Gwyn Pine clinches fourth at world championships
“I was a mere 16 seconds from second place. While not getting a medal was a disappointment, missing third place by 12 seconds was an achievement itself,” explained Gwyn proudly
Gwyn Pine took fourth position in the time trial race in the UCI World Cycling Tour in Slovenia from August 28 to August 31.
Admitting he was disappointed as he had set his sights on first place, Gwyn said the experience of event made up for it. “It was an amazing event,” he said. Gwyn faced 51 cyclists from 38 countries in the 18.6km time trial on August 28, of whom only one other racer was from South Africa in the 50+ age group.
“I was a mere 16 seconds from second place. While not getting a medal was a disappointment, missing third place by 12 seconds was an achievement itself,” explained Gwyn proudly. During the 156km road race on August 31, Gwyn said he faced 157 cyclists.
While he knew he would not finish in the top group, it was a good race and he had done it merely for the experience. “I’m not sure where I exactly finished in the race, but I heard from a friend I came in 52nd, but I have not checked the results,” said Gwyn.
Thanking family and friends for standing by him during his training and competing, Gwyn especially thanked DHL Harrismith for transporting his bicycles to Slovenia and back free of charge, saving him a whopping R31 000.
While the world championships are over, Gwyn has set his sights on the Tsogo Sun Amashova Durban Classic Race in October. “After that, I start preparing for next year’s world championships,” he concluded.
