Mountain Bike Magazine MTB Autumn 2019 | Page 70

PEOPLE | RIDERS WE LIKE What’s it like being a qualified dentist? Are you doing much work or will that wait until you’re not riding pro any longer? I qualified as a dentist in the summer of 2017. It was very tough getting the last bit of my education and running a parallel career as a pro cyclist. I was really happy and proud that I made it through school, but I haven’t done anything dentistry related since. I do see myself working as a dentist one day though, when I’m no longer a pro rider. But right now there are no plans as to when, where or how. You win on almost every circuit around the world but have only one win in Albstadt – any reason? I don’t know why I only won once in Albstadt. I had some bad luck a few times there. Bike racing is a lot about having a really good day when it matters and about avoiding bad luck. A lot of it also has to do with form and how you feel. You know, one thing I think people tend to overlook is that when you have a margin physiologically on the bunch it becomes much easier to ride technically well. So really, it’s mostly about being in good shape I think. How do you feel about the steepest Epic course to date this year, and do you think Anna will cope technically? I really think the steep climbing will suit us well. We are both strong climbers. I am very confident Anna will cope just fine technically. She even beat me at a four-day mountain bike stage race in Cyprus last year. Of course, Cape Epic is always extremely challenging in every single way, but Anna learns quickly and is good at knowing her strengths and limitations, and knows a lot about teamwork too. She finished 30th in Val di Sole. Of course she wasn’t completely satisfied with that. But come on… I think that speaks for itself. She might even have had a better result in her first World Cup than I did. Talk us through your relationship with Anna and what you expect from her as a novice with a huge road pedigree. Anna is a talented bike racer Fiercely focused at the 2018 World Cup in La Bresse, France and she has a lot to offer when it comes to mountain biking. We first met at a race in Cyprus last year. I remember she approached the race tactically, like a road racer, which was very refreshing. She did some leadouts for me going into singletracks – something I didn’t expect and I’d never before experienced in mountain bike racing. We didn’t even plan it beforehand. Most of the time in mountain bike racing it’s just you racing against everybody else. I really like Anna and, besides being my partner for the Absa Cape Epic, we are also teammates on Boels Dolmans Cycling Team on the road this year. What keeps you coming back to SA where you have had so much success, from Pietermaritzburg to even a road stage race and then your dominant Epic career? I really like riding my bike here. The weather is always good, the mountain bike trails are superb and the landscapes are breathtaking. But I also really like the high level of organisation when it comes to races. I think a lot of race organisers in Europe could learn from this. What’s your favourite thing to do off the bike in SA? This is easy – I love going out for coffee or for some of the delicious food on offer here. What do your cycling fans not know about you? Hmm… probably a lot. I will tell you one thing that may surprise some of you – I worked for two years as a bartender in Lichtenstein and Switzerland after high school, trying to save up money to become a ski guide, which I eventually did. So yeah, I might have some areas in bike racing to improve on, but I feel that I’ve already experienced a lot in my life, and feel blessed to be where I am. 70 | MTB | woman we love every race is not possible. So if results are the sole determining factor for success you’ll have a hard time as a racer. Even the best has to accept defeat. Not being satisfied with it is another thing. Big events like the Olympic Games are, of course, huge motivation factors. But the chance of winning is honestly slim. And there’s a hard process in accepting that you’re good enough as both a racer and a person, even if it doesn’t go your way. So other things I focus on is simply to feel motivated every single day that I can ride and race my bike for a living. It’s a unique and privileged way of living your life and not something I take for granted.