Schoeman, Marais off to good start
LEADING Bay cyclists Anriette Schoeman and Reinhard Marais got their seasons off to the best possible start as they claimed top honours at the annual Nelson Mandela Bay district festival of cycling held at the weekend.
The 72km race, which started at the Grass Roof Farm Stall on Sunday morning, saw Schoeman and Marais dominate to bring home the win in the year’s first official road cycling race.
In the women’s race, Schoeman took the race win in a time of 2.09:46, three seconds ahead of Juanita Mackenzie in 2.12:47, while Ashleigh Mayhead finished a further second off the top two in a time of 2.13:35.
Schoeman had not raced since September due to a family bereavement.
“I suffered a lot yesterday, the intensity is not there yet, but I had to start somewhere and I am glad I did the race, even though I knew I was going to suffer,” she said.
“The quality of the racing was really good, and because I didn’t do my homework coming into the race, I was thrown into the deep end from the start.”
Schoeman said the level of competition was quite tough and, despite finding herself dropping off the main bunch fairly early due to the tough route, she still gave it her all to finish on top.
She did not participate in the Criterium series held in the days prior to the event, but said she did have a long, hot ride prior to the race, something she said was not ideal.
“Not being in racing form, my legs were toast early in the race, and I had dropped off the main guys at the top of Lake Farm,” Schoeman said.
“They [main riders] really put the hammer down and raced seriously.
“I just needed to be grown up about the situation and paced myself.”
Schoeman now turns her attention back to her training as she prepares to return to the saddle with a bang.
In the men’s draw, the top three finishers battled it out to the bitter end, with the top three positions being separated by just a few tenths of a second.
Marais crossed the line in a time of 1.56:40, followed by his teammate, Brad Gouveris (1.57:01) and Max Sullivan in third (1.57:02).
The NMB District Criterium festival was dominated by Gouveris, with two wins and a second place.