Result: 4th Overall
It was a very last minute decision to head down to Knysna for the XTERRA. I didn't feel that my form was good and decided it wasn't worth spending the money to head down especially with The Imana Wild Ride around the corner. However Nic Visser from AHT Cooling Systems felt differently and told me I couldnt miss out and had to go down and do my best, so he offered to cover my entire trip to Knysna which Im extremely grateful for as it was a brilliant race for me.
The weather had been terrible leading up to XTERRA however on race day we were greeted by a chilly yet cloud free morning. It was going to be a day of fun in the mud for sure. The first 3km run got under way with Stuart Marais taking off like I have never seen. My aim for this run was to try stay as close to Nico as possible to hopefully work with him on the bike. I felt surprising good on the run and came into transition just behind him.
We got onto the bike together and I jumped onto his wheel to give myself time to recover from the effort on the run. Soon Kevin Evans came by and immediately put in a surge to get away. A short while later we caught back up to Stuart and had a good pace leading back towards transition, however luck was not on my side and with about 2km to go on the bike I suffered a rear puncture. I knew we were close and I wasnt carrying my POWASOL Weld Fast to try and save weight and looking back that was definitely an error. I rode back to transition on the rim but lost a lot of time and my chance to fight for a podium spot was gone.
Now to far back to challenge the 3 up front I settled into a comfortable final run and actually thoroughly enjoyed myself running through the extremely scenic Phezula estate. I crossed the line in 4th overall and 2nd in category. Big congrats to Stuart Marais on his win, a great guy whose definitely going places in XTERRA. I have left Knysna pretty happy as I felt great and even with the lack of training I was able to compete up front. It was another great XTERRA experience and had so much fun out at the event. Was nice to see so many KZN boys down at the race and all doing extremely well even after competing in the BIG 5.
Need to say a huge thanks again to Nic from AHT Cooling Systems for giving me the opportunity to race in Knysna. Thanks also to my major sponsor THULE for always being behind me 100% and for the amazing lugguage which always makes traveling a pleasure. Thanks to a new sponsor of mine 32GI I was amazed at how stable and constant my energy levels were and its a true testament to your great low GI energy drink. Also to POWASOL for making cleaning my bike after the muddy race a breeze. Thanks also to Compressport and Saucony for the ongoing support with your exceptional products which help me to perform at my best.
