So it’s Tuesday evening and I am sitting here in Schladming
right after my first event of the international season.
I arrived in Europe last week Monday and I was super excited
but at the same time a little unsure of how I would feel as my shoulder is still not up to full
strength. I had made the decision to head to Willingen, Germany for the UCI Cat
1 Wheels of Speed Downhill Challenge. I thought the track would suit me quite
well with it being really fast with loads of big jumps! The event has been won
by top riders in the last few years including Aaron Gwin and Mick Hannah.
I headed to Willingen on Thursday with my friend Arie
Schindler for practise on Friday. I started off with a crash on the first run J but I soon got into it
and did loads of runs. I started feeling really good by the end of the day and
was looking forward to the weekend! Saturday rolled around and I was excited to
get back out there to smash some whips! Seeding was really late on Saturday and
started at 17:00 which meant loads of waiting around. I was soon on track and
pushing to have a good time while still keeping it safe and not over doing it.
I came down with a smooth mistake free run and was sitting in 12th
spot only 7 sec off the leader which I was very pleased with as I knew I had
much more in the tank for Sunday!
Sunday was race day and I was excited to get the first one
under my belt as it had been a while since my last race. I got in 3 practise
runs in the morning and I felt great, unfortunately my buddy Arie had a huge
crash and was not feeling too great. He would end up racing but he was not able
to go the speed he wanted to which was a pitty as he was looking quick.
Anyway it was soon time for finals and before I knew it I
was on track and on a mission! I had changed a few lines and was pushing a bit
harder all the way down the course. It was such a cool feeling to hear the
crazy German fans all the way down the course, it forces you to push even
harder J
I flew into the finish area with a time of 2:05:49 which had
me sitting in 3rd spot at the time and I was not convinced that it
would hold. However it was better than I thought as only 2 more riders got
ahead of me. I ended in 5th place only 1.2 sec off the win which was
amazing, after all the struggles last year it was a great feeling to get
another top 5 in Europe with the level of competition over here. My shoulder
held up quite well and did not bother me too much so hopefully it will just
keep improving each week.
I am just so excited to back
racing and I am looking forward to Leogang European cup this coming weekend,
BRAAAAP! Thanks to everyone who has helped me thus far, without you all I would
not be here. Also thanks to my amazing sponsors, INVESTEC, morewood, seattle
coffee co, Red Bull SA, Virgin Active, Science 2 Sport, my trainer John Wakefield, Cycles
Africa ( Manitou, Hayes, Sun Ringle, ODI ), Spank, Csixx, Leatt Protectives,
Adidas eyewear and Bell helmets. You all make it happen J
PS. Thanks to the Schindler family
for putting me up for last week!
Until next time….
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