SA DHI National #1 - Contermanskloof - 12 February 2012

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!

KZN Provincial #1 - Top Section of WC Track - 29 Jan 2012

The race to finally kick off my soon to be extremely busy 2012 season had arrived! I was super excited to see where the rest of the riders training has brought them, in comparison to where mine has taken me.

I couldn't have had asked for better weather conditions or for a better track to start the season off on! Work had been done on the track and only one thing was on my mind, all I wanted to do was just race! I had practiced the course well enough to feel good on it, but practiced a bit more because i was having so much fun! When it came to practicing on Sunday before the race, I could feel that I had over ridden the track on Saturday!

My first race run was good! I managed to stick all my lines, but when it came to the pedaling bit in the middle... my legs weren't agreeing with what I wanted them to do! I pedaled as hard as I could and reached the bottom of the track being the 3rd fastest junior. I knew I could do better, so down went the refreshments and down went the Gu Energy Roctane gels!

In my second run I was feeling a lot stronger! I had a super solid run, but still battled to have the legs to pull through the run I wanted! I fined 3rd junior and 7th overall which I was still very happy with! I however learned from my mistakes and was ready and well prepared for the first national in 2 weeks time!

A huge thanks to Team Jeep SA and to the organizers for the awesome event, also to Morewood Bikes and Rushsports for hooking me up with the new steed to shred on during 2012!!

PHOTOS

• Darren Goddard
• Conrad Davies