Alan Hatherly’s focus has turned to marathon stage-racing in the latter part of the season and he is looking forward to the seven-stage Cape Pioneer Trek that starts in Mossel Bay on Sunday.
Hatherly, a cross-country specialist, has enjoyed a very successful year.
The highlight came when he won the men’s under-23 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, last month.
He made history by winning the men’s U23 Mont-Sainte-Anne world cup in August, while he also earned a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games cross-country race in April.
Alan Hatherly will take on the Cape Pioneer Trek as well as the Wines2Whales Race next month alongside Danish cross-country specialist Simon Andreassen. Photo: Michal Cerveny
Hatherly will take on the Cape Pioneer Trek as well as the Wines2Whales Race next month alongside Danish cross-country specialist Simon Andreassen, whom he also partnered at the Tankwa Trek in February.
That race, however, did not go according to plan for Hatherly, after he crashed out on stage three and broke his wrist. The pair had soloed to victory in the second stage, beating some of the world’s top stage racers.
They have reportedly trained and raced together on cross-country courses around the world this season and are ready for their next challenges.
“Pairing up for the seven-day Cape Pioneer Trek and the three-day Wines2Whales will be an exciting time as we have grown to know each other so well over the past year,” Hatherly said.
“We have a great understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” he said, adding that they had put in some longer hours on the bike to properly transition from the short cross-country format to the longer marathon races.
Hatherly was introduced to stage-racing at last year’s Pioneer Trek when he and Matt Beers dominated the race, winning six of the seven stages.
This year Beers is set to take part alongside his NAD Pro teammate Gawie Combrinck, which bodes well for an interesting battle.
Seven days of continuous racing might be a daunting prospect for a cross-country specialist, but Hatherly remains confident.
“It’s all about nurturing your body through each day and not burning any extra matches,” he said.
“[It will be important] to be able to start the next day as fresh as possible while still having given your everything the previous day. That is a puzzle you need to solve carefully,” he added.
