This will be his first race since he crashed out of the Cape Epic mountain bike stage race, breaking his collarbone. His first setback came in December 2010 when his appendix had to be removed in an emergency operation.
In spite of all his bad luck, Evans is far from being despondent. "Having crashed out of the Epic may still prove to be a blessing in disguise, because I will go to the marathon world championship with fresh legs. I have not really pushed myself to the limit so far this year."
Evans is under no illusion about what awaits him at the MTN Tulbagh marathon. "What makes racing in Tulbagh so tough is that the loose sand and rocks make it almost impossible to get into a comfortable racing rhythm. You suffer from the beginning of the race up to the moment you finish."
But it will not be all doom and gloom. According to Evans, the area where the race will take place is really beautiful.
"A bonus to racing in Tulbagh is that there will be ample opportunities to taste some of the finest Pinotage and Shiraz wines."
Evans is excited about racing again. "I have not missed out that much on my training. I only took off the week after the accident. A week later, I was doing long hours on my indoor trainer and during the past three weeks, I did hard miles on my road bike.
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"I will be doing some proper mountain bike training for the first time this weekend, so don't expect too much of me next weekend. I will just be checking things out. If I can help my teammate, David George, somewhat it will mission accomplished.
"I have to thank my sponsors for their support. I have had two unfortunate injuries and both times the sponsors have been 110 percent behind me. Because of their support I am able to just get back to racing and carry on where I left off."
