Potgieter wins SA title again
Next target is Mountain Bike World Cup in Italy
FRESH from clinching his fourth South African Downhill Mountain Bike Championship title, Johann Potgieter has set his sights on the World Cup Mountain Bike race in Italy on August 26 and 27.
Potgieter, 30, said that while the SA Championship title was his fourth, it was his first one in seven years.
He said he was thrilled to win the recent two-day event at Mankele Bike Park in Mbombela, and would go back to defend his title next year.
He said he was returning to Europe in two weeks’ time to prepare for the World Cup in Val di Sole, Italy, and then he would go to Cairns, Australia for the World Championships in September.
“I have been racing professionally since 2011,” Potgieter said.
“I leave for Europe every year during May and I am there for about three to four months until September. I usually return in the middle of the season for the South African Championships.
“Basically, we have the SA Cup Series, which is four to five races every year, and then you accumulate points to be the SA Champion at the end of the season.
“Then we have the SA Championships which is just a once-off race, and the winner of that race is crowned the SA champion for the year,” he said.
“The last SA Champs I won were in 2010 and since then I have been in Europe every year and I never came back for the event for some years.
“But I came back last year and I took second place, and this year I won. I will definitely come back next year to defend the title.”
Potgieter, who was born in East London but moved to Cape Town, said he had to be careful throughout the Mbombela race as there were some difficult obstacles.
“The course was quite a difficult one.
“It’s probably my favourite track in SA.
“It starts off at the top of a hill with grasslands and a bit of pedalling, and then you have a road crossing into a forest.
“The track becomes completely different – steep and technical.
“There were a lot of rocks because the course is in its dry season at this stage.
“So, you had to be really careful because there were loose rocks everywhere and dust, which made it very slippery and tricky.
“You had to know where to push and where to be careful.”
Potgieter said he had been riding since he was 13 years old but only got involved in the sport seriously once his family moved to Cape Town.
“I grew up in East London and as a kid I had always enjoyed riding my bike around.”
“In 1998 we moved to Cape Town and that was where the sport was a bit bigger.
“By chance I then met a guy who did mountain biking and he took me to all the races and that is how it started.
“I have seen people come and go but I just kept on riding my bike,” he said.