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world cup round 1,pietermaritzburg

over the last few weeks,it seemed my whole life was geared towards this weekends world cup opener in pmb.its is the only home round of the series and i was eager to perform.preperation went realy well and i had recovered from epic.

the team arrived early this week and the vibe between the team with a few new additions was great.i did my normal pre world cup routine and had a good time hanging with my team mates.

the elite men kicked off at 2 30pm on saturday with a very strong field.the first round is important as it dictates the starting grid at round 2.i started on the second row and got off the line great.my 29er stumpy rolled straight past a few riders before the first turn and i was up into 4th early on.i stayed there for almost the entire first lap before sliding out on an easy corner just before starting lap 2.i was up quick and back with the leaders very soon.unfortunately i soon realized my deraileur was bent realy badly and i couldnt use my top three gears.i stopped and tried to bend it straight which helped alittle and i mostly had trouble with the top gear.this was an issue as i only run one ring on the front and this meant i had to run up the steepest climbs on every lap.i lost time from here on out and on the last lap was sitting comfortably in 9th.however a judgement error on the last tricky rock garden sent me flying over the handlebars.i eventualy limped home for 11th.

it definitely wasnt the race i was hoping for,i felt i had great legs and should have pulled of a good result,but thats mountain bike racing.i now have three weeks to prepare and re focus before round 2 in england.

thanks to the team and all the supporters out there!

ciao

burry