Renay Groustra won both stages to claim overall victory in his Origin of Trails debut in Stellenbosch today.
Groustra, who was eager to re-establish himself on the dirt tracks, said afterwards strategy had played a big part in his victory.
“I didn’t have much racing shape heading into the race, so I had to be tactically smart on both days,” he said.
Renay Groustra cycled tactically well to win the Origin of Trails on his debut. Photo: Tobias Ginsberg
“I was on the back foot at the starts when the youngsters began revving it, so I just had to hang on at the back, closing the gap slowly as the race went on.
“I’m better riding at a steady tempo, so I just focused on pacing myself. Later, on the technical stages, I began putting the others under pressure.
“I began tightening the screws where I could, and that is how I created the gaps on both days.”
Rather unfamiliar with the new trails next to Boschendal, Groustra said he had struggled more on the 58km route on day two.
“The climbing was a bit steeper and more explosive and I had not done that kind of training. So I just had to back off a little at the end.
“There were also some new single tracks with challenging lines that I couldn’t hit with confidence. I’d actually like to go back and ride it again to get more of a hang of it.”
The middle stage of day two, on the Skyfall climb, was the toughest for him, Groustra added.
“I had to accelerate on some steeper sections. I’m not used to that, so it took a lot out of me.
“I started hurting on the last 15km, because I had gone a little too hard in the middle stages. So I just had to back off and follow it through.
“Luckily I managed to maintain the gap until the end. But it wasn’t a huge gap, so the riding was quite intense.”
The RSA Web rider crossed the finish line less than a minute ahead of Jean-Pierre Lloyd, followed by Craig Uria.
