Mariske Strauss ended the year on a high after claiming the women’s elite title at the SA MTB National Cross-Country Championships in Stellenbosch on Saturday.
The Durbanville rider, who races for the Dutch CST PostNL Bafang outfit, established an early advantage, which she was able to retain throughout to beat defending champion Candice Lill by 45 seconds. Cherie Redecker placed third.
It was a special moment for Strauss who conceded the title last year after back-to-back victories from 2016 to 2018.
“It’s great to end the season on a high note and I will wear the stripes with pride going into 2021,” she said.
“I would like to thank the many parties behind the scenes who made this event possible because it was very important to have the champs in a year which has been hit by Covid-19.
“Also, I must acknowledge my team and my sponsors for the massive support they have given me to make my career and dreams possible.”
With the XCO title back in her name, Strauss will switch her attention to qualifying for the Olympic Games in Japan next year.
“At this stage we are not quite sure what is going to happen but that is the main goal for 2021,” she said. “I have been working towards this for basically my whole career and a lot of time and investment has gone into making this happen.”
Ahead of Saturday’s race, Strauss said she experienced a nervous flutter about her chances in the six-lap event.
“It’s been a strange year and everything was a little bit uncertain, because you don’t know where everyone’s form is and what’s going to happen.
“So the race nerves were definitely there, but I had an amazing start, before Candice and Cherie came past me when I slowed down a bit after I heard someone shout and I thought I was doing something wrong.
“We settled into a nice rhythm as Cherie led us through the first lap, until I decided I was feeling quite good and put in an attack on the first proper climb.
“I managed to open a gap and then just put the hammer down and tried to open up the gap as much as I could. I was able to maintain the tempo and that was my race.”
Strauss pointed to her knowledge of the course as a major plus.
“It is a challenging and technical course so you had to have your wits about you.
“Well done to Candice and Cherie for putting up a really good fight, but what I think helped me is that I am very familiar with the track and comfortable with the technical parts of it.
“The climbing suited me and I felt good – that’s where I opened the gap and that definitely played in my favour.”
