After great personal success in Europe, Heidi Dalton said she was happy to return to racing in South Africa after winning the Race for Victory in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Dalton, who was crowned national road champion in February, said it was a great weekend as it was a one-two-three for her team, Demacon, in the 110km road race.
Lynette Burger finished one minute behind Dalton, followed one second later by Carla Oberholzer.
Race for Victory winner Heidi Dalton (centre) flanked by Lynette Burger and Carla Oberholzer. Photo: Cycle Nation
Dalton described the weekend’s racing as positive and said she hoped to continue her form as she turned her focus to the last half of the local season.
Poor health has forced her to take some time off the bike but she said the rest could be a positive thing as she prepares for the Satellite Championship and 947 Cycle Challenge.
“It’s always tricky because we start our season so early. We have to keep it going right until the of the year, so I just hope I can continue to stay on the podium going forward,” said the 22-year-old, who completed the Giro Rosa for the first this year.
“Coming back to such a great team has made things so easy to adapt to racing here again.”
She said it was difficult to compare her time in Europe to racing at home as the two were very different.
Firstly, she said, the quantity and quality of riders were vastly different.
“In Europe, you start a race alongside roughly 140 girls whereas in South Africa there’s maybe 40 girls.
“Those 140 in Europe are always so, so good but here there’s just a few that are really strong.”
The Ballito resident said it could also be tough adapting to the longer races in Europe as they were usually at least 140km.
An additional difference was the depth of the teams, said Dalton.
“In Europe there’s bigger teams, maybe six or seven girls, but back home it’s only about two to four.”
Despite the difference in quantity, she said racing on home soil was by no means easy as there were top quality riders emerging currently.
She said the national jersey naturally came with added pressure, but it also made winning sweeter.
“Being able to win in South Africa as the national champ, having just returned from Europe, is a great feeling.”
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