Back then, Now and the Future | Interview with 7 x SA Champ, Johann Potgieter
In the 20 years since first competing at SA DH Champs, Pottie has won the race on seven occasions. That’s quite an accomplishment. My research says he may very well be the ‘winningest’ rider – in either XC or DH – when it comes to SA Champs, Elite racing. An incredible ambassador for the sport, Pottie also runs highly successful skills camps, sharing his knowledge with SA’s next generation of gravity stars. He is also, a very lekker oke. What a pleasure to chat with him about his career and the future.
In the start gate at SA Champs in Sabi this year, what was going through your head?
Pottie: This is a very good question. A big problem that I have always had was overthinking before a run and that would make you extra nervous especially if there was a critical or difficult section on the track. So what I try and do, especially before SA champs, is tell myself it is just another race and you are going out there and giving four minutes of your best. This time around it was sort of similar, but we are expecting twin girls soon and all I could think of is that it would be really cool if I could welcome them into the world as SA champ, so I guess that was a big driving factor.
Conditions were slick – what was your race strategy? Did you hold back a bit to stay in control?
Pottie: I was in Sabie in 2018 for the York Timbers enduro and one of the stages we did there on a rainy day was incredibly slippery. So with that in mind and looking at the weather predictions for Sabie that week and weekend of the race I knew there was a big chance of it being wet and in that case knowing the dirt would be very slippery. And for the race run, I think holding back isn’t the right term. You still push as hard as you can but you get a feeling for the dirt and where the limits are so you approach it a bit more in that way I would say. Riding in conditions like that you also have to know that you shouldn’t fight your bike and allow it to move around because any sudden reactions like pushing a corner too hard or braking too suddenly could make the bike slide out. I would say it’s the braking that is the most important in any case where the dirt is so wet and slippery so that is definitely something that I am very careful with. Then lastly, usually when it’s that wet the bike rolls a lot slower than usual. So when you have to get on the pedals you have to go as hard as you can and in the start gate I knew I would hurt, but I just told myself it’s just 4 minutes of pain and then it’s over haha!
What, if any, settings did you change on your bike for that kind of a muddy/wet weekend?
Pottie: Actually not that much. I did slow my rebound down a little but that was for the Sabie track as a whole not specifically for the wet. Then just the normal wet weather stuff…I made sure there was a mudguard on my bike and I switched to my wet tires, the Maxxis Shorty’s which I ran at about 1.5 psi less than I usually would run my tires.
Ok so let’s wind it back a little – you started racing when? How old were you?
Pottie: I was 13 when I did my first downhill race in Eden forest in Stellenbosch.
Who were the riders you looked up to back then?
Pottie: There was a whole couple of guys actually back then. The Neethling brothers Andrew and Jonty, Mark Hopkins – I still have his autograph that I stuck on a Red Bull can that he gave me at that first race. You of course, then Gary Barnard, Steva Beltman and Wayne Webb. I was always in awe when I saw you guys ride and it was so inspiring to me.
How many SA Elite and SA Jnr titles do you have?
Pottie: No junior titles, unfortunately, but I currently have seven SA titles in Downhill and two in Enduro.
In your early career, you battled with some of the greats of SA DH. Jonty Neethling, Gary Barnard and others. Is there anyone from that era – say the 2002-2012 period that was a real arch-rival of yours? Tell us about those early days. And what you learned then.
Pottie: There were a couple actually. In my final two years in junior (Junior was 16 to 18 back then, there was no Youth category) there was Lance Morris, the Munnik twins and Burry Stander. Burry switched over to XC full-time before I could give him a good go! RIP my bru. But he was crazy fast at the time. My first national was in 2003 at Hartbeespoort dam. My mom drove me up, all the way from Cape Town. It was a crazy trip with car issues, getting lost in Joburg and running out of fuel! I came 3rd last overall in that race and I only managed to finish ahead of 2 sprog riders. I would say in my first years as an elite rider Gary Barnard was probably the hardest guy to beat at that stage, but I also had some really good battles with Jonty Neethling and Wesley Augustyn. Those were probably the years 2004 to 2008. Then came Tim Bentley, then Stefan Garlicki and of course recently I have been having some good battles with Theo Erlangsen.
It’s crazy, during my first elite years I was riding fast but a lot of it was a shot in the dark. Whereas now and in the last couple of years it has been way more methodically approached and I have been way more in control of my runs. I think I learned a lot when I started racing in Europe. Getting yourself under control on those difficult courses and then still racing some of the fastest guys in the world quickly gets you out of your comfort zone. I think that is where you build a lot of experience and learn a lot. There will always be the guy you battle with also, but I have learned that it doesn’t help to focus on them. In the end, you can only give your best, so that is what I started focusing on. I also realized that it is easy to say that you will give your best, but I did realize through my career that it isn’t always that easy to give your best. For example. At the recent SA champs, I knew the track was physical, so I told myself that when I cross that line I shouldn’t be able to walk properly, and that was exactly the case because I gave my everything.
Your favorite place to ride in SA?
Pottie: There are so many good places it’s hard to pinpoint one specific place, but if I find myself at the top of Jonkershoek or Contermanskloof then I am smiling. I have to also mention Witfontein in George and also the trails around Nelspruit and Sabie. They always get me excited and make me want to do more runs than I planned.
Your favorite track to race in SA?
Pottie: Mmmm….I have to say the world cup track in Pietermaritzburg comes to mind. Because of the big jumps and open road gaps, it makes it good for pushing harder and sending further than what you would normally do in a practice run which makes it a very exciting track to race.
Your favorite place to ride in Europe?
Pottie: Morzine, Schladming and Klinovec.
What would you say is the best race track you’ve ever raced and why?
Pottie: Off the bat, I would have to say Schladming, even though there hasn’t been a race there in a while. It just allows you to go harder, faster and higher which makes for a very exciting race run. Especially when it’s wet!
Regardless of the result, tell us about the best race run of your life? The performance you are most proud of.
Pottie: Probably Pietermaritzburg SA champs in 2022. I had such a good run but pushed super hard and everything worked out perfectly. Then in 2016, I had a really amazing run in the Schladming IXS European cup race. It was super wet and muddy and I had a crash in my run, but I had so much fun and actually ended up inside the top ten, with the crash, so that was one of my best I would say as well.
Best all-time joke of yours? Your go-to line to make everyone smile…
Pottie: Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird.
About the bike industry, what one thing would you prefer to be different?
Pottie: Mmmm, this is an interesting question… There are a bunch of things but if I take it as a whole, since I started riding, I wish there’d be more emphasis on the gravity side, especially downhill. I know it’s not a big market but it is growing and I have had numerous people ask me things like, where can I get this part, or where do I buy a downhill bike and then I can’t really give them an answer. I know the suppliers always say there isn’t a market, but after the 10th or 20th request for something, maybe there is a bit of a market and this in turn would also aid the growth of the sport as the races and camps are already doing so that is probably what I would change.
About DH, what is the biggest misconception about the sport?
Pottie: Probably that you don’t have to be that fit and that it’s a more lazy man’s sport, haha!
How many times have you competed at Worlds and will you be in Ft Bill this year? You have an automatic qualification, right?
Pottie: I have represented South Africa a total of 10 times at the world championships up to date and one of those was as a Junior. I have been selected even more but for different reasons, I wasn’t able to go every time. Being SA champion use to be an automatic selection, but not anymore. They have changed the criteria in such a way that you now need a total of three points to qualify for Worlds, and being SA champion gives you two points, so I still need to dig out one point somewhere. I am not sure yet if I will be in Fort William but I would love to go.
In a normal week, break down your training hours for me between skills work, endurance, indoor strength etc
Pottie: That is quite a hard question to answer. I used to train a lot more than I do now. I get busier every year with a lot of other business things. However, the way I train now is much more efficient. I try to train every day or at least every other day during the pre-season and the season. My training is never super long but more intense. Sometimes I go do a longer ride. I would probably spend about 45 minutes to 1.5 hours depending on what I do, whether it be intervals, pump track intervals or gym work. At 36 years old, I now focus a lot more on recovery and stretching too. I find my training yields better results when I do.
A typical day of meals in the Potgieter home would look like……
Pottie: First thing in the morning – I always have a coffee. This is a very important start to my day. Then I would normally have a late, small breakfast or in some cases even skip breakfast to have a longer fasting period. I always like a lot of fruit in the mornings or something with egg or avo. I often also have some cornflakes with muesli. For lunch, I always like a sandwich, but I would mostly eat leftovers from dinner the previous night. In a lot of cases, it’s leftover braai so that’s always good. And also another coffee is always good over lunchtime. For dinner, I would usually have a big meal. We would very often include chicken in our dinners with a lot of vegetables and I always make sure there are a lot of green vegetables in there as well.
How many kids have you put through your skills program here in SA?
Pottie: Sho, too many. I work a lot with the youth through my skill camps and it’s always so good to see how they froth about riding, just like when I was younger. It is very rewarding to see how they improve over time. Then of course, there are the kids that are more focused riders and racers and I coach a bunch of them every year. I have had some kids become big success in racing and doing super well. There is a lot of local talent out there that is for sure.
What’s next for Pottie, in 2023 and beyond?
Pottie: Well, the plan is to further build my businesses as well as go to Europe again to race. The arrival of our twin girls has made my year a lot more interesting. I will still have my big youth camps and race but I might just have more home time this year.
| WORDS: Myles Kelsey | IMAGES: Chris Taylor et al |
RELATED: Where To Ride – Morzine, France