Dani Botha Sabie Race report - SA DH Champs 2023

On Wednesday the team had dinner with Robbie and Nelson from RB, they were here to setup our Öhlins suspension and gather telemetry data on our bikes for the race. I was so excited!

We jumped straight into data gathering on Thursday and I asked about a million questions, the telemetry setup is so cool.
I did my first run with my bike as is and things were not feeling great, I was fighting the bike and everything felt janky.
Then it was time for the magic, my coil was changed and Robbie made adjustments to my suspension before sending me back up the mountain to test it out.
The difference was insane! I had amazing grip and was no longer fighting the bike, all the stutter and roughness of the track was absorbed, I couldn’t believe how good the bike felt. 

Then things got messy, my newly built rim broke in practice and it was a mission to try get a new wheel built so I could practice the course. Then Hurricane Freddy hit and the track turned into a slippery mess. We changed tyres before getting some wet practice runs in. I was stressed and the wet conditions were alien to me, but my bike was running perfectly and this gave me a huge confidence boost.

Sunday, Seeding:

I was nervous. Very nervous. It was wet and slippery and I decided not to push too hard in my seeding run. I hit all the features at pace but didn’t pedal and just tried to keep my lines smooth. Then I got to the second last berm and my front wheel washed out, before I knew it I was on the ground and sliding on my face. I got up, ran back to my bike and got back on. Then I pedalled hard to clear the last big table and cross the finish line. I hit the ground hard, in front of everyone, but at least I wasn’t injured and I still had my race run to redeem myself. 

5:07.14

2nd Junior Women 

Sunday Race:

Beani, Justin and myself were at the start hut keeping each other calm and focused before the race. Beani and Justin had decided to go all out and I was incredibly nervous. 

As I started my run Freddy decided it was time and it started pouring. I put all my trust in my bike and suspension and gunned it. It was wet, slippery and fast, I pedalled really hard, and I loved every second. 

Then as I jumped the road gap out of the forest, I saw that I had caught up to the girl in front of me. Oh no. I grabbed brakes and she moved aside just in time, but I had already lost all momentum. Then I put everything into the pedals for the next jump, I cased it and almost slid out around the next berm but I was on a mission, I couldn’t give up yet. 

I pedalled the whole bottom section and crossed the line just before I thought my lungs were going to pop. 

4:38.35

1st Junior Women 

2nd Overall Women by 1 second, what a race!

I’m over the moon with my result and I’m incredibly proud of my team. Justin still had an awesome time even though he tried to break a rock with his head and Beani came 2nd in elites. 

I’d just like to thank Robbie and Nelson from RBC (Öhlins) for all the help and support this year and especially for this event. Through all the chaos this weekend I didn’t have a single worry about my bike and it took away so much stress to know it was perfectly set up. It was so cool to be in such a focused environment and I’m grateful for the support when I was so nervous. 

Next up on the calendar is Tranquilitas MPU Enduro and then the DH national at Cascades in April. I’m so excited and I can’t wait to see what I can do. Now back to the training… 

Thanks again.

Danika Botha

Organic Athlete Gravity Team