|
According to Van Jaarsveld her goal for the next few weeks will be to compete in as many mountain bike races as possible as part of her build-up towards the Marathon World Championship.
“I understand that the racing at a World Championship is unbelievably fast. Apparently the average speed is around 30 kilometers an hour. That is fast! Therefore, if I have good legs on Saturday, I will try to get as close as I can to 30 kilometers an hour.”
Van Jaarsveld described the Magaliesburg Monster as an ‘amazing’ racing experience.
“It is hard to believe that such exciting mountain biking opportunities still exist in Gauteng. The amount of climbing that we had to do compared very well with the MTN races in Barberton and Sabie.
“The route was unbelievable. Except for about three kilometers, we mostly raced on exciting single-track sections. You should have seen some of those single-track sections. There were so many loose rocks on them that you really had to stay focused. The race was also very well marked.
“As far as I am concerned the organizers, Still Water Sport, deserve to be complimented on the quality of the race they have organized.”
According to Van Jaarsveld she was involved in a titanic battle with Carla Rowley during the first 60 kilometers of the race.
“I certainly made it easy for Carla to keep up with me by making all kinds of stupid mistakes and wasting valuable energy in trying to rectify them. At one time I took the wrong road, which was all my own mistake. I also took two tumbles, my chain dropped once or twice and I ran out of water. In spite of these mishaps, I enjoyed every minute of the race.
“Carla and I had a sprint for the ‘Queen of the mountain hot spot’. For me the deciding moment of the race occurred during the last 10 kilometers when I decided that it was now or never. I attacked and managed to drop Carla.”
Van Jaarsveld did not only win, she finished 18th overall and broke the women’s course record by 38 minutes. She was the only female rider who completed the race in less than four hours.
|