Rounds four, five and six of the South African National Age Group Series (NAG) took place at the brand new X-Stream Balance Adventure Park track in Krugersdorp on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 July. Despite windy conditions, riders thoroughly enjoyed the new track and Elite Men’s winner Kyle Dodd was extremely happy with his weekend victories.
“Racing this weekend went perfectly for me. I trained really hard coming up to the race. I wanted to do well and just prove to everyone that sending me to Worlds was the correct decision,” he said. The current National Champion was content at the end of the weekend.
“After my wins and keeping it all consistent, I felt good and I was really happy with the way I rode. I didn’t put a foot wrong the whole weekend. It was just a really good weekend,” he added.
Although the excitement of a brand new track was evident with Dodd, he did mention the challenges that faced him as an Elite rider: “Most of the track is built more for thirteen and under age groups so as Elites, we struggled with the jumps because they were a little bit small. It made it a lot harder for us. The corners were very tight as well, so Elites coming into the corner with more than two people abreast kind of made it a bit difficult at times during the racing, which caused a bit of chaos and a few crashes.”
After being aware of the scope of the track, Dodd made a decision to train at 100%. “I didn’t have any problems with the smaller jumps. Once I had the track dialled, it worked out in my favour. I felt comfortable on the track, I didn’t have any issues with it. The only thing that was a factor this weekend was the little bit of wind. Luckily, the jumps weren’t too crazy so it didn’t catch us too badly,” he said.
Current National Champion, Kyle Dodd, took the Elite Men’s title at rounds four, five and six of the South African National Age Group Series (NAG), which took place at the brand new X-Stream Balance Adventure Park track in Krugersdorp on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 July. Photo: Supplied
When chatting about the venue, Dodd said: “Its definitely a good facility and obviously going to help the young ones out a lot with learning how to jump. For Elites its a little bit more tricky because it’s a little bit small for us,” he said.
Also racing at the weekend was Staystrong/Hunter rider Dylan Eggar. He didn’t feel too comfortable or confident going into the race. “Once the gate dropped though, it was like a switch and everything just fell into place. Every race I just kept telling myself that I can do this,” he said.
Eggar enjoyed his races, but did feel that the wind was a disadvantage. “The second straight on the track was the pro straight. That was where the wind affected us most and it was also where the race could be won or lost,” he added.
When chatting about the rest of the season, Eggar said: “Well we still have one more National event for National ranking. It is going to be held at Giba Gorge – a track I have put a lot of work into with my training. By the end of this year I would like to have made a name for myself around the globe and to make the podium at the National as well.”
