Julian Jessop was grateful to have won the 60km feature race of the Karkloof Classic in KwaZulu-Natal today, dedicating the victory to his younger brother.
Jessop, 20, said before the event that it was “special” to him personally because the Karkloof was the first competitive race he ever took part in.
Julian Jessop crossing the line at the Karkloof Classic with Stuart Marais following in the distance. Photo: Anthony Grote
He narrowly missed victory in his previous four attempts and he was glad finally to have bagged the win this year.
“I did my first race here when I was nine years old,” Jessop recalled. “I was crying on the start line of the 10km race because I was too scared to do it.”
Jessop dedicated today’s victory to his brother Thomas Jessop, now 19, due to his memory of how he lent him courage in that first race. “My younger brother took off, and I thought ‘there is no way I can let him beat me’ and off I went.
“I dedicate this win to him,” he added.
The PYGA Euro Steel rider edged Stuart Marais by a mere second at the end in what was a stern battle between them. Jessop’s teammate Pieter du Toit finished third.
“Stuart was really on form today,” Jessop said. “He was on fire and dropped me at the top of the one climb.
“The last section in Logan’s Loop is always tough. Going into that section Stuart and I were attacking each other and I managed to get into the single-track ahead of him.
“But I had a slight problem with my fork and I crashed. Stuart asked me if I was all right and then he got in front of me.”
He then crashed another three times in his over-eagerness to catch up, Jessop recalled. “Those corners were very slippery.
“Finally I caught him as we got into the sugar cane and that is where I planned to win in a sprint finish.”
He then made the right tactical decisions to come out on top in the end, Jessop explained.
“When I saw him go from the corner I realised he had gone way too early. I had to wait but it was quite hard because I wanted to go around but I did not want to go too early.
“I just waited and when I saw him blown, I went around him. I think watching the Giro [d’italia] helped,” Jessop quipped.
