Strand resident Matt Keyser and his partner Rossouw Bekker, from Stellenbosch, put it all on the line in the closing metres to overturn a two-second deficit into a five-second overall victory on the final day of the PwC Great Zuurberg Trek mountain biking race at Addo outside Gqeberha on Sunday (29 May).
Before the start of the tough 48 km third stage, the Valley Electrical-Titan Racing duo found themselves in second overall behind Stellenbosch locals Luyanda Thobigunya and Khusaselihle Ngidi of Fairtree-Imperial after relinquishing a one-second lead the previous day.
Keyser and Bekker were able to gap Thobigunya and Ngidi in the last 150 m to claim the title with an aggregate time of 8:12:32. The runners-up finished the 188 km event in the Zuurberg mountains in 8:12:35. Derek Venter (Centurion) and Gert Janse van Rensburg (Witbank), took three third places to secure the final step of the podium in 8:28:35.
With little to choose between the top two teams throughout, it eventually boiled down to the final ascent of the Zuurberg Pass to settle the matter.
“We didn’t quite know what to expect with all the single-track on the stage and there were pretty long and fast downhills, so there were moments when we would attack, and then they would,” Keyser (23) recalled.
“We took a wrong turn just before the pass but managed to get back to them. When we hit the pass, it was just attack after attack from us and them. I said to Rossouw that our last chance was the flattish drag coming into the finish. I could sense one of them just behind us so we had to go all out, as hard as we could, just to make up the three seconds.”
Bekker, who has a dual role within Titan Racing also acting as manager, was pleased with his efforts given his current schedule. “I am a little undercooked because my focus at this stage is to take a step back from racing and get the team going in the right direction,” the 23-year-old former African junior champion said.
“But I have some race experience and I know how to suffer on the bike and how to ride smart, so it was a case of managing my efforts over the three days. I really hope to be back at the GZT, because we are working on some cool things for next year. But it’s kind of motivating to know I can still race and we are obviously happy with our efforts.”
Ngidi said he and his partner knew they would come under attack from their rivals and their plan was to apply some pressure as well.
“They are very good riders; on the first day we just wanted to stay on their wheels,” he pointed out. “Today our plan was to try to get ahead but they were just too strong, even though they only managed to get away in the last 100 to 150 m.”
The pair were encouraged by their efforts after also finishing in the top 10 at sani2c in early May.
