Howick – The 2014 Sappi Howick MTB Classic produced a glimmer of hope for Trek SA star Brendon Davids that his season was turning around after being plagued by a run of unfortunate incidents and illness. Claiming a resounding win at the 29th edition of the popular Howick race on the weekend was the ideal tonic for the local star heading into the South African Marathon Championships this coming weekend in Pietermaritzburg.
The 2014 Sappi Howick MTB Classic provided riders with some favourable conditions and Davids and Kargo Pro MTB Team rider Stuart Marais rode out into an early lead and Davids never relinquished the number one spot as he charged away from his fellow competitor to take a deserved win and shake the voodoo that has been surrounding him in recent weeks.
“It has been a pretty rough few months for me,” a relieved Davids said at the finish of the race. “I have had a run of pretty bad luck and last week I had a bit of a stomach bug but it was good to shake the bug and come out here after a tough block of training this week.”
Photo: Anthony Grote/ Gameplan Media
Davids was quick to praise the organisers and course designers after the race. He has been riding in the area for much of his life and so he was happy with the way the course was laid out and the way in which it flowed.
“It is a really fun course and it was well organised, I think the organisers really stepped up to the plate this year with a very well-marked and balanced course,” a satisfied Davids mentioned.
The Sappi Howick MTB Classic prides itself on being one of the oldest races in the area and with some tough sections of track it was a good opportunity for Davids to make sure that he has everything in place for what should be a gruelling national marathon championship this coming weekend.
“Today was ideal, a lot rougher than Karkloof and I managed to iron out all the kinks and make sure my bike is running well and I just wanted to play it smooth in the single track to make sure nothing could hamper me from a good result,” he commented.
With Trek SA team mate James Reid in Germany for the overseas legs of the UCI MTB World Cup, Davids has been working hard at home in the build-up to the national Marathon Championships with a lot of his current focus being on that national title.
“Unfortunately I couldn’t got to the World Cup in Germany for certain reasons so I came here today to get a good solid training session with the SA marathon champs next weekend and then the national cross country series coming up so it was good to get a good solid day in,” the local rider said.
The 2014 edition of the race was well supported by riders from all over and the reaction to the quality of the course was positive which would suggest that it was good day for all of the riders that took part.
More info can be found at www.howickmountainbiking.co.za
Source: Gameplan Media
