Winelands Encounter women’s winners – Jennie Stenerhag and Katie Lennard – will go head to head when the TrailSeeker Series mountain bike race takes place in Tulbagh in the Western Cape this weekend.
As defending champion for the TrailSeeker Series, Lennard said she was looking forward to the start of the series.
“This weekend I definitely plan on giving it my all, we’ll just have to see where that lands me,” she said.
Fresh from success at the Winelands Encounter last weekend, Lennard said the three-day stage race had helped prepare her for the series.
Katie Lennard will take part in the TrailSeeker Series, riding against her Winelands MTB Encounter partner Jennie Stenerhag. Photo by Ewald Sadie
“Riding with Jennie was a great experience; it was my first race as part of a ladies team so it gave me an opportunity to learn a whole lot.”
The 32-year-old said she had learnt a lot from the Swedish champion and planned to apply a similar riding style on Saturday.
“Jennie taught me a lot about pacing – how to find a steady pace and stick to it.
“This weekend I’ll aim to do just that. I’d just like to ride a nice, steady race tomorrow,” she said.
The Cape Town resident said she expected a tough race as a number of big names would start alongside her.
“There will be quite a few strong ladies riding in the series – Jennie is riding, along with Vera (Adrian) and Carmen (Buchacher).”
Adrian and Buchacher also rode in the Winelands Encounter this past weekend and finished first and second respectively in the mixed category.
“It will be nice to have this level of competition to measure yourself against and see where you’re at,” said Lennard.
