South Africa’s Robyn de Groot came within a whisker of winning the Attakwas on Saturday, having returned to an event she missed last year due to vascular surgery.
But she said she was satisfied with her performance in the gruelling 121km mountain bike race.
The challenge starts in Oudtshoorn and takes in 2 900m of vertical ascent through the Outeniqua Mountains before ending at Great Brak River on the Garden Route.
In the end De Groot, 37, was outsprinted by Swedish champion Jennie Stenerhag, who finished in 5:54:23.846. De Groot’s time was 5:54:24.572, which means less than a second separated the two riders after almost six hours of cycling.
“I always enjoy the Attakwas; there is nowhere to hide. It’s a true race of attrition,” said De Groot.
Robyn de Groot came within a whisker of winning the Attakwas at the weekend. Photo: Carli Smith/www.zcmc.co.za
“The rainy, muddy and wet conditions made for a hard-working day in the saddle. I believe I am well suited to the Attakwas as I enjoy longer races and always find enjoyment when racing this kind of event.
“The first portion of the race was dry and pretty fast. I think we were moving at the usual Attakwas race pace. The bunch dwindled down early and at one stage there was a bunch including Amy McDougall, Barbara Benko, Yolande de Villiers, Jennie and myself.
“My chain came off the chain blade early in the race which I had to stop and quickly fix. But I managed to catch up to the group of four that I was riding with at the time.
“On the first ‘technical climb’ I was positioned badly and saw Jennie pull a gap up over the crest of the climb. As soon as I crested I knew it would be dangerous to let Jennie continue to build a bigger gap. So I bridged across to her shortly afterwards.
“I managed to get a nice gap over the crest of the Attakwas climb for the Queen of the Mountains just before we descended into the Attakwas valley. Jen and I rode together from there to the end.
“From water-point four we managed to make more time on the chasers. Coming in towards the finish it became a tactical game which made for an exciting dash for the finish line,” De Groot explained.
She said though she felt disappointed at losing in a sprint finish, there were positives she could take from the race.
“After 121km of racing in some tough conditions, for sure to lose by such a narrow margin is not easy. But it’s sport and we deal with it. For me, I see that my form is where I want it to be.
“I am happy with how I felt during the race. So as much as there is disappointment there are positives to take from the situation. I’ve also lost Attakwases by minutes before. A few split seconds means you were there,” she said.
De Groot has competed in the Attakwas since 2014, when she placed second. She was second again in 2015 and 2017, first in 2016 and sixth in 2018.
Towards the end of 2018 De Groot was diagnosed with severe blood-flow problems in her left leg and had to undergo vascular surgery. She was thus unable to compete in last year’s race.
“My goals really were to see where I am at after the preparatory phases of training through December and January. It’s a long break from the last race, so obviously [the aim was] to get back into racing, push myself and see where we are.
“My bigger goals for the year are a little later in the season. So I’d say I’m happy with the balance between goals, expectations and how I felt.”
