National Championships are a special race, with personal pride and international acclaim at stake. It is more than a one-day race; it dictates the jersey you will pull on to race for an entire year.

This year our Championship weekend was bookended with national titles, and sandwiched in the middle were two agonisingly close calls with a new jersey.

 

The fight for the stripes began in South Africa with our defending Elite Champion, Mariske Strauss. Mariske is no stranger to a stripy jersey; this weekend she was aiming for her fifteenth national title! Returning from Europe with form in the ascendancy and best-ever results notched nicely in her belt, Mariske could carry confidence to the start line. Of course, with this comes pressure and expectation.

What few expected was a winning margin of seven minutes, but that was what Mariske amassed over five laps of the dusty, rocky track in Bloemfontein. She led from the start and finished in fine style.

The bright colours of the rainbow nation stay on OMX kit for another year. Congratulations, Mariske!

 

From the south of Africa to the north of the Americas and what was set to be a tight battle for the Canadian Elite Men’s title. Mechanicals and crashes played a frustratingly prominent role for Raphaël Gagné in Val di Sole and Vallnord, but his preparation was excellent and the form was certainly there. Raph was overdue a good result as he lined up in Canmore, Alberta. And a good result was on.

As the race drew on and Raph’s lead grew, we all started to get increasingly excited and nervous. Eight seconds doubled to sixteen, and then it was 24, and then 30 and going into the final lap Raph was carrying a 52 second advantage over second place.

And then a rock struck and a puncture broke all our hearts. Raph hung on for second place and, as ever, managed to draw on a remarkable reserve of pragmatism and good humour. That maple leaf will have to wait another year to adorn an OMX jersey, but we are sure it will come.

 

Across the pond it was the turn of Martin Gluth to race for the Schwartz-rot-gold in Germany, and once again a National Champion’s jersey was within touching distance. A fast race saw a furious battle for the medals. Martin made the front group of four but could not hold the pace when the attacks came with two laps to go. However, within one kilometre of the finish he had made it back into contention as the sprint began to line up. Unfortunately, the effort of the chase left the tank empty and Martin rolled across the line in fourth place, just nine seconds off the win. First came the disappointment, but then a smile. That was a great race and a positive indicator of what is to come.

Finally, we headed to Essex in the south east of England where the OMX team began its journey fourteen years ago when Frazer Clacherty was just six years old!

Just an hour from the Manager’s house, and with plenty of cheering from many long-term supporters of the team, Frazer went about defending his U23 title.

Reluctant to push too hard too soon in the sweltering heat, Frazer waited until three laps to go to launch his winning attack. A sustained effort saw him pull clear of his rivals and begin establishing what became a 30 second lead at the finish and another National Championship successfully defended. We are thrilled to see Frazer donning the red, white and blue for another year; it suits him handsomely!

 

And so the awesome foursome, spanning three continents, managed to bring home two National Championship titles, a silver medal and a fourth place. That’s not a bad effort for a weekend’s racing! For Mariske and Frazer the personal gratification and public recognition stays for another year. For Raph and Martin the fire is stoked and the rest of the season awaits for their time to shine.

Good job, team!

 

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