Fast Friday – William Mokgopo Jnr. aka The Skinny Hulk
I have decided to focus today’s #FastFriday segment on a young man who I started to work with about 18 months ago. He has had a trying season, plagued with injury, illness and disappointment, all of which made every tribulation that much sweeter.
I present, William Mokgopo Jnr, aka. The Skinny Hulk (his nickname will justify itself later on in the piece). One of South Africa’s rising MTB stars. William started his cycling career at the Diepsloot MTB Academy, where he still has a passion for giving back to the community.
William rides for the Kargo Pro MTB Team and has represented SA at World Champs and featured in several big local races, including winning the 2015 Momentum 94.7 mountain bike race. His main focus and passion currently lies in Cross Country style races, which is high paced and a highly competitive discipline. William also races marathon distances and ultra-marathon events as well as stage races (personally, a discipline that I believe suits him better), as well as the Dual X, duathlon series.
The focus here is William’s outstanding result, coming off injury and the last leg of the Momentum Oatwell Dual X earlier in August. This is his race report:
Well the past few weeks have been nothing but work work work work – as Rihanna would say. But hey, they say “you reap what you sow”. It generally doesn’t help when it’s Olympics month- the motivation comes in big black bags because you want to see yourself there, so you feel like you need to start working for the next one NOW!
Back to the business of the day- the last Momentum Health Oatwell Dual Cross of the year in Buffelspoort this past weekend. To be honest I didn’t have any expectations for this one; I was tired and didn’t even practice my running, but I still wanted to compete. At the start I was lined up right at the back of the batch, but something in me said creep yourself a bit closer the front so I negotiated my way through.
Off we go on our first run. I was running very comfortably and then a km in surprisingly I felt really good, so I accelerated to the front- Brand was already gone by the way! I kicked another acceleration and now I was second place. In the transition zone I waited a bit for Nico and Charl-Stephan as I was not going to ride this course by myself. So the three of us were hunting for Brand who was already a minute ahead.
Half way in, a small mechanical set me back a few minutes and the pair rode away, so then I was chasing Brand and the two of them. About 5km away from the second transition I started seeing the pair and I was getting closer, so I decided to spin my legs and get ready for the last run. I was 4th into the last transition; it was my quickest change ever- running shoes on, cap on, “run, Willy, run” I heard someone say. I accelerated out and within meters I was 2nd again. And that’s how the story ends, happily 2nd.
William’s incredible work ethic and drive to achieve his goals is unquestioned. This result shows what hard work and dedication can reap. William and I have recently sat down to discuss the season ahead and the main focus now is Commonwealth Games 2018. WATCH THIS SPACE!!
About Coach Devlin Eyden
Devlin Eyden has passion for seeing his athletes grow and excel. From novice cyclists across all disciplines, to elite mountain bikers representing South Africa at World Championships.
In addition to helping you ride faster, for longer, Devlin also has the personal touch when it comes to your bike setup, aiming at improving the overall rider experience.
With his background as a Sport Scientist as well as a Strength & Conditioning specialist, cycling performance is Devlin’s main priority, be it in the gym, the lab or out on the bike. To discover more about Devlin, Click Here.
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