21 June was the final leg of the SA National XCO Series held at the Hayterdale Trails in Addo, PE. This was the course which hosted the
SA XCO Champs last year, and it remained much the same but a switchback climb
was added with some step drop-offs.
The elite Woman started at 11am; a late start but starting
with the sunshine and the ground being heated up was definitely welcomed by all
when racing in the middle of winter in the Eastern Cape!
The field was well represented and I was happy to see the
likes of Candice Neethling & Cherie Vale on the start line. The National
XCO Series this year has Cat 1 UCI points up for grab as well as UCI regulated
prize money available; this was good incentive to race hard!
Nick Flores, the commissaire for the day, started our 6 laps
of racing at 11am sharp. The whistle blew and I took the whole shot into the
first corner. The first 300m or so of the lap through the start finish area was
grassy and bumpy - not ideal for a sprint. I wanted to get into the single track
first as the climb was followed by a technical decent into a drop-off. I knew
many of the girls would ride the B line at the drop and I wanted to try open up
a gap for myself before the next climb started. The climbs on this course are
mostly single track making passing impossible.
This is advantageous if you are
in front because you can dictate the pace up, but if you are stuck behind a
slower rider- it is frustrating and you will lose time.
I managed to execute my plan well but Cherie and Candice
were breathing down my neck still as we went through the start finish together.
By Lap 4 Cherie and I had pulled a gap on Candice. Cherie was attacking on the
climbs and I decided to let her ride out front, I knew that we had 6 laps and
she was not pulling away from me. We approached the Rock Garden on the course
and Cherie was having trouble with it on the day so I made a flash decision to
take the B line here to try get around her and through the section safely- this
turned out to be a bad decision on my part and one which ruined my chances of a
win.
Going down the B line, I took a dive over my bars. This was the game-ender
for me- I lost precious time straightening my bars and my derailleur was damaged
in the incident.
Candice caught me and passed while I struggled to get back
into a rhythm. Both Cherie and Candy put the hammer down on lap 5 & 6 and
I just hung in for 3rd.
I was happy to still put myself on the podium and get my
sponsors the exposure but exceptionally frustrated with the course of events.
Lesson learned on the day: only ever take calculated risks! The final standings of
the series saw Ashleigh
Moffat finish 1st overall with Mariske Strauss 2nd and
myself 3rd after only competed in 2 of the 4 events.
Full event results:
Elite Woman:
1. Cherie Vale 1:39:18
2. Candice Neethling 1:39:49
3. Samantha Sanders 1:40:47
Well done to my fellow competitors, especially Cherie and Candice,
and CSA for a successful series. Valencia Cycles, Infinita, Powerbar,
Continental tires and Adidas; my sponsors- THANX!
Next stop Pietermaritzburg where my teammate Amy & I
will be tackling the Marathon World Champs.
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