Tristan Nortje dominated throughout the four-day Knysna Bull, which set up his Young Bulls victory yesterday.
The 18-year-old said it was a relief to finally race with good legs again.
“I had no legs at the first SA XCO Cup in Mankele, but I knew my preparation was good for this race.
“To race hard for four days, and riding with Matt Beers most of the time, definitely boosted everything inside me.”
Of the final day’s racing, Nortje said he missed the split in the first singletrack uphill where he got stuck.
“Matt just held a steady pace and already had like 40 seconds and I tried to close the gap, but he was just too fast. So it was a lonely day on the bike.”
Nortje said the event featured real mountain biking trails and all the routes were fast but really hard.
“There was lots of singletrack and routes in the forest. It’s one of the best races I’ve done.
“The last stage definitely suited me the best because it had the most climbing and the climbs were all longer than five minutes, where the other days were only like one-minute-hard climbs.
“Just the vibe and the route and the people were great. Just everything was the best. The marking was also good.
“Also, thanks to Matt for being a very nice guy and giving me some valuable advice about racing,” said Nortje, referring to Beers, who won the Bulls category.
