Illness isn’t holding Pieter Seyffert back and he will return to defend his title at the Magalies Monster in Buffelspoort this Saturday.
Laid low after a particularly rainy sani2c, Seyffert withdrew his entry to the Great Zuurberg Trek, which took place last weekend, and has slowly been working his way back to full health.
“I haven’t been feeling too well recently, I’ve been feeling a bit weak,” he said.
Pieter Seyffert will return to the Monster to defend his title this weekend. Photo: Tobias Ginsberg
Mindful of his condition, Seyffert said he had been doing some light training ahead of the event, but had been careful not to over exert himself.
“I’ve been doing everything I can to be as healthy as possible before this weekend.
“I have been doing some riding, but not as much as I would have liked as I don’t want to make it worse,” he said.
Seyffert will tackle the 70km route, which features 1 321m of climbing, and plans to give it his all.
“It’s difficult to comment on my form now, on the day we’ll have a better idea of where my fitness is.
“The last couple of days I’ve been feeling alright and my plan is to go all out, as hard as I can,” he said.
The 30-year-old said he planned to ride smart in order to make the most of his time on the bike.
The route features a gruelling 6km ascent up the northern slope of the Magaliesberg mountains and Seyffert said he hoped to use the climb to his advantage.
“After that, there is a very technical descent on loose gravel and I have a few ideas where I’d like to make my moves.
“There are also a few places where I can make up time if I need to catch up.”
Seyffert started 2017 on a high as he and Travis Walker rode to victory at TransCape in February.
A run of near misses then followed as he took third place with An-Li Kachelhoffer in the mixed category at the Winelands MTB Encounter in April.
He then missed a top five position at sani2c as he and Andrew Johnson finished sixth at sani2c.
Robyn de Groot took the women’s title at the event last year but will not take part this year.
