STEFAN GARLICKI: 2013 SA National Cup 1

The season is well and truly underway for 2013 and what a start!

This past weekend we had the first South African National Cup round of the year in Jonkershoek, Western Cape. We had all the top boys here in the field of 95 including Andrew Neethling, Johann Potgieter, Hayden Brown and Tiaan Odendaal.

After last weekend’s crazy planning and racing I was looking forward to having a good race on the weekend and felt strong and ready J Things did change a bit when it poured with rain on Saturday which made the track very interesting and slick. I was not pleased with this as I have never been the best mud rider, but never the less I had to give my best. I managed to get in about 6 runs on Saturday in the rain which was loads of fun. I also got a nice surprise when I saw Investec’s Raymond Van Niekerk out in the rain to check out the event. It’s fantastic to have my sponsor's support when I'm racing.

When Sunday came around it was still raining and I squeezed in 2 runs early in the wet and slippery conditions. I felt good in the wet but I was still not over confident as I had never had a good run in the wet. However, for some reason, I had a good feeling about the day and I was having fun which is always a good sign J I got behind the gate for the seeding run and conditions were still very slick. I saw both Andrew Neethling and Johann Potgieter kill the start! They were both so quick it made me a little nervous but I knew what I needed to do. I set off and charged into the first 3 corners way too fast which made me lose speed but I did manage to calm down a little and settle into a smooth fast pace. I had a near crash just before the road gap but managed to hold on and surprisingly came across in first place! I was just in front of Johann Potgieter with a time of 2:27, it was such a shock as it was not the best run I could do. Needless to say I was so happy as I had finally put down a good run in wet conditions! However the glory was short lived as it was only seeding and it did not count for the final. I knew that the top few would step it up for the final, but I was confident that I could too.

After a few stressful hours I was at the start and ready to go. The track had dried out a lot but I kept the mud tire on the front as I was comfy on it even though it might not have rolled the best. I blocked everything out and focused on the task at hand. Finally after everyone had gone it was my turn and I was off! I was smoother at the start so I maintained more speed in the first 2 corners, but in the third corner I tried to hop up on some roots which failed and I almost crashed. I managed to hold it but lost all my speed and I thought it was game over. I set off again as fast as I could and managed to get down with everything else going well. I looked up and saw that I had gone into second place behind Andrew Neethling which I was happy with after the mistake. I would have liked to be a bit closer in time but I’ll take it J It was a great start to the season and it’s awesome to have strong competition in SA.

The top 5 times:

1. Andrew Neethling: 2:17:82

2. Stefan Garlicki: 2:22:37

3. Johann Potgieter: 2:22:42

4. Hayden Brown: 2:23:78

5. Tiaan Odendaal: 2:24:?

I would like to give a huge thanks once again to my awesome sponsors, INVESTEC / Seattle Coffee Co / Morewood / Leatt / Adidas eyewear / Science 2 Sport / Virgin Active / Csixx / Red Bull ZA / Spank / Sun Ringle / ODI / Bell Helmets.

I am so lucky to these awesome brands and people behind me!

Until next time…