South African Kent Main overcame a bumpy start to the year to claim a top-15 result at the Tour de Langkawi that finished in Kuah, Malaysia, at the weekend.
“I’m happy with my overall result,” said the ProTouch rider after finishing 13th overall in the eight-stage tour.
He added that his year had not gone to plan for many reasons.
“Generally in the months approaching your first racing season after the off-season you’re really motivated and give everything you can to hit the season with a bang.
Kent Main overcame a bumpy start to the year to claim a strong result in the Tour de Langkawi that finished in Kuah, Malaysia, recently. Photo: MazlieOfficial
“I had an injury from Christmas Day which set me back, and then straight out of that I suffered from illnesses that just wouldn’t go away.
“At the time it felt like the end of the world and that I was always one step behind.”
Main said he came to realise that these things were out of his control and just part of the journey of life.
“I also had a late change in teams which I did because of my personal opportunity and growth. I believe that the change will be beneficial to me and is my best move if I want to continue pursuing the pro-cyclist dream.”
He added that the Tour de Langkawi was a “massive opportunity” for him and that 2.HC events did not come around all the time.
“With my late knowledge of participating in the race I wasn’t super well prepared and therefore not too stressed. I knew I had decent legs after my preparation for the Tour of Good Hope, but I didn’t think I was on the HC level of racing.
“Because of this I think I was maybe fresher than most of the riders and this was definitely something that worked to my advantage, physically and mentally.”
Main, who finished ninth overall in last month’s Tour of Good Hope, felt the difficulties experienced in the stages last week were mostly due to the heat and humidity.
“On stage one more than half the field were eliminated just because of the extreme conditions.
“The hardest day for me was probably the Genting stage where I had to really ride for the result on my own and fight myself to keep pushing.
“The last stage I also dug deep and left everything out on the road. It was short but raining all day. I took on the racing and put some pressure on the GC contenders slightly ahead of me.”
He added that during the other stages he was “super well looked after” and did not have to do too much, other than watch out for dangerous “select” breakaways.
“Most stages I would do a small effort in the final 5km to assist my sprinter teammates.”
Main said unfortunately he felt SA racing was “not quite at the same level” as international racing.
“This being said there are lots of people who are working really hard to change that and assist us locally based internationally competing riders. It would be amazing to have more international riders race in SA with big tours.
“I’ve always heard stories of the old Giro Del Capo and how so many big international teams were competing. This year has been a good change with two UCI 2.2 tours on SA’s calendar.
“Now we just need to attract bigger and better teams and I believe from there the level will grow.”
He said he wanted to win this year and believed that winning was what he needed to move forward.
“Obviously everyone wants to win, but I do believe I have that ability and with my new team and all of their support I can focus fully on riding my bicycle to the best of my ability, while still enjoying it.
“But yes, the main thing for me is to win, and win as much as I possibly can. Professional teams sign race winners.”
Main felt this tour was the first race of the season where he could race with a clear head and enjoy the love he had for racing.
“I’d like to thank a few people who have kept me going and believed in my ability. These people aren’t helping me for any other reason than because they believe in me and they want to see me succeed.
“They know who they are, so thank you and I am looking forward to the day that my fireworks start to show.”
