RESULT: 1st in category and 4th Overall
After a pretty bad start to 2011 with sickness and mechanicals, I woke up at 4am on race morning feeling a lot more nervous then I usual do for a race as I was desperate to put in a result that I knew I was capable of.
Once my bike was racked and transition area set up the butterflies slowly started to disappear and I started to look forward to getting the swim done and getting onto my favoured discipline the mountain bike leg. I was just hoping to get through the race cleanly with no fights in the swim and no mechanicals on the bike.
It was so good to be back down at Grabouw on the waters edge again, crammed in amongst the 100’s of other excited competitors. Knowing I needed to get out fast so as to avoid getting involved in the mid pack bumping and barging I jumped straight onto Ryan Redmans feet and tried to stay on him for as long as I could. Unfortunately those hopes were short lived as he was having a cracker swim and soon disappeared. I found a good rhythm and just kept focusing on my stroke to try and get out the water still in reach of the faster swimmers up front.
Once on the bike my plan was to hammer the climb straight away and chase the leaders who had exited the water around 2m40 ahead but for some reason my body was having none of it. My breathing was erratic and my legs felt like lead. Fortunately after a couple of kms hanging onto Justin Porteous my riding legs returned and I set off after the front runners. Further up the road I caught Raoul De Jongh and just reminding me why I do XTERRA, instead of being upset about losing a position he offered me words of encouragement, this is what XTERRA is all about. Then thankfully up the tricky hike-a-bike section I managed to ride most of it and get past Lieuwe Boonstra and into 3rd overall. I kept a steady tempo from then on trying to save a little in the legs to get through the run only pushing the single track sections which I knew I could make up time without having to exert any extra energy.
I came off the bike with Nico Pfitzenmaier, with us lying 3rd and 4th overall. I would have my work cut out for me on the run to try and hold off Boonstra, Porteous, De Jongh and training partner Carleton. Thankfully my legs felt great and I climbed strong to the highest point on the run route, looking back I could see I still had a manageable gap over Lieuwe.
I crossed the line elated with my result and form after having been off for 3weeks with a virus I couldn’t have asked for more. It was a great day for me with absolutely no troubles. The course was brilliant and the vibe at the event was better than I had ever experienced.
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