Having spent five days in the saddle covering an all-new 400-kilometre route and tackling 10,000 metres of climbing, South African Team RECM rider, James Reid, has won the 2015 Trans Hajar Mountain Bike Race by a massive 12 minutes 58 seconds.
British rider and Former Cape Epic winner, Catherine Williamson, added another title to her name winning the Overall Female Category by a staggering 33 minutes 55 seconds ahead of Hungarian Champion Eszter Dosa.
It was an all South African men’s podium at the end of the multi-day stage race with James Reid’s fellow countrymen Max Knox and Kevin Evans rounding out the top three. Knox and Evans had been battling for second place throughout the race, but it was Knox who managed to take his 1-second advantage going in to the final stage and stretch it out to 1 minute 6 seconds as he crossed the finish line.
Overall winner of the 2015 Trans Hajar Mountain Bike Race and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic hopeful, James Reid, has loved the experience:
“The race totally blew my mind; it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced in my relatively short mountain biking career. It was something out of this world – the setting and environment we camped in and the daily stages we went on; every day there was something different, from bus transfers to lost cities to incredible 20 kilometre climbs and breath-taking views – it was something special”.
Overall Open Male Classification – top ten results
1. James Reid (RSA) 14:12.45
2. Max Knox (RSA) 14:25.42
3. Kevin Evans (RSA) 14:26.48
4. Tudor Oprea (ROM) 14:34.32
5. Renay Groustra (RSA) 14:38.51
6. Lucian Logigan (ROM) 14:42.13
7. Craig Boyes (RSA) 14:59.51
8. Jan Pyott (SUI) 16:17.55
9. Matthew Page (GBR) 16:40.50
10. Marcel Kamm (SUI) 17:06.26
Overall Open Female Classification – top five results
1. Catherine Williamson (GBR) 16:36.51
2. Eszter Dosa (HUN) 17:10.46
3. Hannele Steyn (RSA) 17:41.33
4. Anna Christie (USA) 25:18.52
5. Reinette Schulze (RSA) 25:36.35
The final day of racing saw the international field of pro and amateur riders take on a fast and predominantly flat stage in and around the beautiful and contrasting scenery of Arabia’s highest peak, Jebel Shams (3,028m). Competitors still had to face a 250m vertical ascent climb as well as a 400m climb to the finish line. Some confusion on the trail caused a shuffle in the standings and Jan Pyott (SUI) won the final stage of the 2015 Trans Hajar Mountain Bike race.