Man these last 3 weeks have been rough! Though it is hard to swallow I have learned from what has seemed to be series of errors and loss of focus. After having a good ride at the first round of the Momentum series it was on to the 2nd round in 2weeks time in Karlkloof. Training was going good and I could feel I was getting better each week, the first mistake I made was not focusing on the event on hand. I decided the week before the karlkloof race to go and visit the revamped xc world cup track for the first time I was overwelmed by one technical section, my mind was consumed that entire week by something that was not important and I ended up crashing on that section in training, instead of focusing on the current event and taking each weekend as it comes I was caught up in the hype and lost focus a valuble lesson learned wright there. Going into the Karlkloof xc race with a bruised body was not ideal I felt frustrated as well as I new that my current form was not bad and could feel my level getting better each week. 

I had a decent start for the race, lined up 2nd row with a field of around 40 riders including some euro's who had arrived for the world cup early. I had an average kick off the line but I could feel my legs were feeling snappy I managed to stay smooth keep out of trouble until the first forest section where my race ended abruptly. In the line sitting top 10 on a straight piece of trail my back wheel scrubbed a rock and got kicked to the right straight into a tree stump I crashed from the impact and got up to find my rim absolutley shattered into pieces. Race over. The consistancy I had built seemed to be tainted at this moment.

Karkloof cat 2 xco

1. Phillip Buys (contego/giant)
2. James reid (360life)
3. Cedric Ravanel (Gt-Chamoix)

The next race on the cards was the following weekend. Round 3 of the Momentum series and a test run for the XC world cup the following weekend. I was probally in worse physical condition than last week after 2 crashes, the legs still felt good but the cascades track is so steep and physical that just having good legs is not gonna cut it. By wednesday I felt alot better and spent the next 2 days training on the course for the race, again it was not the best decision as my body needed alot more rest and was not fit for that sort of riding. By friday night it was obvious to me I had gone backwards in terms of recovery. Though I lined up
saturday afternoon which was to be my first race with a full international/world class field. 72 starters. My goal was to finish and not to take any risks. Straight away as we started I could feel I was not my self on the bike I felt saw and stiff I manged to push on despite the pain and made a decision that week to ride one of the chicken runs in order to be safer. Fighting it out in 40th place with nothing but determination was tough and by lap 4 the pain had become to much as I struggled to hold on to my bike in the rocky sections. At the end of that lap I decided I had enough and felt I was doing more harm than good.

Cacades cat 2 xco

1. Nino Schurter (scott-swisspower)
2. Burry Stander (specialized)
3. Florian Vogal (scott-swisspower)
4. Moritz Milatz (bmc)
5. Patrick Galati (bmc)

With less than a week till round 1 of the xc worldcup its now a case of resting this battered body. I'd rather sacricfice the training that I would have done in order to get my entire body back to normal its frustrating but will hopefully be the best thing to do as I really want to have fun and enjoy my first world cup!