Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Well in a place that may possibly be the farthest away from home, I placed 4th in Downhill amongst the best in the World, just 1 second off a medal... Seems like however hard you go, there could always be more!! Grr. I am proud of my effort here, but a little gutted as well to be that close. Seemed like between the nerves, ever changing weather, horrible sprint intervals, and all the fuss over bike set up, I managed myself pretty well and raced with purpose. I was the top Elite finisher for USA, with Junior GOLD going to Richie Rude!!! Nice work Richie!!!
Rachel Atherton won the women's race, Ragot 2nd, Tracey Hannah 3rd.
Greg Minnaar was the biggest star of weekend though, he took he elite win in his hometown, put the whole venue on their feet, and earned his third World title in Downhill. The DJ had the beats turned up really loud and had been pumping up the crowd all day. For him to be able to succeed under that kind of pressure was inspiring. http://dirt.mpora.com/news/dirttv-world-champs-2013-finals.html Mic Hannah almost ruined the party, he was 2nd by a small margin, then Jared Graves 3rd on his trail bike.
Off to Cape Town next to spend a few days with Neethling crew :) Stoked to finally get to explore a little bit more than just one town in Africa. Glad this week is over:) C ya.
Jill n mechanic Reg.