David Cooke could scarcely believe it when he won the sixth and final Trailseeker Series event of the year in Cullinan, Gauteng, yesterday.
Cooke, 42, came out on top in a five-man sprint finish, edging renowned and multi-talented cyclist Bradley Potgieter to the line.
The Johannesburg resident said he, Pieter Korkie, Frans Nel and Kyle Brummer managed to get away from Potgieter early on in the 70km race, which they believed was the best tactic to employ.
“I’m quite surprised [with the result] I suppose,” Cooke told In the Bunch today.
“There was a very technical section by the river and we all figured Bradley might struggle a bit in that rocky terrain.”
David Cooke (front) could scarcely believe it when he won the sixth and final Trailseeker Series event yesterday. Photo: Henk Neuhoff
He said the four of them tried to work together for the remainder of the race, but could only maintain their gap until they had about 5km to go.
“That’s when Bradley caught us and I think he might have burnt all his matches trying to catch up.
“I don’t think he had much left in the tank [after catching them].”
Cooke said the last 5km were “quite stressful” as they realised “everything was on the line”.
“There were a couple of attacks that played out and then eventually there was a left turn and a right turn before the home straight.
“I kind of knew that was going to lead to the finish so I made sure I was on the outside.
“It came down to a sprint finish and I suppose it was all about horse-power.”
The race was deceptively tough and tactics played a decisive role, he said.
“It was pretty flat, so you’re on the gas the entire time. In that type of race you have to ride pretty smart and make sure you take in enough nutrition.
“You have to put in a certain amount of work, but also recover enough at the same time.
“It was relative technical, especially the climbs, which were rocky and loose,” he said, adding that a rock-garden section with a cave tunnel “wasn’t for everybody”.
“The cross-country riders knew better how to navigate their way through those rocks, boulders and bridges.
“That’s where we made sure to get away from the road specialists.”
Cooke said he had been riding competitively and consistently in his age group for the past five years and he next hoped to “see the form out” in the 947 Cycle Challenge on November 18.
