NATIONAL NEWS - It is said that a change is as good as a holiday. Maybe this was why the South African triathlon champion, Basson Engelbrecht, tried his luck at XTERRA racing over the weekend and, in doing so, he surprised even himself.

Engelbrecht (Tuks/HPC) finished second in the FedHealth XTERRA’S 1.5km swim, 26km mountain bike leg and 12km run held at Buffelspoort.

Bradley Weiss won in 2hrs 27min 13sec, Engelbrecht was second in 2:32:51 and Antoine van Heerden third in 2:33:43.

“Hard core,” is how Engelbrecht describes his XTERRA debut.

“I always thought triathlon was a hard sport because it is all about perseverance and how long you are able to push yourself to the limit.

“But, to be honest, I think XTERRA is tougher. In triathlon there is, at least, an opportunity to work together during the cycle leg, trying to save a bit of energy, but in XTERRA you are left to your own devices, right from the moment you start swimming.

“You have to remain totally focussed during the cycle as well as the run because you are constantly being challenged by nature’s obstacles.

There was a stage during the run when I had to go on all fours to be able to keep moving forward between the rocks.

“I was the first out of the water and was leading on the mountain bike up to about the last three kilometres. That was when Bradley caught up and passed me. When it happened I was truly a spent force. I had been riding without water for more than an hour and nearly toppled over when I tried to ride to the top of one climb.

“I thought I had planned well by freezing my water before the race so that it would stay cold for longer. However, as luck would have it, my bottle fell out of the bike’s bottle cage within the first two kilometres. My only goal during the run was to at least finish.”

The Tuks/HPC triathlete’s season starts in earnest on 20 February when he will compete in an African Cup event in Zimbabwe. According to Engelbrecht, running was his weakness last year. He, therefore, worked hard during his base training in December to become a stronger runner.
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“I am planning to race as often as I possibly can during the early part of the season in an effort to improve my international rankings. My main goal will be to podium in the under-23 race at the World Championships.

“I will also target one World Cup race for a possible victory.”

Lindsey Parry (Tuks/HPC), who coaches Engelbrecht, reckons he is capable of achieving both goals.

“What makes Basson such a good triathlete is the fact that he is a racer in the true sense of the word. Even if he is not in his best form, he has the race savvy to make sure that he is in the right place at the right time.