Steven Shirley hopes to secure his third Trans Elands MTB Marathon victory in a row when he takes part in the 160km race which starts and finishes at The Ferry Hotel, Gamtoos River, on Saturday.
It will be the fourth time Shirley tackles the event. Last year he managed to break his personal record when he clocked 6:31:16.
“Winning it for the third time in a row will be a great achievement,” Shirley told In the Bunch.
“I know I will be up against some stiff competition, such as Jason Meaton, but I will just have to pace myself properly.”
Steven Shirley pictured seconds after winning last year’s Trans Elands MTB Marathon. Photo: Supplied
The 48-year-old said he would need to hold his own through Longmore up towards the King of the Mountain challenge.
“It always goes up fast there and there is a lot of climbing. Getting to the top of the mountain in good shape will be my goal.
“The youngsters will probably try to take it there and push the pace a bit. I also know that I’ll be marked and they’ll try to get away from me there.
“Then going down towards the Elands River we may ride against a headwind. I will just have to keep my head down and ride, which is what I do best.
“I do a lot of wind training which helps a lot in a race like this. Last year I rode on my own from there,” Shirley said, as he beat the second-placed Steven Venter by a comfortable 14 minutes.
Shirley admitted he did not have the same level of preparation as last year, but said he would just “try to ride my own race”.
“Hopefully I have the legs. We’ll have to see how it goes. My number one aim is to ride my own race and if it goes my way I will be up there. If it doesn’t then I will just have to fight another day.”
Despite a possible lack of preparation Shirley said he remained fit.
“I have been doing a lot of multi-sport, which includes running and swimming. I have not done the kind of mileage that I did last year due to an injury which hampered me slightly.
“I have still however put in many miles, just a little bit down from last year.”
The Trans Elands was one of the toughest races he would normally take part in, Shirley said.
“It is a big race and there is a lot of preparation that goes into it. It is probably one of the toughest ultra-distance mountain-bike races on my calendar.
“But I am confident in my abilities if I stick to my game plan.”
