Who will claim national titles at the SA MTB Marathon Championships, which are being held in conjunction with the Sappi Karkloof Trail Festival in KwaZulu Natal on 25-26 May?
Both the men’s and women’s defending champions, Matt Beers and Candice Lill respectively, have overseas racing commitments which opens up the field. However, last weekend’s SA Gravel Champs showed there is plenty of talent waiting to step onto the podium, with Danielle Strydom heading the women’s field for Karkloof.
Danielle Strydom and Matt Beers favourites for SA MTB Marathon Championships
Last weekend the 25-year-old from Potchefstroom edged ahead in the King Price Race to the Sun as the leading women’s bunch approached the line, to claim victory in her first “proper” gravel race and establish herself as probably the rider to beat in Karkloof.
“Yes I am over the moon,” said Strydom when describing her recent win. “It was quite a surprise actually. I’ve done a few gravel races before, but they have always been on my mountain bike, so this was the first gravel race that I did on a proper gravel bike, so I didn’t really know what to expect going into it.
“But it ended up being a quite a good upgrade,” said the Efficient Infiniti Insurance rider with a laugh.
What about her chances of two South African title in two weeks?
“I would say it’s never a given. I was very lucky to have a successful weekend last weekend, but that doesn’t guarantee anything.
“It was only in the last kilometres when the race sorted itself out, so it’s not to say that I just broke away and I was gone for the whole race.
“It was super cool that there was such tight racing and I don’t think that the SA Champs at Sappi Karkloof Festival is going to be anything different.
“I think the game is going to be lifted if anything. I am definitely going to try and use last weekend as motivation, and it has given me good confidence going into it, but I definitely won’t be letting my guard down, that is for sure.”
Staying sharp
Strydom knows how quickly success can turn onto disappointment in mountain bike races and her last experience at Karkloof is a strong reminder.
“I have ridden Karkloof before,I did the SA Champs two years ago when unfortunately I had a very bad mechanical with a chain break and I lost the bunch early on.
She added: “I do remember the route being quite tough and it was a long day on the bike.
“I think we are doing 86 kays this year, so it’s going to be proper racing – so not easy with a lot of climbing.
“But I also know those trails are actually amazing, so I think we’re in for a great treat.”
And who will she be watching closely as she battles for a second SA title?
“My teammate Sam (Sanders) is for sure one I will be keeping an eye on,” said Strydom. “Sarah Hill is also always a strong competitor and Tyler Jacobs – it is her home turf and she is such a strong rider, so she is definitely someone to be wary of.”
With five of the top six from last weekend’s gravel champs already entered, the women’s race looks to be a tight battle. Others in the mix include Hayley Preen, as well as other top KZN locals, Joanna van de Winkel and Hayley Smith.
Karkloof Classic Trail Festival weekend
The Sappi Karkloof Classic Trail Festival weekend features two-days of trail sport. On Saturday runners have 21km and 9km trail runs. Then on Sunday, the mountain bikers have a choice of distances that includes the 85km championship event (for elite or licensed riders only) as well as 60km, 40km, 20km and 10km distances, while a 9km fun trail run will also be held on Sunday.
The 60km and 40km distances will be the national championship events for the various age-group riders, ranging from youth up to grand masters. Nippers, sprogs and sub juniors must compete in the 20km non-championships event.
All entries are via ROAG at ROAG.org.
Discussion about this post