Max Knox (Ghost DIN) and Adrien Niyonshuti (MTN-Energade) will head into the 2011 Cape Pioneer Trek a favourite for overall victory after confirming that they will pair-up for the six-day race when it gets underway in October 17.
The two will form a superteam, composed of members of the top-two pairings from 2010. Last year, Knox and Swiss Thomas Zahnd were not only the overall victors, but they also won three of the six stages. Niyonshuti, racing with Kevin Evans, won a stage and finished second overall.
While most of the top riders are talking about racing and playing hard during the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek, Knox and Niyonshuti are the exceptions. For them an overall victory is non-negotiable. It will be a case of racing hard first and then playing.
”Whats the use of taking part in a race if you do not race to win, is the motto I race by,” said Knox. “Adrien and I have the same approach to racing. We do not wait to see what our rivals are doing. We make the racing and, in doing so, we put the pressure on them.”
This formula seems to be working because Knox and Niyonshuti have already won the Sani2C this year and they were third overall in the Joburg2C.
In spite of their previous successes, Knox is reluctant to take anything for granted.
”There is no such thing as an easy mountain bike race. You work hard to win, but you still need some luck to pull it off.”
Knox is also not buying into the promise of Henco Rademeyer, of event organiser Dryland Events, that this year’s DCM Cape Pioneer will be slightly easier.
“I know Katot Meyer, the man who is responsible for the route layout. There is bound to be some really nasty surprises,” said Knox. “The challenge to every rider is to be wide awake if he does not want to be caught unawares.”
Last year Jacques Janse van Rensburg, riding with Brandon Stewart, managed to win a stage in the DCM Cape Pioneer Trek. This year van Rensburg will team up with Charles Keey as MTN-Qhubekas second team.
The 2011 Cape Pioneer Trek runs from October 17-22 in South Africa.