So it’s that time of year again, where the new year is approaching faster than we want it to, and many of us take a moment to look back on the year that has been, both good or bad. This is a post dedicated to the good, in fact not just good, but awesome. These are my top 5 moments on the bike for 2011, in no particular order;
UCI Africa Continental Champs
In 2011 the UCI African Continental were held in Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch. The fact that I punctured twice and finished just outside the top 10 didn’t even matter. Racing for your country is one of the highest privileges in sport, and the fact that I had all my best friends and family out there to support me while I flew the flag in my home province made it even more special. It was also kind of neat to lead out Burry Stander and the rest of the field through the first lap on the new GT Zaskar 29er!
UCI World Cup #1 – Pietermaritzberg
Having the worlds best cross country riders assemble themselves in your home country for the opening round of the UCI World Cup series ranks highly in any riders books. Again it was such an amazing experience racing on a world class course against a world class field on your home turf. The most exciting part of the race by far was tackling the notorious rock garden. The experience was made even more nerve wrecking by the thousands of people standing there shouting for you and waiting for something interesting to happen. Luckily I made it down in one piece on all occasions, which cannot be said for many of my competitors!
Sani2C Day 2- Nick’s Pass
This top moment occurred on Day 2 of the Sani2C race. Those of you who have had the opportunity to ride this spectacular race with it’s breathtaking trails will know what I am talking about. The moment occurred when my team mate Oliver Munnik and I were sitting happily in the front bunch and had just starting the descent down Nick’s pass, about a good 45mins of pristine , smooth, flowing downhill singletrack. Oliver managed to cut his tyre which forced us to stop and plug it with a special tyre plug. It only took a few moments, but it meant that we had about a minute of time to catch up, and an open single track ahead of us to ride as fast as we dared! What unfolded next was madness. Oliver, being an ex downhiller lead the two man chase and for the next 10 minutes or so I hung on for dear life as we hit speeds in excess of 70km/h on a narrow piece of track, and hitting blind corners with much more speed than made sense. To make matters worse some of the corners had slimy mud on them which made for fun when both wheels started drifting around the corners. Needless to say I would not have gone down there at that speed by myself! Luckily we kept it upright and made it back to the front, with a smile from ear to ear that lasted about a week!
Whale watching off Chapmans Peak
This moment happened totally unexpectedly. I was cruising up Chapmans’s peak one day on a long ride with a friend of mine, Russel. We were pedaling up from the Noordhoek side at an easy pace when we noticed a pod of dolphins playing around in one of the coves. We paused to admire them for a moment, when we suddenly heard a big snort. To our surprise there was a massive whale chilling there as well. We must have watched for about 20 minutes in awe of this awesome creature floating about and blowing through his blow hole with such power as it echoed off the cliff faces. It was amazing how such a small thing can totally turn your day around. It just makes you marvel at God’s great creation.
UCI WC- Nova Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic
Last but not least is the World Cup race in Czech Republic. With a World Cup having never been held in Czech Republic before, I was totally blown away by course, and the crowd support, so much so that it has to be one of my top 5 moments on the bike this year. As a professional athlete, racing is so much better when the crowd really gets behind you and urges you on. Up this particular hill, the spectators were lined 3 deep and shouting so loud you could barely hear yourself think. I think this had something to do with the large amounts of beer they were consuming! Never the less, it was amazing and I can’t wait to go back there in 2012.
So there you have it. Those are just some of my favourite moments on the bike this year. Looking back I feel so blessed to have been able to be at all there events and places. Here’s to an awesome 2012, with some exciting news to announce next year.
Wishing you all a safe and happy new year.
Keep earning those wings!
