Jennie Stenerhag

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Nice way to start the season, finally a win at the Attakwas!

2020-01-19

The first race of the year always seems to be too early, I never feel ready and am always unsure of my form and this year it felt extra uncertain for me as I started with a new coach and the training feels a little different to what I have been used to before, and also because I spent 2 weeks in Sweden over Christmas and New Year which is usually the weeks when I train the most. However, to break the pattern is always good and since I had not spent a Christmas with my family for 10 years it was worth the risk of delaying the form, to have some winter and Swedish Christmas! It was an experience for Craig too, who had never seen snow or done skiing before, there were many new impressions for him.

Just 11 days after we returned to South Africa, it was time for the first competition, and also the first UCI World series race on the calendar. We were experiencing some warm weather in Stellenbosch with days above + 40 degrees, so the weather forecast was cooler weather and rain for race day which was very welcoming! We usually drive to Oudtshoorn on the Friday (the day before the race) but it always gets stressful and a long drive in the legs before the race, so this year we decided to go on Thursday instead and it worked better because it gave us a relaxing day on Friday. Michael Olsson came down from Sweden to South Africa to do Attakwas and have a training camp so it was me, Craig, Michael and his girlfriend Jennie who packed the car full and went to Oudtshoorn and stayed at La Pension, it is becoming routine for us to stay there, a very nice guest house in Oudtshoorn!

As usual, I was very nervous and had barely slept when the alarm went off at 4am and it was time to get up and eat oats. Fortunately, it hadn't started raining yet . This is a race from A to B and we heard that it was raining a lot on the other side of the mountains where we were going and the organization had a plan B to redirect the course if there was too much rain. It was hard to imagine during the first part of the course which was dry and dusty and with perfect weather! Although this is a big competition in South Africa with a lot of prestige and with UCI status and is the first competition in the UCI World series, we were only 9 girls on the start line, there were 9 good girls so the competition would not be easier but at the same time it is a pity that not more girls race in the elite women category!

Photo: Deidre Cloete

Photo: Zoon Cronje Marketing

I had no expectations whatsoever on the day, I have started Attakwas 7 times before, so this was my 8th start and the results have been

2013 – DNF

2014 – 5th

2015 – 3rd

2016 – 2nd

2017 – 3rd

2018 – 2nd

2019 – 3rd

There is just something with me and Attakwas and I had almost given up on thinking I could win it one day…. I knew Robyn was in good form so it would be good to keep an eye on her and Yolandi who won last year, she is always strong even if she just came back from an injury. We started slowly but took the pace up on the first climb which made a group of 5 girls in the lead. Yolandi was setting the pace most of the time.

Photo: Zoon Cronje Marketing

After doing this race so many times I knew the route well and knew it was important to be in front up the first rocky climb 30 km in to the race, it is rocky and tricky and it is important to be able to choose your line to stay on your bike. Yolandi got off the bike in the water just before and it forced us all off the bike, I was fastest on the bike again and managed to get into the climb first, I rode my own pace and was able to ride all the way up and was surprised when I turned around and didn't see any of the others!

Photo: Zoon Cronje Marketing

After a little while on the flat I saw that they were together a bit behind. I pushed without going too hard and a bit later I saw that Robyn had started to bridge back to me on her own, it felt very good as I was sure we could get away if we worked together. She mostly sat behind me for a while, but I let her recover and in the next steep technical uphill (which I never ever managed to ride up before) I went first and opened up a small gap again, after that we were almost glued together for the rest of the race. I rode a bit stupidly on the QOM climb, I pushed a bit too hard to stay in front on the climb before and was first downhill and Robyn stayed behind on the hard piece between the climbs and could easily pass me as the QOM climb started and took that prize.

Photo: Zoon Cronje Marketing

After about half the race it started to rain and when we were done with the technical bit (at about 68km) and went out on the gravel roads it was so wet that the tires dug down into the mud, it became very hard! We rode well together, and it was nice to ride with Robyn again, after all we were teammates for 2.5 years and have done 10 stage races together, so we know each other's riding styles very well! We got time splits once and Barbara Benko from Hungary was only 1.5 minutes behind us, we both probably thought we had a bigger gap and we increased the pace a bit. Later we were told 2 minutes and then 3 minutes, but the climbs at the end are so incredibly hard and steep on tired legs so nothing is a given until you cross the finish line. At WP4 I got confused when Craig stopped me on the bike to say I should do a 180 degree, the track usually went straight through the water point and down a muddy single track, they had rerouted to the road since it was too wet to ride down!

Photo: Deidre Cloete

It was slippery on the gravel roads on the downhills and I felt that I could go a slightly bit faster than Robyn and it gave me confidence for the finish! But first we had to get up the last two slopes which is the hardest on the whole course and I was sure Robyn would attack there, but I dug deep to stick to her wheel and she probably noticed that she would not get rid of me. I got a perfect setup when Robyn sat at the front in the headwind when we only had a few kilometres left and when it starts to go downhill just after the 2 kilometres mark I went first and rode as fast as I dared to! It was slippery and I had to bring out everything I learned from my latest skills sessions about cornering as I got to the 90 degree corner which takes us down an even steeper slope with cement strips, it was really fast here and I had to brake hard in the 90 degree corner at the bottom and out on the grass. From there it was just to go absolute maximum and hope for the best around the last corner where there is also a tree in the middle! Last year I went on the outside so now I took the inside line and everything worked perfectly and I managed to take the win for the first time!!! In my 8th start!! I was super happy but also tired after almost 6 hours of racing!!

Photo: Zoon Cronje Marketing

I was also very happy with how my body was feeling, apparently it was good to go home for Christmas and take 2 weeks off from the bike and do other things! I was once again impressed of how well my Silverback Stratos handled on this kind of terrain, it was the first time I managed to ride up all the technical climbs and it is also so stable on the downhills! The best bike ever!

Photo: Zoon Cronje Marketing

Podium with Yolandi 4th, Robyn 2nd, Me, Barbara 3rd and Laura 5th. Photo: Craig

Next on the schedule is Tankwa Trek together with Nadine Rieder in 2.5 weeks, it will be great fun!

Michael Olsson also rode well, he came 4th after crashing twice, that was a great performance especially for being the first time at Attakwas and not knowing the route!

Big thank you to Craig and Jennie who supported us!