Last year’s African MTB Cross-Country champion Cherie Redecker says defending her title would be a bonus when she participates in the elite women’s race in Windhoek, Namibia, this weekend.
“My goal is to focus on my own race and progress. To defend the title will be amazing, especially with this year’s strong ladies field, but it will only be a bonus.
“The best will be to have an exciting battle till the end.”
Cherie Redecker says defending her title would be a bonus when she participates in the elite women’s race at the African MTB cross-country champs in Windhoek, Namibia, this weekend. Photo: Mark Moir
The 29-year-old said that last year’s race was “an experience” and going from the Commonwealth Games to the African champs in Egypt was taxing on the body.
“It was great to see so many new faces racing cross-country though and despite the field not being strong I still gave it everything I had.”
She said this weekend she would put into practice what she learnt from previous races, but would go in with the same determination as last year.
“The base season preparations were a bit challenging in the European winter. My husband Heiko and friends helped a lot with motivation.
“Not only have I been focusing on training on the bike but have worked on my off-the-bike strength training, nutrition and mental training. These have really been key to my progress.”
Redecker has been in South Africa since the end of January and even though it was a long trip for her, she felt the warmer weather had helped her prepare the best she could for the weekend.
“What has also been great are the number of category-one races I’ve been able to do to collect valuable points for the Olympics.”
She added that she was excited to race in Namibia and it almost felt like home since her husband was from Namibia and she had a lot of family support there.
“I was able to get used to the loose terrain and high altitude in early March.
“The track has a bit of everything, from jumps to climbs and rocky trails. The guys from Farm Windhoek have put a lot of effort into the track to make it enjoyable and top-class.”
Redecker said this was her first big race of the season and probably her biggest focus, since it was an Olympic qualifier.
“The other key races for me this year are South African and World Championships.
“It will be great to achieve some good results at the Bundesliga races for my team, Conway Factory Racing.”
