When the going gets tough, the tough get going seems to be the motto that Tuks cyclist Michelle Benson abides by when she gets on her bicycle to race.
So it won’t be a surprise if she is going to be in the thick of the things during next week’s USSA Cycling Championships in and around the Voortrekker Monument grounds.
During last year’s championships in Port Elizabeth, she was the second-best women’s rider.
What made her performance remarkable is that she was involved in a nasty crash at the championships, which happened during a road stage. The race official driving the lead vehicle got lost on the route.
When the mistake was realised, a rider in front of Benson suddenly braked and the Tuks rider couldn’t avoid crashing.
‘I just remembered flying over my bicycle’s handlebars and landing heavily on my knee. There was no time to feel sorry for myself. I was immediately back on my bike racing. Afterwards, it was established that I had microfractures in my patella. But in spite of it, I continued racing.’
Benson is one of South Africa’s talented road cyclists. Last year she won two silver medals at the South African Road Championships in the U23 category. During this year’s national championships, she won the U23 time trial title.
But not before having to go through what every cyclist in South Africa fears – to be robbed while riding.
In January she, her dad and two friends were on their way back to Pretoria from Hartbeespoort on the N4 highway when three armed robbers ambushed them.
A shot was fired to bring them to a stop. The good thing is that the robbers were only interested in stealing their watches. After taking them, the cyclists were told to get going again.
One of the robbers even fired another shot at the cyclists’ feet as extra motivation to get them on their way.
In an interview with the Kormorant paper, Benson said: ‘I don’t know if I have ever felt such mixed emotions – obviously scared for what they could do, and disappointment that no car tried to stop and help. But if I were a motorist, I don’t think I would have stopped either.
‘It makes one angry that we cannot even go for a bike ride without fearing for our lives.’
Benson said that she and her teammates are in for a fierce battle during next week’s USSA Championships.
‘We only have four riders in our team while most of the other teams will have six. In cycling, numbers do matter. A team with more riders has always got more options tactically. So we’ll have to ride clever not to be worked over during the road stages.’
The riders who are representing Tuks are Edwill O’ Niel, Ruben van der Merwe, Reuben Vorster, Alex Worsdale, Travis Barret, Armandt Jacobs, Andries Nigrini and Felix Mankie. The women’s team is Benson, Melanie Roux, Chalita Johnson and Kyra Hempel.
Photo: Benson in training, by Reg Caldecott