Steven van Heerden defended his title in the elite men’s omnium on the final day of the SA National Track Championships at the Bellville Velodrome yesterday.
“I’m very happy with the win as it was one of my goals because it’s an Olympic event and I was the defending champ,” said the team Enza rider.
He said they started with the scratch race, which was surprisingly faster than when he competed in it on Friday.
Team Enza’s Steven van Heerden defended his title in the omnium at the SA National Track Championships in the Western Cape yesterday. Photo: Owen Lloyd
“I think it came down to the fact that every position mattered for the omnium, so everyone did that little extra to beat the guy in front of them and score two extra points.”
Van Heerden finished fifth, with teammate Nolan Hoffman winning the race.
“Next was the tempo points race, which I won with Nolan second and David [Maree] third.
“Then in the elimination I rode well and felt quite good, but a simple lapse in concentration saw me eliminated, finishing 12th.”
He said after that he was positioned fourth overall. Hoffman had 144 points, Clint Hendricks 98, Joshua van Wyk 96, Van Heerden 92 and George Perrins 90.
“Going into the points race I knew I had my work cut out for me and I needed to take a lap.
“The start was flat-out with the bunch strung out. Unfortunately there was a crash that Joshua, Jean [Spies] and Wade [Theunissen] were involved in and I knew I had to make it hard. So I kept on attacking to get away.”
Van Heerden said halfway through he managed to lap what was left of the bunch as a lot of riders pulled out due to the pace being too hot for them.
“I managed to edge out Nolan for first, with George finishing third.”
The 25-year-old felt his biggest competitors were Hoffman, Hendricks and Van Wyk.
“Not everyone had their best race, which cost them some points and fortunately I managed to capitalise on the points race and pull it off.”
Prior to Sunday’s race Van Heerden also bagged silver in the points race and individual pursuit, as well as bronze in the elimination and madison.
“I’m happy with the way the racing went as there were a few riders who stepped up their game from last year.”
Van Heerden felt that he rode himself into form throughout the championships and felt better after each day.
“Next up is a trip to America to go race in T-Town on the track and get some international experience as well as earn some valuable UCI points.”
