WP champs report

This past weekend saw the last race of the season which was the WP champs and Monster Madness event which was held in Tokai forest on Saturday 24 November.

It was kind of a strange feeling for me because only a week ago I didn’t have a bike and was not planning on racing. How things can change in a week J Omnico organised me a great deal on a Mongoose Boot R which I will ride for the time being until I sort out a ride for next season. I was just really excited to have a bike again and to be able to race! I rode the bike 3 times prior to the race and other than that and a 2 day movie shoot I did a few weeks back, I had not been on a dh bike for almost 2 months! I had also just been sick for 3 weeks which made it tough in the pedal section as I wasn’t feeling 100% yet. Needless to say I felt a bit rusty, but I was determined to give it my best shot and have some fun again J

They race was running a little differently to the norm, it was all on one day so practice started at 8am and ran to 11:30am; racing started at 12pm. The day would consist of 3 race runs, the first 2 for WP champs and the last being the top 20 shootout. The weather on Saturday was really tough with rain, gale force winds and cold temperatures ; the wind was also changing direction all the time which made it very unpredictable through the long pedal section. Some riders had a head wind, others a side wind and others a tail wind.

We finally got going and I was up and running in my first race run, I pushed it where I could but made a few mistakes and tried to save energy for the bottom pedal and big step down jump. I came across with a (3:28) in 3^rd spot behind Pottie (3:23) and Duran (3:27). I was pretty disappointed even under the circumstances and would’ve liked to be closer to the top spot.  Luckily I two more attempts left and in run 2 I pushed harder, but still made a few critical mistakes which left me with a (3:25) in 4^th spot behind Gary Barnard (3:16), Pottie (3:24) and Duran (3:25). Again I was really frustraited with my run and result, I know I had more in me speed wise but my pedalling ability was suffering as I felt flat with no energy.

However there was still one more run and I was keen to get it done properly this time! I set off for the last time and I hit the technical section perfectly, way faster than before. When I hit the pedalling section it felt like the wind had died a little and I just forced myself to dig deep. I pushed everywhere I could and coming into the last big jump on the jeep road I sat down for about 40m to give my legs a rest; this allowed me to give one last burst of energy to get over it and through the last section. I sprinted across the line with a (3:16) and stepped onto the hot seat! I was really happy to put down a solid run and I thought I might have it in the bag…. Unfortunately Pottie  me beat me with a (3:15) and Gary screamed in with a (3:13) leaving us in dazed. The man can pedal a bike, that’s for sure J

So I ended up in 3^rd spot overall, 3 sec off the win but 9 sec ahead of 4^th place which I was pretty happy with considering the circumstances. I am just really excited to be back on the bike and to get the next season underway. Now it’s time to get strong over the next couple of months leading up to the Avis Van Rental DH Challenge in Paarl on 2-3 February 2013.

I would just like to thank everyone who has helped and supported me through this year, it’s been tough at times but I will be back to crack on next season! Thanks also to my awesome sponsors, Seattle Coffee Co, Virgin Active, John Wakefield @science2sport, Red Bull ZA, Adidas eyewear, Leatt protectives, Csixx products, Evoc and Flexfit! Without you guys I would not be able to do what I love and ride my bike full time!

Until next time….