The first BIG race of the year had made its way to Contermanskloof, Cape Town, South Africa. A course which hosted the 2011 SA champs, and a course which I really enjoyed! Practice on the Friday was cancelled for unknown reasons and so it meant that Saturday would be the only day where we could get our practicing dialled! I got in a total of 5 runs in on Saturday and was feeling really confident, I couldn't wait to race!!
Race day arrived and in the morning it seemed like it was gonna be an awesome day, I smashed out a solid run and then waited at the bottom for my seeding run. My seeding run went from awesome to face plant to a few cartwheels down the hill, followed by my chain falling off... in that order! I got up as quick as I could, but with my crash being in the fastest part of the track and my chain not operating, I was constantly loosing time. I got down to the bottom with a time of 2min30secs which I was super stoked with, I was only 12 seconds behind my main competition and so I was confident that I could put together a solid time in my race run!
When my race run came around and it was time to sit in the start gate, nerves were running high! I knew what I was capable of, all I had to do was keep it all together until the finish. The time keeper counted me down, 5...4...3...2...1... GO!! My first pedal stroke didn't even manage one revolution and then all of a sudden I was lying on the ground next to my bike. My chain had snapped, I ripped the chain out of my bike and ran with my bike, jumped on it, and started the most agonizing DH run of my life. I nailed every line perfectly, got to the bottom pedaling section where the wind had picked up by a large amount and got myself into timetrial aero mode. My peak of my helmet was rested on my handle bars and I crossed the finish line with a time of 2mins38secs! Only 15 seconds behind my competition.
Although I didn't manage to get any podium results, I was still super stoked with my race. I know that my technical skills are where I want them and I really look forward to my next race!
A huge thanks to Faith Wear and Leatt for the awesome new kit! and to the organizers for the awesome track!
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