It was the first National Cross Country (XCO) showdown of the year this weekend. Unfortunately, our blogger, Oli learnt the hard way how cruel sport can be. But what a comeback!
- By Oli Munnik
Saturday the 11th of February saw the first leg of the National XCO series kick-off in Durbanville, just outside Cape Town. Judging by the rider turnout, competitiveness and the number of spectators, I can without doubt say that the South African lap racing scene is alive and kicking. Niiiice! XCO events might not have the numbers seen at the big marathon events, but the racing and competition is no less fierce. Okes have been training hard and arrived ready to lay down the law! As the season progresses the pace is only going to get faster and harder, a very healthy thing.
After my usual warm-up it was time to rock ‘n roll for the first National XCO showdown of the year. As we were called up, I found myself on the front row of the grid next to my mates, Burry, Phil, Marc and Matthys. Good vibes… lock ‘n load!
As we launched off the grid my chain slipped, instantly throwing my start into disarray. Suddenly with my momentum all but gone, I was left watching the okes throw down the power as they headed out on the start loop. Not ideal.
After putting the chainslip behind me, I set myself the challenge of chasing down the front of the race. In what seemed like a single second, the leaders were already towards the fist piece of single track. In an effort to avoid the ensuing bottle neck, I decided to take a chance, swinging right and braking late with my elbows out. However, as I turned into the corner I hooked a bush and before I knew it, hit the deck having gone over the handle bars! As I did my ‘tuck ‘n roll’ manoeuvre we were only about 1min into the race and there were already a gazillion things rushing through my mind – what happened to my chain? How’m I gonna recover from this start? Where are the leaders? Shit, I’m bleeding! Is my bike ok? With this barrage of thoughts bombarding my brain, I made every effort to keep calm and tried my best to maintain a degree of composure. Much easier said than done though!
At this point I remembered a certain Burry Stander breaking his chain on the start line in last year’s Italian World Cup. After having it fixed he knuckled down and rode (from stone last!!!) like a warrior to finish in the top 20. This was my inspiration to keep fighting. So I remounted my chariot and simply refused to give up. In the end I managed to fight back to finish 7th in elite and 11th overall. At the sharp end of the race Burry (Specialized) pinned it into 1st, Philip Buys (Contego) was 2nd and Marc Bassingthwaighte rolled in to take 3rd. The U23 race was won by Rourke Croeser (Orange Monkey) with James Reid (360 Life) in 2nd and Brendon Davids 3rd. Solid effort okes!
Although for me things didn’t really go to plan, it’s a case of understanding what went wrong (as well as what went right) and how to make sure the same problems don’t recur. One must learn from each and every outing.
The support on the track was unbelievable. A big thank you must go to every single person who turned out to watch and cheer for us. You know when I’m in the zone, bleeding through my eyeballs, it is often your shouts of “GOOOOOO OLI!” that keep me motivated and my pedals turning. Fact. I would also like to thank the organisers, and say well done. Events are a tricky business and they succeeded in pulling off a great day’s racing. It wouldn’t be fair to single out individual people, maar julle weet wie julle is!
So as it turns out, one slipped pedal stroke can really define your race. Sport is cruel. But you know what, life is not always fair, things are seldom perfect and shit happens. For me, the key is not to get sucked into bitch’n and moaning about what could’ve been. I must bank this effort and look towards the next challenge. That said, next weekend I’ve got the not-so-rocky (ja bloody!) MTN Tulbagh marathon to get myself psyched for. Nothing like 110km’s of suffering!
Catch you on the bike,
Ciao ciao
Oli
Oli is currently living the dream as a professional mountain biker, racing for the GT Mr Price squad based out of Cape Town. Keep up with Oli on his blog http://olivermunnik.wordpress.com
Check out Oli in our South African version of “Sh1t South African cyclists say”
Pic 1 credit: Chris Hitchcock
Pic 2 credit: Raymond Cox, mirra.co.za
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