AFRISKI C1 LESOTHO.

You may think the team gets to spend a lot of time together, in fact its the opposite. Most of us are racing in different parts of the country on the same weekend. When we do, we make the most of it. Spending 7hrs in a van with a bunch of guys is always entertaining. We arrived late friday afternoon to lessen the effects of altitude. 

The vibe in the little ski village was awesome and the buffet dinner went down well.

For those of you who didn't know the race was held at 3273m above sea level. Yes, breathing was difficult and to think of racing up there was crazy.

After last weekends disappointing ride it was crucial to get a good result, not only for myself but for my commonwealth hopes. Its not easy coming back from such a poor performance, many unnecessary questions go unanswered. Losing is the easy part, bouncing back is really tough part.

The 7 lap race wasn't technical, altitude would take care everything. I didn't have the greatest of starts and got caught up behind a small crash. James got away early on lap two, leaving Philip and myself chasing hard. Phil dropped off at the end of lap three which left me in second. The race was far from over. A big chase group formed and all the riders chasing were capable of riding back. Racing at altitude is a massive psychological game, who ever can suffer most will win.

I am not in the best form of my life, I had to dig deep to hold off the chasers. David Fletcher (OMProteam) caught me with two laps to go. He wouldn’t work with me knowing it was important for me to come second South African. On the final climb he made his move. I tried to go with him but didn’t have it in the tank.

After having time to analyse the event, I am happy with my performance. 

You learn a lot when you overcome difficult times. I have worked hard to have the support structure I do and the people I have around me are really good at doing their part. Thank you all.