David Low will be targeting a top result at the Tour de Krantz, which takes place in Wartburg, KwaZulu-Natal, on Saturday.
Low finished seventh in last year’s race, which was won by Stuart Marais.
He and his wife Amanda recently secured RiVive Smartphones as title sponsors and John Craig and Dunns as partners to establish a professional mountain-bike team in KZN.
Low will be the only rider representing the brand for the remainder of the season, with the official launch taking place at the Mandela Day MTB Dash next weekend.
David Low will be targeting a top result at the Tour de Krantz, which takes place in Wartburg, KwaZulu-Natal, on Saturday. Photo: Anthony Grote Photography
Their long-term plan is to turn the brand into a fully-fledged MTB team and Low said he hoped to make an impact at the 45km race on Saturday.
“My goal is definitely to get at least a top-5 and maybe a top-3 [finish],” Low told In the Bunch today.
“I’ve been training quite hard this week so my legs aren’t 100 per cent fresh, but I will just have to see how it goes on the day.”
Learning from last year’s race, Low said he needed to keep a close eye on the cross-country specialists in the line-up, especially with the race being relatively short.
“I need to start as fast as possible with the front guys, the cross-country riders,” he said.
“They have the quick-snap ability for the starts on races like this. I will then just have to hold onto them for dear life.
“That will definitely be one of the key factors of the race, especially with the start going on a downhill section for about half a kilometre. It’s very quick in the beginning.”
Although the race had a fast start, Low said the overall route did “not suit just one type of rider”.
“There’s a bit of everything – some climbing, single-track and riding through fast cane roads – so there is a mixture of everything, which is nice.
“It suits everyone who wants to ride a bike. It’s a stunning route overlooking the valleys in the area and it is very well marked.
“It’s a superb course and a must-do on the calendar every year.”
Low may not ride in RiVive colours this weekend, but said he hoped the kit would arrive “either today or tomorrow”.
However, he said he would definitely be racing in the new team colours next week at the Mandela Day race.
“That event will be for our sponsors,” he said. “Hopefully this year we will prove ourselves to our sponsors, so that next year we can go from strength to strength and secure more sponsors.
“Looking towards the future we definitely need more teams and sponsors to pop up for the growth of the sport.
“This is definitely a step forward from our side and we will hopefully grow it into a national team one day.”
He added that there would be a “little bit of pressure” to get a result next weekend considering all team corporate sponsors would attend the race.
“It will be very important to get a good result. It’s quite a big event for us but I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to enjoy it.”
