Davids excited about Jock Classic
Fresh from his triumph in the Knysna Cycle Tour, Road Cover's Brendon Davids is ready to test himself again when he makes his debut in the Bestmed Jock Classic today.
Presented by Rudy Project, the one-day, three-stage race in Mbombela will be contested over 150 kilometres with 2 900 metres of vertical ascent. Although he has not experienced the concept of a three-stage race in a single day, Davids is excited about the event and is looking forward to another examination of his road credentials.
The 23-year-old from Fourways in Johannesburg has made a successful switch from mountain-bike trails to tar, winning the 94.7 Cycle Challenge last year and finishing second in the Mpumalanga Cycle Tour in January.
“I’m doing most of the road events for the first time and, although I have not ridden the Jock Classic, I know quite a bit about the region from the Mpumalanga tour,” said the former junior, u/23 and elite African continental mountain-bike champion.
“I have really just been focused on the past weekend and only now am I looking ahead to the next event.”
From discussions with his teammates, Davids said he realised the second stage could be influential in the final outcome.
The 45-kilometre stretch between White River and Sabie has a fairly flat start before the climb up Spitskop, which is followed by a 10-kilometre run-in to Sabie. “Most of my colleagues have done the Jock Classic and they all say the Spitskop section into Sabie can make or break the race,” he said.
“I know there is also the Long Tom Pass (over 12 kilometres) on the final leg, but that is quite far from the finish, so the push up Spitskop should play a big role. It will probably be important to try to establish a gap there, as it is the most challenging part of the route, and then try to consolidate on the final stage back into Mbombela.”
Although he said Road Cover would be represented by a fairly small team in the Bestmed Jock Classic, Davids was happy with their conditioning. “It’s important to have a good team behind you, and we are all riding well together and committed to the cause.”
Davids acknowledged one of the challenges would be to keep warm between the stages, which start at 06:30 (42 kilometres), 09:30 (45 kilometres) and 13:00 (63 kilometres).
“I have never experienced this sort of race before, but Brad Potgieter and Clint Hendricks have done it and have given me some pointers,” he said.
