Renay Goustra takes 2nd at first WP XCO
This weekend saw Team RSAWEB Mountain biker Renay Groustra race back to back races in Barberton and Cape Town. Unfortunately the Barbeton Ultra Marathon did not go to plan and due to a severely cut rear tyre he had to abandon the race. Not one to let this temporary disappointment upset him, he refocused and boarded a place for Cape Town to ride the WP Cross Country(XC) race held in Durbanville.
Here are his thoughts from the race:
With the 40degree heat, and a tough technical course, it was going to be an extremely hard race. Even the competition was at a level higher than normal with an on form Philip Buys in attendance and a super quick Dominic Calitz and Louis Knipe there to mix it up.
For the first two laps all I could do was hang on as I got used to the pace of XC racing again. By lap 3 Philip had lost some time to mechanical issues, which left me to give stick to the rest of the field. I rode off the front of the field after one or two hard accelerations and stayed out for most of the race, doing my best to survive the sweltering heat and stay upright on such a challenging course.
Towards the end of lap 5 of 6 I could see Philip clawing his way back into the race. The last lap was basically an all out sprint to stop him coming back, but try as I might, I couldn’t hold him off. With half a lap to go the cat and mouse games began, and after a few brutal attacks from Philip I could no longer respond. It was a great first outing and felt good ofter Barberton’s disappointment.
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