Brandon Stewart and Neil MacDonald of FedGroup-Itec fired the opening salvo as the racing proper got under way on the second stage of the nine-day Old Mutual joBerg2c mountain bike race on Saturday.
As the rest of the country enjoyed the Freedom Day celebrations, it was business as usual for the top pro teams as they battled it out all the way along the 93km stage from Frankfort to Reitz in the Free State.
But in the end it was former winner MacDonald and team-mate Stewart who took advantage of their prior route knowledge to steal victory in the finishing sprint.
They crossed the line in 3:11:01, a single second ahead of Lourens Luus and Waylon Woolcock of RE:CM, with Cannondale-Blend’s Charles Keey and Darren Lill rounding out the podium in 3:11:06.
Stewart said he and MacDonald were feeling good despite a tough day in the saddle.
“It was a solid pace out there today and the teams stayed together most of the way. There weren’t many hills but there were lots of fast, flat, draggy sections that made for really hard racing.”
The top five teams, which included Bridge riders Timo Cooper and Nico Pfitzenmaier as well as Contego’s Louis Bresler-Knipe and Kevin van Hoovels, were all together in the last 10km stretch of single track. But it was the FedGroup-Itec pair who took the lead into the final corner to seal their win.
“Neil reminded me where the top of the section was coming and about the grass. We cut the corner, Neil came round me on the outside and just went long,” said Stewart.
“I knew I had to stay on his wheel and come into the corner first and second. It’s pretty difficult to lose it after that.”
The competition was also fierce in the mixed category, with less than half a minute separating the top three teams.
Two-time winners Erik and Ariane Kleinhans of RE:CM took the stage in 3:24:18, just seven seconds clear of Swiss riders Jane Nüessli and Yves Corminboeuf of Fischer-BMC.
They were followed home by the bizhub-Rocky Mountain pairing of Catherine Williamson and Jarryd Haley in 3:24:41.
The Kleinhans duo, who have dominated both the joBerg2c and Absa Cape Epic events for the past two years, were put under pressure on the first racing stage of the 910km event.
“We knew it was going to be tough because we know the guys and girls and knew what to expect,” said Erik.
The top three teams stayed together all the way, with RE:CM taking the lead into the final single track section.
“Then Jane attacked us but luckily we could counter and just come past her with about a kilometre to go.”
As defending champions and now category leaders, he said all eyes would probably be on them.
“It’s not going to be easy, we’ll definitely have our work cut out for us but that’s nice.”
In the women’s event, Ischen Stopforth and Yolande de Villiers, riding in the sponsor’s colours, notched up the stage win in 3:30:50, with Yolandi du Toit and Nicci Grobler of bizhub claiming the runner-up spot in 3:34:26.
Burry Stander Foundation riders Cherise Stander and Lise Olivier finished third in 3:36:40.
On Sunday, the 125km third stage will see the 700-strong field roll out from the Reitz showgrounds towards Sterkfontein Dam near the KwaZulu-Natal border.
And from further back in the field
The racing got underway in earnest today.
With my body still operating on Sydney time, I was awake and alert at 3am. This meant I was ready to race ages before the start and got a good spot about 20m back from the start line. Then I waited for John. And waited some more. As the panic was starting to set in he appeared. Phew.
The race started with the world’s fastest neutral section. Juan Fangio in the lead tractor sped off once he hit the road and those of us trying to squeeze through the gate onto the road already had 100m to catch up to the lead bunch.
But catch up we did. The stage was a mixture of dirt roads, farm tracks and a bunch of singletrack. A lot of the singletrack was terrific. Some looked purpose built and some was obviously farm motorbike or stock tracks, but it was all good. A particular highlight was an early rocky track that climbed a hill and revealed a great view of the valley to the right. It was hard to stop admiring the sights.
The day finished with about 10km of singletrack, starting with a great series of descending switchbacks that were timed, to give those that like downhills more than uphills a goal for the day.
In between all of that fun, John and I set about racing hard. We really do appear to be well matched, although John usually creeps away from me on the uphills. At one point we were at the front of a group of about twenty, only 4 or 5 of which wanted to do any work. I spent a bit of time trying to stop John doing All the work, but we eventually got some help.
Toward the end of the day we passed through a farm where Wolves are kept and rehabilitated. We raced between the pens and we must have looked tasty as some of these huge animals got very excited. Seeing some large canines on the track only 50m further on was a bit unsettling, but they turned out to just be dogs.
The work didn’t didn’t seem to slow John down much and he was strong to the end. As I write we have no idea how we faired, but we’re very happy with how we raced. Hard all day.
We’re now in Reitz and we’re again being treated to amazing hospitality. I’ve eaten more great food than I thought I could and had an espresso that I’d happily pay for at home (and I’m fussy about my coffee).
Life’s good.
Visit www.joberg2c.co.za or follow the race on Facebook or @joberg2c_journo.