Team South Africa Commonwealth Games mountain bikers Alan Hatherly and Mariska Strauss are national cross-country champions after winning their respective cross-country races in Bloemfontein, writes MARK ETHERIDGE.
Hatherly secured his second national Elite cross-country jersey. This year is his final year as an U23 rider, although he opted to race in the elite XCO category.
Next year, he’ll be in that elite category. He had little time to relax before nationals, having returned from two big UCI World Cup races in Europe.
His Team Spur support staff also had their work cut out, and were juggling baggage weight limits and excess charges from Europe to ensure everything arrived on time and in one piece. ‘Spare parts and tools are vital for an XCO. When you see Alan twice on a lap, it is important to have your bases covered,’ said Team Spur (and Commonwealth Games) mechanic JP Jacobs.
‘Everyone needs to be a bit more flexible when we are racing for an important championship jersey out of a suitcase, en route home after a long overseas stint. Not everything goes to plan,’ laughed team manager Tim Bassingthwaighte. ‘But having two heads locked into the plan helps us manage the unforeseen changes, and keeps everything running smoothly.’
Talking about the Happy Valley Conservancy course, a dry and rocky route, Hatherly said: ‘The course was essentially the same as last year, with just a few hundred metres cut out.’
Although a far cry from the recent Andorra World Cup, which sits at over 2,000m above sea level and where Hatherly placed eighth, Bloemfontein’s altitude at 1,400m would play a factor in race tactics.
‘I knew it would be important to race smart from the get-go,’ said Hatherly. ‘Stuart Marais and Phil Buys set the pace out front and I let them do their thing until the first climb, where I moved past.’ Hatherly then increased the pace to keep the race pressure high, with only his close friend Matt Beers and Arno du Toit able to respond. ‘I got a gap on my chasers – Matt and Arno,’ he described.
The seven-lap race was then quickly strung out as riders came through the start-finish banner to complete the first lap. ‘The course was so blown out after a full day of racing all the age categories, that we ended up racing for an hour and 38 minutes,’ Hatherly said. ‘The climbs were loose, so traction was quite tough to come by.’
Once Hatherly had established a gap over his chasers, he maintained a constant effort to extend his lead on each lap. After seven laps of hard racing, he finished just over three minutes ahead of his close friend, training partner and marathon specialist Beers in second with third-placed Du Toit a minute further back.
‘A big shout out to Matt for a solid ride in a format which he hasn’t had too much experience in,’ said Hatherly. ‘All in all, I’m super stoked to renew my Elite National title, I’m looking forward to next year now. I can wear and show off my white South African jersey at the UCI World Cups in my first year in the Elite category.
‘It’s now time for me to shift all my focus towards the next block of World Cups and the big goal in September, the UCI U23 World Championships!’
As for Strauss, the Durbanville-based rider was also racing on the back of a hard European stint and was also weary after jetting in just days before the championships.
‘It’s been hard work, definitely not easy, but I’m super happy and proud to be wearing the jersey once again,’ she told Team SA.
‘I arrived on the Wednesday so it was pretty much from one event to the other, I’m just glad the form came through and everything went down smoothly. The race started fairly quickly, as championships do, and I eased into it to make sure my legs were properly warm and then from there, I just put the hammer down.
‘Candice Lill managed to get a bit of a gap and I worked hard to get back to her and overtook her halfway through the first lap.’
By the fourth lap, Strauss had opened a comfortable gap of around 30 seconds. ‘Then I think she had a mechanical, which gave me a bigger gap and I then just kept it steady and safe till the finish.’
Strauss went on to post a winning margin of one minute and 19 seconds over Lill with the former’s Commonwealth Games team member Cherie Redecker third another two minutes back.
Next up is another World Cup event in Europe. ‘And I finish off with World Championships in Switzerland in early September. I also have to say thanks to sponsors Silverback, who make my racing possible, I just couldn’t have done this without them, and that goes for my whole support structure as well.’
As for Redecker, the Germany-based rider, she’s had a sweet and sour time of things.
She told Team SA: ‘My last World Cup in Val du sol, Italy went very well and I placed 24th, my best World Cup result to date, and in a super strong field.
‘So I was happy about that and didn’t go to the next World Cup in Andorra – I think financially and physically it was just too much for me.
‘So I came back to SA to prepare for nationals but my race didn’t go well, it just one of those bad days, despite my solid racing in Europe. But the hard work has been put in and I’m just grateful for my team, coach and sponsors in a tough year.
‘I’ve still got the rest of season to focus on and my results really don’t define who I am. Now I must look on the bright side and keep going for next year and of course there are African champs this year. Things are positive and it’s also really great to see women’s cycling getting stronger. Mariska had a stellar race at champs, actually Candice also did.
‘At SA’s, I gave it my all and for the last few laps, I let the brakes go on the descents and eventually ended up in the bushes, but hey, I’m still trying to look on the bright side.’
Photo: Hatherly heads across the finish line, the women’s podium, by Milan de Beer and supplied