GEAR » PROFILE
5 MINUTES WITH MR P
ou finished
African Champs
with another first
in your age group this
year. You’re known to train
really hard, with some
massive rides at altitude,
and not get injured. You’re
arguably our greatest ever
age grouper. What’s your
secret to staying hungry
and achieving consistent
podium-topping results?
Thanks! My team and I do
train hard. The manner in
which we approach our
workouts certainly sets us
up mentally for any race
day. ‘Train hard, race easy’ is
the common theme. In fact,
when training and racing,
we continually strive to ‘beat
yesterday’. As for the hungry
part, it’s been 10 years in
the sport now, and each
year I still look forward to
the forthcoming season.
I guess if you enjoy it, you’ll
remain hungry.
I would put staying
uninjured down to training
consistency, adequate
recovery and knowing
my body. I get injured
occasionally but find there
are usually warning signs,
like a niggle. If I slow down
and treat it immediately, my
recovery time is minimal,
without too much impact on
my plan. I’m very thankful that
I remain healthy and have no
body issues preventing me
from reaching faster race
times and platforms.
It’s also fantastic to see
other South African age
groupers coming to the sharp
end of the full IRONMAN
races. At African Champs
this year, for example, being
able to ride with fellow Saffas
creating directional strategy
against the competitive
international age groupers
Y
86
made for fun racing. Some
impressive bikers at the
leading edge of the bike
route this year were Donovan
Geldenhuys, Andrew Botha
and Nick Chapman.
This year, you’ve set
yourself an astounding
‘Championship Slam’
quest, to compete
in all the IRONMAN
championship events
around the globe,
including the World
Championship in
Kona. That’s a pretty
hectic racing schedule,
especially with the Asia-