South Africa’s Mariske Strauss is looking forward to improving her result when she lines up for her eighth UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, this weekend.
“This will be my fourth elite world champs and my previous best result was when I finished 24th at last year’s event in Cairns, Australia.
“So I’m excited to give it a go and smash it as I ride for a top result,” she said.
South Africa’s Mariske Strauss will compete in her eighth UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, this weekend. Photo: Silverback OMX Pro Team
Strauss, 27, will compete in the cross-country race on Saturday and will remain in Europe as she gears up for the following weekend’s marathon world champs in Auronzo, Italy.
“I’m excited for world champs and hopefully we can keep it clean. I’ll race my own race and not focus on anything too much as it kind of distracts me from my riding.”
Strauss, who claimed her 15th SA MTB XCO Championship title last month, added that she would keep her routine as it was and do everything to get a top placement.
The fast, technical and physically challenging 4.2km course is one that Strauss thoroughly enjoyed during her training sessions.
“It’s overall a stunning track. It will definitely be a challenge to make sure I’m in a good position as we go into the first single-track after the climb, so that’s actually the main goal.
“There’s lots of climbing . . . so it definitely all-round suits me. I’m looking forward to having a blast on the track as it’s a really fun course.”
Strauss, who placed 54th at the final world cup in France last weekend, said her result showed she was on form and she felt content with where she was.
“I’ve worked hard to get here and now it’s just time to strap down and enjoy the race. I’ll just try and compete against myself as it’s my race and journey.
“I’m just trying to improve on where I am and where I was yesterday. Good luck to everyone out there and give it horns.”
