World Cup moves to Czech Republic
THE second leg of the UCI XCO World Cup in Albstadt in Germany was not a happy hunting ground for South Africans .
Alan Hatherly was by far the best of the Saffas with an impressive 10th in the U23 race, but because he is realistically this country's sole hope for glory on the MTB XCO scene at the moment, that result seems like a failure for all of us.
Hatherly and the rest of the Rainbow Nation crew get a second chance at glory this weekend when the third round takes place at Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic.
Once again Hatherly carries the hopes of the nation on his handlebars and we will be looking for a podium to satisfy our expectations.
Other South Africans on the start line are Mariske Strauss and Cherie Redecker in the women's event and Jan Withaar in the men's, with Jarred van den Heever also starting with Hatherly in the men's U23.
The other finishers last weekend were: Strauss who ended 33rd in the women's elite short course event and 46th in the cross country; Redecker who was 54th in the XCO; Withaar ended 111th elite man; and Van den Heever who was 105th in the U23.
Out front we saw the rare spectacle of Nino Schurter not winning – but that was only in the short course event on the Friday. He seemed to have a problem with his derailleur and was left as a lone figure on the start straight after the rest of the field had headed off into the distance.
That setback was wiped away on Sunday when the Swiss number one wrapped up yet another victory by beating Stephane Tempier into second by 14 seconds.
Top cyclocross rider Mathieu van der Poel from Holland won the short course ahead of Sam Gaze, but the grumpy New Zealander then failed to finish the XCO.
In the women's races, Epic winner Annika Langvad won the short course just ahead of the easy XCO winner, Jolanda Neff.
Locally the big action this weekend is the Sappi Karkloof Classic and then next weekend the roadies have a chance to show off in an exciting new event, the Universal Networks Westville M13 Classic which takes place on the M13 in Westville with full road closure. That means a race on the doorstep of riders and spectators and it will be interesting to see how the public and riders take to this concept.