South African Championships - Contermanskloof

On the 3rd of March we headed back to the Western Cape to take part in the South African championships held at Contermanskloof on a course that I had never seen before. I really didn't know what to expect so walking the track on Thursday was a learning experience for me. It hadn't rained in the Cape from around December last year so everything was dry, dusty and loads of braking bumps before most of the turns.

The top section had alot of pedalling between the switchbacks that led into some steep turns and a flat out descent that was super bumpy and fast. A series of high speed rock gardens followed and then it was a sprint to the finish line. The course was really tough on the bike, but it handled like a champ and I was loving testing it out on new terrain. I had a few silly crashes in practice, nothing too serious though. My seeding run was better than expected and I was lying 5th overall. I was happy with that as I had no idea how fast the other guys were going. By the time our race run came around the track was super blown out and a few turns had changed. But I kept it together and had a clean run. I finished 6th overall, 1st KZN rider. Was a little disappointed as I wanted a top 4, but looking forward to having a home turf advantage for the next 3 major races coming up.

Overall results for the day:
1 ) Andrew Neethling
2) Johann Potgieter
3) Stefan Garlicki
4) Jonty Neethling
5) Darryn Stow
6) Travis Browning

Ride safe,
TB