Nelson Mandela Bay cycling ace Anriette Schoeman is heading for the United Arab Emirates to tackle the Spinneys Dubai 92 Cycle Challenge in December.
Schoeman will saddle up alongside more than 600 riders in a bid for top honours at the race – dubbed the biggest cycle challenge in the Middle East – on December 14.
Schoeman said this was her second invitation to the race, after she was invited in 2017 but pulled out due to personal reasons.
“I stopped my racing for the year after my mum’s passing.
“I also felt my preparation for the race last year was not ideal,” Schoeman said.
“I was busy packing up house and sorting other stuff out.”
Schoeman said she was excited at the prospect of racing in Dubai, having only raced in the land of sand and wealth at the World Championships in Qatar previously.
“After racing in Qatar, where there is also a lot of sand, I know more or less what I am getting myself into, but it will be a lot different from what I am used to,” she said.
Asked if she had done a reconnaissance of the race course, Schoeman said: “There is no climbing so it will be full on gas from the start because it will be flat and fast.
“One of the cycling passes has been purpose-built for cyclists by one of the sheikhs, so that is pretty special.
“For this race I don’t have any specific expectations.
“My preparation for that specific kind of race has not been ideal, and I am a smaller rider, so I’m not sure if it is going to be full throttle for the gun,” she said.
Schoeman, a four-time winner of the 94.7 challenge, rode excellently at the weekend to finish second in the 100km race in which more than 20,000 riders participated this year.
“I was aiming for at least top five. So to get the second place is a good result for me.
“Preparations have been OK. I haven’t raced at altitude all year so I did the 94.7 mountain bike challenge a week earlier to see how my body would respond to altitude but I had a rough day,” she said.
Within the first 30km of the road race at the weekend, Theresa Ralph, Schoeman, Sanet Coetzee, Carla Oberholzer, Juanita Venter and Zanri Rossouw broke away from the bunch.
Joanna van der Winkel launched an attack which split the breakaway group with only Schoeman and SA champion Oberholtzer managing to go with Van Der Winkel.
A serious chase was on as the trio tried to close the gap on Ralph, which stood at 45 seconds ahead of the chasing group. Oberholzer launched her attack with 500m to go, followed by Schoeman.
She managed to stay ahead to win the race, with Schoeman second and Van der Winkel third while Ralph finished in fourth place.
“I usually do my preparations based on the demands of the specific course and the amount of effort I would need to put in during the race.
“This year they changed the course in that most of the climbs were done at the beginning, which was a bit challenging,” Schoeman said.
“So I had to pace myself quite well.”
Schoeman said traditionally the 94.7 Cycle Challenge was her final race of the year and that the Dubai Cycle Challenge would be an added bonus.