National road champion Carla Oberholzer sees Saturday’s Bestmed Satellite Classic as a great opportunity to test the legs ahead of the remaining races of the year.
The Demacon cyclist will be aiming to defend her title in the 110km race that takes place near Hartbeespoort Dam in North West Province.
“As a team we always race to win and to do that we will have to approach the race with good tactics, ride clever and communicate well. Then I’m sure we’ll pull off a good result,” said Oberholzer.
Bestmed Satellite Classic defending champion Carla Oberholzer, of Demacon, will use the 110km race to test her legs ahead of important upcoming races. Photo: Jetline Action Photography
The race was always a good indicator of her form in the build-up to the races at the end of the season, she said.
“Even though we would like to win my main goal is to see where I’m at, what parts of my racing are good at this stage, what my weaknesses are and what I still need to work on to improve.”
Her main goal, she said, was next month’s 947 Cycle Challenge, while next weekend’s Amashova Durban Classic was also an important race for the team.
“I’m using Satellite as a good tester and indicator to see where I am in the build-up to the 947.”
The 31-year-old said they had had a long and cold winter in Clarens, so she was only able to start training outdoors a week ago.
“The rest of the training over the winter period was all indoors so I’m a bit hesitant about my form and not sure what to expect, but we will see on Saturday.
“Everyone is aware about the unfortunate accident our teammate Lynette [Burger] had so the rest of us will pull hard and graft together to produce a good result,” said Oberholzer, referring to Burger who was recently hospitalised after being hit by a vehicle.
The feature route includes the infamous Hekpoort climb, but with the start and finish points having been moved this will be closer to the finish than previously.
“I think this definitely suits me better than the old route. This climb is the make or break in determining the final result.
“In order to overcome it you’ll need to have your climbing legs on for the day because it’s hard [going] up and a tough ride over the final few kilometres to the finish.”
Oberholzer said the highlight of her year was winning the national title and, as a team, winning every race they started. “We would of course like to keep that momentum going.
Asked about 2019, she said, “I’m pretty focused on this year’s racing and finishing that up first. Once that’s done and dusted I will start thinking about next year.”
