Karien van Jaarsveld (Nashua) produces a surprise every time she gets on her bicycle.
She did it again this past weekend when she finished 2nd in the women’s race of the Tour Durban. Marissa van der Merwe (MTN-Energade) was the winner, with Robyn de Groot (MTN-Energade) finishing 3rd.
What is amazing about the 28-year-old Van Jaarsveld’s performance, is that this is only her first year of professional racing and it was only the 2nd time that she represented Nashua in a road race.
Listening to Van Jaarsveld talking about Sunday’s race, it sounds as if she might have surprised even herself.
The deciding moment of the race occurred after about 20 kilometers of racing when Van der Merwe decided to launch an attack.
The moment Van der Merwe managed to open a gap, Van Jaarsveld decided by herself: ‘No, you are not getting away’.
After a hard chase, she caught up with Van der Merwe and the two of them worked well together to obtain a lead of about 55 seconds.
Van Jaarsveld admits that she did not expect at any stage that they would stay in front for 85 kilometers.
“There was a time when Marissa contemplated to sit up and let the bunch catch up with us. I persuaded her to keep going and from then on we managed to keep increasing our lead. At the turn-about we had a gap of about five minutes.
“It was reassuring for both of us to know that, if we should make a mess of things, it would not be the end of the world. We had team-mates back in the peloton who could finish what we had started.
“Unfortunately I messed up my sprint because I was in a too heavy gear when Marissa accelerated. But, luckily, it was not the end of the world. It is exciting for me to notice that I improve with every race.
“At the moment I am just so hungry to race. I actually wish I could race again today.”
According to Van Jaarsveld the fact that she also competes in mountain bike marathons definitely helped her during Sunday’s race.
“During a mountain bike race you learn to push yourself through the pain barrier and this enables you to race for a few hours at a fast pace.”
Judging by Van Jaarsveld’s performances so far this year, it would not be wrong to give her the nickname of ‘Silver Maiden of SA women’s cycling’.
Van Jaarsveld finished 2nd in both the MTN Barberton Mountain Bike Marathon and the MTN SA Marathon Championship in Sabie.
She is quite confident that she will take the step upwards on the winner’s podium before the end of the year.
“I know I can win. It is just a matter of biding my time and making the most of my opportunities.”
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