pretty similar to a South African track,
being a bit flatter and shorter. We all had a blast and I ended up in 7th
place which was a bit of a disappointment. However I was less than 2 seconds
off the win and less than a second off the podium which was really frustrating
but still good. My good friend Christian Textor had invited us to come to his
place right after the race and we had an awesome time! We got to ride some rad
jumps, pump tracks and trails while meeting new people and loving it. It was a
good break for us and we felt refreshed for the next event in Wiriehorn,
Switzerland. I had also been to Wiriehorn before and I had really enjoyed the
track which was crazy fast! I knew I had a good result in me and after I seeded
6th I thought a win could be on the cards. In my race run I had a
couple of silly mistakes and I had to settle for 11th spot just 6
seconds off the winner, Manuel Gruber. It was a little frustrating to be so
close to a top 10 but that’s how it goes.
On the Sunday after the event we headed to Morzine to spend
a week riding and training at Riders Refuge. It was so much fun and if you ever
decide to go to Morzine, head to Riders refuge, meals included, the works! Now
I did not have too much time, I needed to get home for the World Championships
in Pietermaritzburg. It was such an honour to be selected to race for South
Africa in the World Champs for the first time. It had been a massive goal for
me and to do it and get my SA colours was amazing. As with SA champs, I came home for a few days
first just to unwind from all the travel before heading up to Pietermaritzburg.
It was such a good feeling to have to have my parents and
friends there; it makes such a big difference. The track there is a bit
different to the other World Cup tracks, it has a monster pedal section in the
middle but it’s also the fastest track of the season and has massive jumps. My
goal was a top 20 and I knew that if all went well I could definitely achieve
that. I ended up getting 40th
place which was not bad but also a bit disappointing. My run just didn’t quite
go to plan. I was only 6 seconds off the top 20 which is not a lot on a long
course like Pietermaritzburg. In the end it was still a solid result and a huge
step in the right direction for me. That race was probably the most enjoyable
of my career so far.
It was a rad experience to travel with the team and have the
support so I am really thankful for that. I was really looking forward to
Hafjell as I loved the track and was determined to get into the final for the first time in
Europe as I had only ever qualified at 1 World Cup prior to this which was in
Pietermaritzburg! After a good days practice I managed to put in a good run for
the Qualification. I started out really strong and I was so worried about
messing up at the bottom that I eased off slightly to make sure I kept it
together. This almost cost me as I just made it into the final in 78th
spot! It didn’t matter because I was in and that was what mattered!
For the finals the weather flipped around and it was pouring
with rain making the track a river! We had done all our practice in the dry and
then suddenly the track was a river which made it very tough. My goal was to
keep it on two wheels because I knew that loads of people would crash out etc. I
managed to do that and got down in 69th spot which was solid and
still a huge step forward for me confidence wise. There was no time to hang
around though, first thing in the morning we were off to the airport and on the
way to Leogang in Austria for the World Cup finals. I was excited as I now knew
that I could do it and I was ready for more.
The track had changed a lot and they had made it quite a bit
more technical than in the past which made the first day of practice very
interesting. I managed to keep it together and I felt good going into day 2
which was qualifying. However things
took a turn for the worst for myself, Sam and our other partner, Adi van Der
Merwe. We woke up to a van which had been broken into and all of our Morewood bikes
had been stolen from right outside our window. We were devastated to say the
least and it was definitely the end of our weekend. The thieves were pro’s as they managed to break the window and
get all three bikes out without making a sound while just meters away from our
apartment window which was open. We obviously reported it to the cops but we
knew that we would not see the bikes again, the guys were good. After all this
we were in a tricky situation as we
still had one event left the following weekend and we thought it would be
better to find bikes and race it to end off the trip on a good note. We did
just that, we found bikes which we could borrow and went to race the last
European cup in Maribor, Slovenia. It was the first time I had been there and
the track was absolutely awesome! It had loads of jumps, roots and natural
sections which made it my favourite European cup track of the year! The weather
did not play ball and it literally rained the entire weekend which made the
track an ice rink but still a ball of fun. I have never been great in the mud
and I had never enjoyed the mud until this race! I absolutely loved every
minute of it and in my race run I was on a great run until I hit a tree and it
forced me to a stop. I was gutted but even with that huge mistake I ended in 41st
place while riding a borrowed bike that was too small. It was also a huge step
forward for my confidence and mud riding. As this was the last European cup
round it marked the end of the series and I finished up 23rd which
was also a huge improvement from my 70 something in 2012.
The following week we visited THE October Fest in Munich,
Germany which was such an awesome experience and loads of fun! Anyone who wants
to see a party, go there and enjoy. You have never seen so many drunk people in
one place in your life. I had booked to fly home on the Thursday of that week
but when I arrived at the airport they said the flight was over booked and
would I like to spend another night in Munich? At first I was not to keen but
then they offered me 600 Euros and a free night’s stay at the hotel. Needless
to say I stayed and flew home the following day 600 Euros richer J
It was a good feeling to be home and chill out for a bit
mentally. I was still training hard for my last event which was in Malelane,
Mpumalanga. I was determined to go and race and I managed to borrow a Trek
Session 9.9 bike from Thomas Rood and I am really grateful to him. I rode the
bike about 6 times before heading up to the event and I felt confident I could
have a good result.
I walked the track up there and I was excited because it was
a proper track, super steep and technical. The event was a little different
because it was so far out so we all stayed together and it was a really good
fun weekend for all that attended. I had a couple of good days practice with a
few punctures but I felt strong for race day. I put in an ok seeding run with
some silly mistakes and ended 3rd just 2 seconds of the lead which
was a good feeling as I knew I had more in the tank. However it all fell apart
in the race run when I had a flat tyre just 30 seconds into the track. I was
gutted but on the positive side I knew I
was riding well and it was just equipment failure.
That brings us to the present and it’s been an amazing year
with loads of good times. At the end of it all I went from 150 something in the
world ranking to 46th, I ended 23rd in the European
ranking, I finished 40th at World Champs and I finished 2nd
at SA Champs. It was definitely my best year so far and a huge building block
for the future. I still have huge goals in this sport and I’m on my way!!
Although I am riding the bike, it takes a huge effort from a
lot of people to keep me out there, so to my parents, trainer (John Wakefield)
and all who support me I say THANKYOU! Also to my main sponsor INVESTEC and all
my co-sponsors (Morewood, Seattle Coffee co, Virgin Active, Leatt, Bell
helmets, Csixx, Hayes, Odi, Sun Ringle, Spank, Science 2 Sport, Red Bull and
Giro shoes) , I could not do this
without your support and I am really thankful and fortunate.
I hope you all enjoyed the read and I will see you in 2014! J
Until next time….
