Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 94, May 2017 | Page 41

“My confidence
has grown
exponentially,
not only in
myself, but also
in my training
and racing.”
that I decided cycling was my new thing.” In
particular, she took to ‘Olympic’ style racing.
“I knew my technical skills on the bike were a
major strength and this inspired me to attempt
qualifying for the Under-23 World Championships
in 2012, hosted at Cascades Mountain Bike
Park in KwaZulu-Natal. South Africa was able
to qualify seven under-23 women for the World
Champs and that year I qualified fifth.”
Racing against the rest of the world was a huge
eye opener for Sarah and lasting just three laps
before being forced out was hard, but instead of
letting it knock her down, she says it made her
want to try harder! But she also realised it was
going to take longer than just a year of riding
to reach the top in the sport. Around the same
time, Sarah was struggling with the decision
what to do after school. “I felt like I didn’t fit in
into any degree that South African universities
offered, and I honestly just wanted to ride
my bike. Of course, my parents weren’t too
happy about this and poked and prodded with
opportunities that I might try, until an idea stuck:
‘Why don’t you study in the USA? You can ride
and earn a degree!’ From that point on, I was
sold,” says Sarah.
THE AMERICAN WAY
That saw Sarah and her parents spend the next
few weeks literally using Google to help find her
a mountain biking school in the USA. It wasn’t
long before they came across the name of Brian
Sheedy, an influential coach for the late Carla
Swart when she studied in North Carolina, and
he had moved to Brevard College a couple of
years after her tragic death when she returned
to SA and was hit by a truck while training.
Sarah duly went over, did one year at Lees
McRae College, then joined Brian’s programme
at Brevard. “Brevard College and LMC both share
the Pisgah National Forest and this is where I
found my absolute love for mountain biking.
Here you just play and play and play. I was
always dancing on the trails with my mountain
bike, embracing the rooty, wet and gnarly
terrain,” beams Sarah.
Brevard College forms part of the highly
competitive South-East Conference, and for the
first time in her life, Sarah found herself on a
start line with 50 or more other girls, all her age,
all studying and all in exactly the same position
as her, with the goal of trying to win. “We could
all relate and we were all on the same level…
and more women equals more fun. It was as
simple as that. You were always racing against
someone who made you push yourself a little
harder, and as you got to know the girls around
you, different colleges would team up and help
each other and chase with more purpose. It was
an experience of a lifetime.”
However, it was not always smooth riding, and
Sarah admits that there was a time that she
simply no longer wanted to ride. “I was so burnt
out from racing that I could hardly even sit on
my bike. The fun had been taken away because
I had too many expectations to race. At that
I was living with three guys in a house right
next to Brevard College, and one of the guys
would ride with me each day in Pisgah Forest.
It was the beginning of the summer holidays
and the forest was full of life, with the warmth,
rain and humidity, and just so beautiful, but
one day he watched me just stop pedalling
and cry. Fortunately, he realised that I wasn’t
enjoying it anymore. But decided to help me
‘get back on the horse.’ He said that I needed
to take a second and think about the times in
my life where I loved to ride, and focus on that,”
explains Sarah.
Having rediscovered her love for the bike, Sarah
got her riding back on track, and four years
after heading to the States, Sarah put all that
experience and skill to full use as she made a
glorious end to her competitive collegiate career,
and now she is determined to carry on riding,
both competitively and as a mentor to the next
generation of riders. “Mountain biking is so
much a part of who I am today and I feel like
I can express myself through my riding. Every
day I am so pumped to get on my bike because
every ride is different. Every pedal stroke has
a purpose, and it is so cool to embrace the
journey. I just keep learning more about myself
and the more I know, the better the bike
responds. Also, the people who helped me get to
this point were people that knew how to play on
their bikes, and I have had so much fun riding
and training since the day I committed to the
sport. I think that is why I have found success
along the way.”
41