Matthys Beukes began the cycling year on a high note when he won the Attakwas Extreme MTB Challenge at Great Brak River today.
Beukes, who won the 121km event in 4:56:56, revealed afterwards he had been eyeing the course record in the race from Oudtshoorn.
Matthys Beukes began the cycling year on a high note when he won the Attakwas Extreme MTB Challenge in Great Brak today. Photo: ZC Marketing Consulting
After beating Germany’s Tim Bohme (5:06:02) into second place, with Philip Buys (5:12:13) coming in third, Beukes said: “I started at a really fast tempo, without hurting myself.
“After the first two hours, 40km into the race, I felt I had a chance to break the record.
“But when I hit the open road [15km from the finish] and saw how wet and soggy it was, I knew the record was out of the window.
“There was no way I could have gone faster on those heavy surfaces,” he added.
The record was set in 2014, when Switzerland’s Urs Huber won in 4:47:56.
Beukes said he had, from early on, used the climbs to set the pace. It also helped him tire his opponents.
After finishing 2017 with a flourish, the PYGA Euro Steel rider was determined to start the season in similar vein.
After his victory, he said the race had opened up on the first big climb, about 40km from the start. That was where he, his teammate Buys, Gert Heyns and Bohme had taken the lead.
“When we hit Attakwas, Gert and I got away, but he picked up a puncture on the downhill. I was on my own from there, with about 55km to go.
“I rode at a steady tempo and looked after my legs but I also began racing against the clock again.”
His off-season training had counted in his favour, he added.
“I focused a lot on endurance training. I even did interval training when my legs were tired, so it suited me when the tempo picked up only later in the race.
“I could generate a lot of power even though my legs were tired. I feel that’s where I got the upper hand.”
Describing his performance as “a textbook ride”, Beukes said: “Everything went straight forward and according to plan.
“I didn’t have any mishaps. I stayed at the front for most of the race, and out of trouble.
“My legs were burning before the 40km mark, but after that I just kicked into gear and didn’t look back,” he added.
Beukes, who first won the Attakwas in 2012, was clearly over the moon with his second victory.
“I’m glad all the hard work in December has paid off. Training is never really exciting and I had to push myself hard every day.
“But today I thought about all those hard and long days and I was determined to put it into practice. This was a great way to start the season.”
