Matt Keyser and Rossouw Bekker 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.
Before the start of the tough 48km third stage, the Valley
Electrical-Titan Racing duo found themselves in second overall behind Luyanda
Thobigunya and Khusaselihle Ngidi of Fairtree-Imperial after relinquishing a one-second
lead the previous day.
Keyser, from Stellenbosch, and Bekker, from the Strand
in Cape Town, were able to gap Thobigunya and Ngidi, both from Stellenbosch, in
the last 150m to claim the title with an aggregate time of 8:12:32.
The runners-up finished the 188km event in the
Zuurberg mountains in 8:12:35. Derek Venter from Centurion, riding alongside Gert Janse van Rensburg
from 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
singletrack on the stage and there were pretty long and fast downhills, so
there were moments when we would attack, and then they would,” said Keyser.
“We took a wrong turn just before the pass but managed
to get back to them and when we hit the pass it was just attack after attack
from us and them,” said the 23-year-old.
“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 to get the team going in the right
direction,” he 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,” explained the 23-year-old former African junior
champion after finishing at the Zuurberg Mountain Village.
“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.”
From their perspective, Ngidi said they knew they would
come under attack from their rivals and their plan was to apply some pressure
as well.
“They are very good riders and on the first day we just
wanted to stay on their wheels.
“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 metres.”
He added that they were encouraged by their efforts
after also finishing in the top 10 at sani2c earlier this month.
The mixed category went to Nicola Freitas and Craig
Munton, both from Gqeberha, in 9:48:22. They outduelled fellow Gqeberha rivals Wesley
and Mandi Augustyn by two stages to one with the latter recording an overall
time of 10:01.07.
“We haven’t race together before so we first had to
work out our relationship,” said Freitas.
“Day two suited my riding style better than the first
stage and although the climb at the end was really steep and nearly broke me,
Craig pulled me through.
“Today was just filled with incredible singletrack and
it was so much fun, but also difficult and challenging.
“Wes and Mandi got a jump on us at the start but on
the steep climb, about 25km in, we managed to pass them.
“I was never that confident that we could keep the gap
but in the end it was really nice to seal the top spot with a stage win.”
Women’s category honours went to the Gqeberha
partnership of Tracey Campbell and Juanita Mackenzie in 10:48.19.
“There was a bit of pressure in the beginning today with
everyone fighting for the singletrack. But after that we found our groove, rode
within ourselves, enjoyed the scenery and had a great day,” said Campbell.
“This was three days of great trails, with good food
and excellent accommodation. Honestly, it is the best stage race I have ever
done.”
Results
Stage 3, 48km
Men
1 Rossouw Bekker, Matt Keyser 2:24.21
2 Luyanda Thobigunya, Khusaselihle Ngidi 2:24.26
3 Derek Venter, Gert Janse van Rensburg 2:24.52
Women
1 Tracey Campbell, Juanita Mackenzie 3:06.41
2 Alexa Terblanche, Brigitte Joubert 3:35.21
3 Vicki Laing, Leana Cooper 3:39.34
Mixed
1 Craig Munton, Nicola Freitas 2:44.25
2 Wesley and Mandi Augustyn 2:51.52
3 Christo and Tanya Roos 3:05.56
General classification
Men
1 Rossouw Bekker, Matt Keyser 8:12.32
2 Luyanda Thobigunya, Khusaselihle Ngidi 8:12.35
3 Derek Venter, Gert Janse van Rensburg 8:28.35
Sub-vets men
1 Derek Venter, Gert Janse van Rensburg 8:28.35
2 Bruce Campbell, Richard Allen 10:15.46
3 Pau Garcia, Gaston Cebe 10:25.04
Vets
men
1 Kevin Evans, Andrew van Blommestein
9:36.25
2 Louis, Jeanne de Villiers 9:58.56
3 Stephan van Pletzen, Fanus Delport 10:28.57
Masters men
1 Brendan Tindall, Will Wertheim Aynes 10:09.16
2 Warren Dickson, Warren Barber 10:29.30
3 Patrick Billson, Craig Dickson 10:50.56
Women
1 Tracey Campbell, Juanita Mackenzie 10:48.19
2 Alexa Terblanche, Brigitte Joubert 12:39.47
3 Vicki Laing, Leana Cooper 13:19.42
Mixed
1 Craig Munton, Nicola Freitas 9:48.22
2 Wesley and Mandi Augustyn 10:01.07
3 Christo and Tanya Roos 10:41.43
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