![\"NatsBergstrom.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-2-0-17855400-1372231267.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n“I\u2019m trying to prepare for the race like it\u2019s just any other race, but really, it\u2019s not! This is the World Champs, it\u2019s huge!\u201d says Cofeebery\/Momsen’s Natalie Bergstrom of the 2013 UCI MTB Masters World Championships Pietermaritzburg.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Photo: Anthony Grote\/ Gameplan Media<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Since blasting onto the local mountain biking scene in 2011 Bergstrom has claimed countless overall ladies\u2019 race titles, particularly in her home province KwaZulu-Natal, however August\u2019s event, which precedes the 2013 UCI MTB & Trials World Championships Pietermaritzburg at the same venue, will be the KZN North Coast star\u2019s first showing at the international masters showcase.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never ever ridden in a World Champs before so to race at August\u2019s event will be an absolute dream come true and the fact that it is on home soil and at a venue that I know incredibly well is just the cherry on the top for me,\u201d said Bergstrom.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is only the third year that I\u2019ve been racing competitively for, which is pretty short in comparison to a lot of others, so this is the first, and probably the last time, I\u2019ll ever get the chance to race at World Champs so I just cannot wait!<\/p>\n With the notorious Tree House rock garden at Cascades having gotten the better of her in the past Bergstrom recalls how on that ill-fated day she decided it was \u2018now or never\u2019 to overcome her mental block, a decision which so nearly cost her global debut.<\/p>\n \u201cI was training on the rock garden at Cascades, which isn\u2019t even part of the Masters course for World Champs, but I just decided it was time to conquer my fears of it,\u201d explained Bergstrom. \u201cI had successfully ridden it a couple of times already and on my third or fourth time my foot clipped a rock towards bottom and off I came.<\/p>\n \u201cI bounced down the rest of the way, landing on my ankle and knee on every rock possible, and immediately I knew it wasn\u2019t good. Flip it was sore and my knee swelled up immediately.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter seeing a physio they were initially worried I had done serious damage to the cartilage in my kneecap and that I may even need surgery.<\/p>\n \u201cFortunately, after nine days of strapping and physio treatment though the swelling went down and they were able to determine there wasn\u2019t a chip or a break and that a bit of rest should see me back on the bike pretty soon,\u201d she added with a relieved sigh.<\/p>\n Despite the injury impacting on her World Champs preparations having been put out of action entirely for two weeks and a further week of slowly getting back into the swing of things, Bergstrom believes the time off the bike could possibly even have been a good thing, even though it was hugely concerning at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe injury was obviously a huge scare for me,\u201d explained the Coffeeberry\/Momsen rider. \u201cMy whole year has been about building towards Worlds so for it to have been pretty close to having been taken away from me was really scary!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn the end I guess things actually even worked out for the better though. I\u2019d been on the bike, pushing hard for some time before my injury and you can\u2019t expect to perform at your best against the best in the world if you\u2019re even slightly fatigued.<\/p>\n \u201cThe forced rest was probably a good thing for me, even though those who know me know I can\u2019t sit still even for just five minutes and so it was the longest three weeks of my life!<\/p>\n \u201cTo miss even one race is not an easy thing for me to do though so after not being able to ride for a while when I got up to Nelspruit recently, I was like a bottle of champagne just ready to pop. I couldn\u2019t wait to get going again!<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a bitter pill to swallow at the time but I guess everything happen for a reason and at least it was now and not closer to Worlds or even worse. In situations like these you\u2019ve got to see the bigger picture so I\u2019m just thankful that it wasn\u2019t more serious and I can still compete because World Champs in your own backyard really is a once in a lifetime opportunity!\u201d<\/p>\n Whilst looking forward to the opportunity to compete on a global stage for the first time, the feisty competitor isn\u2019t content with just competing and has her sights firmly set on the top step of the podium and making the highly sought-after rainbow striped world champion\u2019s jersey of her 40-44 age category in the women\u2019s cross country her own.<\/p>\n \u201cThese next couple of months before Worlds will be a big phase for me. I\u2019ve got a couple of big events coming up, especially Cross Country Nationals in Port Elizabeth which should be good preparation for Worlds, but now is all about trying to get into a World Champs mind frame,\u201d said Bergstrom.<\/p>\n \u201cTo walk away with the jersey is definitely the ultimate goal for me!<\/p>\n \u201cWith it being my first time I\u2019m obviously trying to go there with an open mind though, but I\u2019m definitely going to go out there and give it my best come race day. I\u2019ve got nothing to lose!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cApart from being part of such a big event I\u2019m also looking forward to seeing some new faces on the start line. We have no idea who from overseas will be there or how strong they are so it will all be very interesting.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all not quite real for me just yet but I\u2019m sure it will get more and more real the closer we get to August. I\u2019m trying to prepare for the race like it\u2019s just any other race, but really, it\u2019s not! This is the World Champs, it\u2019s huge!\u201d<\/p>\n The UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships takes place at The Cascades MTB park in Pietermaritzburg from 26 August to 1 September 2013, and will be preceded by the UCI MTB Masters World Championships from 21 to 25 August. More information can be found at www.mtbworldchamps.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" South African masters cross country mountain biking pocket rocket Natalie Bergstrom (Coffeeberry\/Momsen) has overcome her recent knee injury in time to give the final two months of her preparations for the 2013 UCI MTB Masters World Championships at Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg from 21-25 August a full go. “I\u2019m trying to prepare for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":53292,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2435,3565,975],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-21748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-ladies","tag-masters","tag-mtb-world-champs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21748","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=21748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21748"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=21748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}