Bringing The Fire
There wasn’t going to be fireworks this race, it was going to be a patient burn. The relatively short 104km course left a lot to be desired with nothing more than a few roughly surfaced uphill drags and undulations to test the peloton. I wanted a hard race so, even though I was happy it wasn’t another 38°C day like TT champs, I knew the parcours weren’t enough to make the race.
My strategy became more about patience rather than power. In the past, I probably would have attacked a lot, tried to liven up the race and risked the win in favour of good racing; but with experience comes composure. We ticked over the majority of the race but, finally, with 12km to go, I turned up the heat and attacked. Carla Oberholzer came with me and, although we were working well together, we were brought back by the bunch with 5km to go. The composure I had maintained the whole race was wearing thin.
Just then, however, we rolled over a section of really rough rumble strips and suddenly, my gears were frozen. Luckily, I was stuck in the middle of the cassette but then, of course, someone attacked on the downhill. With some furious cadence I was able to stay with the bunch and thankfully no one seemed to noticed. I couldn’t believe it. I had kept it together the whole race and now, with the national title being decided in a matter of kilometres, I only had two gears.
Image: Cyclenation
This was really the moment for composure. But it was also the moment for fire. I wanted the win badly and, two gears or no gears, I had to keep it together and wait for the right moment. I took a calming breath, I got into position, and at the exact spot I had planned, I laid it down. I had the lead but the entire bunch reacted and I could feel the heat of the chase. By less than a second, I crossed the line first and took the title.
The rush of winning is always special but, unlike most races, the national champs win is something you get to be proud of every time you pull on the jersey. I’m really proud of the way I raced; even when it was time to bring the fire, I kept my cool from start to finish. Especially in an Olympic year, I’ll be proud to wear the South African colours for the 2020 European season.
Full Circle
Silvie, Wouter, Ashleigh and Carl outside the Rocacorba Cycling front door.
I didn’t even realise it was happening but there it was: a Dutch couple I’d met at the Boels Rental Women’s Tour in September last year at my doorstep. I couldn’t place them right away, but I knew I knew them. They reminded me; after I had won the QOM jersey on stage one, we met and I gave them my podium flowers. Now, here they were in Spain, at Rocacorba Cycling, and making our vision into a reality. Let me explain…
When we first started Rocacorba Cycling, I had my racing life and my business life. When we opened our doors, it was about more than being a hotel and cycling destination. Rocacorba Cycling was and is part of a big dream to bring the parts of cycling together, to marry the right hand of cycling passion with the left hand of sustainability. We wanted a place where everything could viably function together so there were no barriers between cyclists, cycling stakeholders, and everyone in between—a positive feedback loop, so to speak.
That positive feedback was loud and clear when Wouter and Silvie came to stay. We’ve had fans become guests, guests become friends, and friends become family over the years but having fans come to stay because I had connected with them in person at a race was something special.
Racing life and business life have really become symbiotic and that alignment feels so organic and fulfilling. Seeing that connection grow and gain momentum is motivating and uplifting—we hope for our guests also. We aren’t just a hotel. We aren’t just a cycling destination. There’s so much more to experience and feel, not only at Rocacorba Cycling, but beyond our ancient stone courtyard.
We welcome everyone to join us in 2020 whether it’s following my races and preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, coming for a cycling holiday, staying at the hotel and enjoying Catalunya, or connecting with us on social media and being part of our journey from afar.
From our family to yours, best wishes and we hope to see you in 2020!
Season Opener: Tour Down Under
It’s been 9 days since I’m officially a CCC-Liv rider!
The excitement of signing with a brand new team has only built over the last few weeks. For the first time in my career I had a pre-season training camp so, in December, I had an early taste of what was to come: new equipment, new teammates, new management, new race schedule. Contracts only officially roll over on January 1 so after camp I had to wait. I felt like a kid waiting for Christmas and when 2019 finally arrived, the build up did not let me down.
A week after the New Year we all jetted down to Australia for the Tour Down Under. After the million-hour long flight, we all crashed at the hotel while the time change crashed into us. Thank goodness there is a strong coffee culture in Australia because the next day it felt like I needed a constant supply of caffeine just to keep one eye open. The other eye, thankfully, was being kept open by spending time with teammates, exploring Adelaide by bike, and snuggling baby kangaroos. (Hey, when in Australia, right?!).
I couldn’t think of a better way to start with a new team then with a new race. It will be my first time competing at the Tour Down Under. Since it’s also our first race as a team, the goal is just to start learning how to race together over the four-stage event. We’re all professionals with a very professional set up so everyone knows what they are doing but there is sense of unspoken communication in racing, a rapport, that just needs to be built on the road in a race. It’s learning how your teammates react to race situations, what each riders facial expressions mean, and even who likes what in their bottles. In other words, it’s all about bonding this week but, if an opportunity arises, whether that’s snuggling a kangaroo or grabbing a podium, you can bet we’re going to take it!
