![\"rourke.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-2-0-56994100-1372847101.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto credit: Anthony Grote\/ Gameplan Media<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Having grown up in Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal\u2019s Zululand region Croeser was then fortunate to have spent two years living in Europe and competing on the local MTB circuit, something he feels has helped him immensely in his journey as an Under 23 competitor thus far.<\/p>\n However, with Ballito on KZN\u2019s North Coast where he now calls home and regular training trips and competing in countless races at Cascades, Croeser is relishing the opportunity August\u2019s global spectacle presents.<\/p>\n \u201cI have really high hopes for World Champs,\u201d said Croeser. \u201cI\u2019ve been to Worlds since I was a junior and this will be my fifth World Champs I\u2019ve competed in so I now know what to expect and I\u2019m really looking forward to this year\u2019s event.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that the event is being held at Cascades is also a huge benefit to us locals. We can go up there and train on the course whenever we like and we race there all the time.<\/p>\n \u201cJust last week I was up there twice in five days, riding sections over and over again, and in the next ten weeks building up to World Champs I will complete over sixty laps of the course in World Champs\u2019 specific training, which can only be a good thing!\u201d added the Orange Monkey competitor who competes in the colours of Kargo MTB Pro team locally.<\/p>\n Familiarity with the route and surroundings, the comfort of being close to home and the support of the local crowd are all small elements on their own however when added together, Croeser believes play a vital role in developing a smooth routine in the period just before race day \u2013 a huge advantage he will have over those travelling from abroad.<\/p>\n \u201cI really know the course at Cascades and for some reason it just seems to suit my style of riding. I don\u2019t know what it is but I just feel good on that course which really helps you prepare mentally.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving done as many laps as I would have by the time Worlds get here also gives me huge confidence. I\u2019ll know beforehand what sort of tyre choices, tyre pressures, gears and the rest of the setup works best for me in almost all conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso, because I know the course and my strengths and weaknesses on that course so well, and because I can picture it in my head so clearly, the other day in training I was able to measure out the 300m start straight and picture it being at Cascades as it will be on race day.<\/p>\n \u201cI sat stationary for five minutes so the muscles went cold, as they will do when we\u2019re waiting on the start line on race day. Then I went for it and pushed as hard as I will during the start on race day.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I\u2019ve been through all that, its familiar to me and, importantly, it won\u2019t be new on the day of the race which all plays a part in helping settle the nerves and allowing me to focus on the race itself.<\/p>\n I will also get myself a place up in Maritzburg for the week before the race. I\u2019ll stay up there and just make sure that I\u2019m as comfy as possible, don\u2019t have to travel too far and try take out as many of the little stresses as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s those little comforts that all add up and make a big difference and when you look at the margins that we\u2019re dealing with, that little bit really counts at this level,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Apart from seeking a top personal performance Croeser is both hopeful and confident the rest of his Under 23 local competitors have a solid outing on race day as many look to burst into the cut-throat environment of elite racing in the next year or two.<\/p>\n \u201cI really believe our local guys can do super well at World Champs this year, possibly even having four riders finish in the top 20!\u201d predicted Croeser.<\/p>\n \u201cJames (Reid) knows how to do well in Maritzburg, Brendon (Davids), if he gets it right on the day, can do really nicely and a couple of the others are going really well so hopefully it all just comes together for all of us on the day of the race.<\/p>\n The UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships takes place at Cascades MTB park in Pietermaritzburg from 26 August to 1 September 2013, and will be preceded by the UCI MTB Masters World Championships from21 to 25 August. More information can be found at www.mtbworldchamps.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Leading South African Under 23 cross country mountain biker Rourke Croeser has set his sights on a stellar performance during the 2013 UCI MTB & Trials World Championships at Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg from 26 August-1 September as he looks to make full use of his wealth of international racing experience as well as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":53261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[975,2975],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-21733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-mtb-world-champs","tag-rourke-croeser"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21733"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=21733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}