XC Racer Blog Post
Orange Monkey Pro Team season update
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterBY: Will Cooper
Published: 11th September, 2013
As the team make the journey to Hafjell, Norway for the final round of the 2013 UCI XCO World Cup, here's an update on how the team have been getting on over the summer.
UCI World Cup Series Round 4 - Andorra
The fourth round of the World Cup Series took us to the principality of Andorra - wedged between France and Spain. We may well not have arrived at all after a disastrous start to the journey firstly being stopped by UK police for a weight check before a delayed train and clutch problem left us over 5 hours behind schedule!
At an altitude of 2200 meters this was going to be a real test for any rider that wasn’t used to the demands of altitude and the effects it has on the body when racing at full gas. The course was a nice one, big climbs and just about technical enough to put you under pressure after the thinning air had sapped all your energy. As this was a double World Cup (the downhillers were causing mischief as usual) the timings were a little odd and Rourke would be racing at 5.30pm on the Friday afternoon. The upside to this was the heat had died down – the air however was the same and Rourke rode a steady race to finish in 19th position.
Saturday dawned and for Dave this was his first real test following his injury back in March. He had raced a few times but now he was back for real and looked more focused than ever. He rode a perfect race and moved from 57th on the grid to 44th by the finish after losing a few places in the final half lap with cramp. It was a great moment and so well deserved after such a bad injury. Surely this would make the World Championship selectors sit up and take note of the progress being made by this talented guy...
Billy rode his heart out. It’s difficult to ask for more than that and as a first year Junior the altitude was another experience to add to the list. The pain etched across his face could be seen across the entire course but he dug deep and never gave up. A sign of a true champion. Filled with obstacles it had maybe been one of the toughest World Cups for the team but maybe one of the most rewarding. A chilled out team ride on the Sunday was just what the doctor ordered before the journey home.
Results:
David Fletcher - Elite - 44th
Billy Harding - Junior - 39th
Rourke Croeser - Elite U23 - 19th
UCI World Cup Series Round 5 - Mont-Sainte-Anne
At the only venue to have hosted a round of the World Cup or a World Champs since the series began in 1991, David recorded a career best finish on a classic Canadian course that may not have featured the 'Beatrice' descent, but made up for it with some new technical sections.
Results:
David Fletcher - Elite - 33rd
UCI Mtb World Championships 2013 – Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
To do well in a World Championships everything has to come together on that one day. Months of hard training and sacrifice all come down to 90 minutes of adrenaline-fuelled carnage on the track and can end with ecstasy or despair. The despair started early when the call came that David Fletcher would not be selected by British Cycling, despite a career best result in Canada and a fight back from injury that was nothing short of remarkable. Not only this but they would actually take neither a senior man or women full stop!
For Rourke, the race started in the worst possible way, snapping his chain just metres from the start line and he was forced to run the first few kilometers with his bike to the techzone to receive the assistance he needed. With his target of a top 5 place lost, Croeser refused to quit and showing true determination few others possess, to fight back from last place back into the top 50 before disaster struck for the second time as he broke his fork, ending his charge.
This was obviously a blow but we had a secret weapon – the pocket rocket! Mariske Strauss!
Mariske had based her entire season around this one race. It was her home country with a home crowd and she was ready! Mariske raced in a strong looking South African team for the relay but struggled with the high pollen and not setting a fast time it made the anxiety even stronger for the main race. The mental strength this girl has is incredible though and when she took the start line on Friday afternoon there was little doubt that she would perform.
A bad start, however (caught behind a crash) put her back in the late twenties meaning there was some work to do to gain a result. By lap 2 Mariske was knocking on the door of the top 10 until a huge crash in the rock garden set her back once again. After composing herself and pushing all sorts of pain thresholds Mariske finished in 8th place.
Mariske Strauss – 8th best Under 23 XC Mountain Biker in the World!
It may not have been the podium she craved but it was a phenomenal result and with the XC Eliminator still to go anything could happen. XC Eliminator is a short course of around 2 minutes where 4 racers go neck and neck and compete through heats where the top 2 progress until there are just 4 remaining in the final.
Mariske was an outsider as she entered the race on Sunday morning but after easing through the opening heats her competitors looked worried. Was this to be her podium moment? It was looking good until a massive crash whilst looking certain to reach the semi-final left her on the floor with some nasty bruising and some shattered dreams.
Mariske may have missed the podium she wanted but her team were incredibly proud of her achievements and know that the podium is waiting. Her moment will come.
Results:
Mariske Strauss - Elite U23 - 8th
Jovana Crnogorac - Elite U23 - 18th
Rourke Croeser - Elite U23 - DNF
Blogger Info:
Will Cooper
Orange Monkey Pro Team Rider
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This blog post was written by a third party and their views do not necessarily reflect the views of XCRacer.com
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