08/11/2010
Torp in top gear
Former Norwegian national champion Linn Torp turned mechanical problems into opportunity
as she sprinted to her first podium finish in South Africa at the 97-kilometre MTN
OFM Classic in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
The Team bizhub rider, who was stuck in top gear for the last 40 kilometres after
snapping a gear cable, was sandwiched by MTN-Energade team-mates Robyn de Groot
(first) and Marissa van der Merwe (third) on the finishing line.
USN's national road champion Cherise Taylor took fourth with Team bizhub's Catherine
Williamson rounding out the top five as she prepares for her first multi-stage mountain
bike race (the Contego Wines2Whales in Cape Town) this weekend.
Team Medscheme's Arran Brown and Malcolm Lange stormed to a one-two finish in the
men's race with MTN's Reinardt Janse van Rensburg completing the podium.
"I saw the finish the previous day and knew it was slightly downhill with a ninety
degree corner about three or four hundred metres out," said Torp, who races out
of Pretoria while in South Africa.
"I thought I wouldn’t have the acceleration if the girls kicked late, so I decided
to go from way out. This way, I figured, I would at least give my team-mates a proper
lead-out should it not work out."
Torp, 33, was first around the bend but De Groot was able to come over her. "She
(De Groot) went slightly too early and I got back up next to her. It was pretty
close in the end."
The Norwegian said the faulty gears gave her an opportunity to do things differently.
"Without the problems, I would've done a normal sprint and possibly finished worse.
It worked out well for me."
When her gears failed, Torp fell back to the team vehicle and was given the option
to pull out. "The directeur sportif asked if I wanted to stop, but I decided to
keep going to see if I could assist the team in any way."
The triple national champion, who struggled to find her best form during her first
stint in the country earlier this year, said she had been quite fortunate as the
course was relatively flat and the race quite steady. "Sure, the drags and accelerations
were tougher than usual, but I was never under serious pressure."
Torp, who said she found it strange to be racing this late in the year, will now
shift her focus to the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge in Johannesburg on November
21.
"I've never done the race and actually don't know much about it. But we’ll try our
best to win, of course."
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