Toti cyclist, Farran-Jade Beaumont (24) won her age group and finished third overall in the women’s 55km Tour Durban cyclo-cross event for mountain bike riders on Monday 28 April.
“I was thrilled to have placed third. It was just a fun day out and it was a great feeling to race like that again,” said Farran-Jade. “It was cat and mouse for second place the whole race. At the end I just didn’t have the legs for second. Considering it was only my fourth time back on a mountain bike in seven months, I couldn’t complain about third place.”
The ex-Kingsway High School pupil won the 45km Eston mountain bike race, which is the biggest one-day event in Durban, and also finished third at the Tour Durban mountainbike race in 2012.
Farran-Jade, who is a Mr Price Cycling Club member, has been cycling for eight years and is also a keen triathlete who finished a full Ironman in Port Elizabeth last month.
“I train quite a lot. I train three disciplines – cycling, running and swimming – during the week and sometimes do some weight training in between.
I alter between road and off-road. I run and cycle three to four times a week and swim two to three times a week.”
Farran-Jade is gearing up to tackle the Sani2C race from 15 to 17 May.
“I hope my Ironman fitness will get me through it,” she said. “I finished in 2011 and 2012.
This year however, I’m doing it for charity. I will ride for the Rainbows and Smiles Foundation. The mission of Rainbow and Smiles is to provide emotional, social and financial support to families and caregivers in need when a child is diagnosed with cancer.”
“I hope to tackle a few other challenges in the near future such as the Otter Trail, Two Oceans ultra-marathon, as well as climb Kilimanjaro.”
