South Africa’s Jan Withaar is hoping to get off to a strong start in the elite men’s UCI Mountain Bike World Cup event in Albstadt, Germany, tomorrow.
Withaar said one of his goals was to have an “awesome” first lap. “What that would entail at this point is to maintain my start position,” he said.
“With that platform in place I would then be able to kick on nicely for the rest of the race.
“By keeping things smooth and upright I will be able to create motivation and encouragement to strengthen myself for the rest of the race.”
South Africa’s Jan Withaar is hoping to get off to a strong start in the elite men’s UCI Mountain Bike World Cup event in Albstadt, Germany, tomorrow. Photo: Facebook/@Jan Withaar
The 35-year-old, who hails from Pretoria, believes the decisive factor in the race will be the harsh climbs.
“That will definitely be the dominating aspect,” he said. “They are steep, relentless and in some areas quite slick. That is where the challenges will lie for me.
“My strengths are my technical abilities, so keeping things smooth would help me tremendously.”
Withaar, who finished 77th overall in the Stellenbosch world cup in March behind South Africa’s highest finisher Stuart Marais in 75th, admitted it was “daunting” to be racing in such a high-calibre international race.
However, he said he felt up for the challenge. “It is daunting, but also thrilling at the same time.
“Racing against the best in the world is the sole reason I am doing this.
“It is what motivates and excites me and I dearly want to make a breakthrough.”
The Stellenbosch event was not a good experience for him, Withaar explained.
“It was a sad experience for me; I got caught up in all kinds of issues that resulted in a poor first lap.
“Even though I got stronger and stronger from that point, it was all masked by that one lap.
“What I feel I was capable of and what happened on the day were not the same. I want to turn that around here [in Albstadt].”
The world cup in Albstadt tomorrow, followed by Nove Mesto Na Morave in Czech Republic next week, had been his main goals since the season started, Withaar said.
“The competition is usually at its peak this time of the year so Albstadt and Nove Mesto have been the two races that drove me through training since last year December.
“These races are my big goals. I will just have to try and be flawless in the things I can control, do the things I know how to do best and experience sensations I have never before experienced on the bike.”
