Knox wins MTN 50 Miler and sets sights at hat trick at MTN Crater Cruise

Max Knox (DCM) is on the verge of quite an unique hat trick after he won the MTN 50 Miler mountain bike ultra-marathon over the weekend in Pietermaritzburg.

Two weekends ago Knox also won the Sunday Tribune Hill2Hill Classic which means that he if wins next weekend’s MTN Crater Cruise in Parys he will have completed his hat trick of victories.

The reason why it will be an unique achievement is because it certainly does not happen often that a rider manages to race three Classics and win every time.

Kevin Evans (MTN-Energade) has already outdone Knox with a hat trick of victories in the MTN ultra-marathon series by winning the Attakwas, Sabie, Clarens and Cullinan races. The only difference being that his victories were not in succession.

Knox makes it clear that he does not want to speculate about completing his hat trick next week in Parys.

“If I keep on talking about it, I might just ‘jinx’ myself so I prefer to keep quiet and let my legs do the talking. All I can say is that my training has really been going well in the last weeks and I am feeling good at the moment.”

Getting back to Saturday’s MTN ultra-marathon race.

Adrien Niyonshuti (MTN-Energade) proved that his preparation for next week’s Commonwealth Games in India is still on track when he finished second while Marc Bassingthwaighte (Garmin-adidas) continued his upward curve in his racing performances by being crossing the line in third. Brandon Stewart (DCM) was fourth.

They were the four dominant riders throughout the race.

According to Knox the race consisted of three laps – 30km, 40km and another 30km. “Things started off slowly” he added

Things only started to happen when Stewart attacked on one of the single track sections which resulted in Niyonshuti and Bassingthwaighte having to give chase. Knox followed them, making sure that he saved his energy.

Stewart stayed out in front for about ten kilometers but was eventually caught by the end of the first lap.

The cat and mouse games between the four leaders started in all seriousness during the second lap when Knox and Stewart took turns to launch attacks trying to rid themselves of the other two riders.

Bassingthwaighte said “I decided I need to set a steady fast pace upfront. It basically boiled down to survival because it did not take a brain surgeon to work out that if I did not do something drastic to put Max and Brandon under some pressure I will become the next race casualty off their constant attacks.

“The 40km lap finished off with the major climb of the day. I knew this is where proverbial pawpaw would hit the fan,” is how Bassingthwaighte remembers the race.

“Brandon proved me right by attacking as soon as the road tilted up. I realized it would be unwise to try and follow especially since I have done most of the defending and chasing during the second lap. So I opted to rather play it safe and race at a pace which I was comfortable with.

“A few kilometres further on I saw that Brandon was off the pace and I knew “the bombs” must have exploded as Max had attacked and was out in front on his own being chased by Adrien.

“When I saw Brandon was battling I came to the realization that if I could stay calm and collected that I could get a podium finish. Which I managed to do in the end.”

Eszther Cluer (Jeep) proved that she might just be the only rider capable of beating Yolandé Speedy (MTN-Energade) on regular basis by winning the MTN women’s marathon. Speedy finished second. Cluer also managed to beat Speedy at the MTN Cross Country-race in George.

Last week Cluer won the Hill2Hill’s women’s race.

Karien van Jaarsveld (USN) was the third women’s rider to complete the 50 Miler marathon.

Photo credits: Zoon Cronje

For full results visit www.mtncycling.co.za

Evans adds Clover Lowveld Tour title to his already imperssive list of wins this season

Kevin Evans (MTN-Energade) notched up another first in his illustrious cycling career on Sunday when he won the four day Clover Tour in the Lowveld.

It is the first time that a mountain biker has managed to win a local road tour. Earlier this year Evans also made South African cycling history when he won the pro-elite time trial at the national road championship in Klerksdorp. He also finished second overall in the Giro del Capo.

Evans’s overall winning time was 15 hours 20 minutes and 39 seconds. Shaun Ward (Panda) finished second overall in 15:21:49 and Jason Bakke (House of Paints) was third in 15:21:54.

Evans refused to take all the credit for winning the Clover Tour.

“It was a brilliant team effort. If you have three teammates that put their bodies on the line for four days in what certainly was one of the toughest tours you owe it to them to win. If I did not win, it would have been difficult afterwards for me to look them in the eye.

“I am going to give Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Bradley Potgieter and Stanley Namanyane each one of my red jerseys (overall leader) as a small token of appreciation.”

According to Evans he did some mathematical calculations as to the amount of the climbing they had to during the Clover Tour.

“At a rough calculation I worked out that we climbed about 9 000 meters which in theory means that in four days we rode to the top of Mount Everest.”

Evans’ praise for his teammates is definitely justified.

Potgieter and Namanyane did the hard “donkey” work early on during each of the stages while Janse van Rensburg ‘s performance can only be described as brilliant. There is no arguing the fact that he was the strongest rider in the tour.

During Sunday’s last stage Janse grinded away for the whole 100 kilometres at the front of the peloton which made it near impossible for Jason Bakke (House of Paints), Paul van Zweel (Cyclelab-Toyota) and Jason Ward (Panda) to try and take away the red jersey from Evans.

One of the noteworthy moments of the tour happened during the last stage on one off the steepest climbs near the finish when the chain of Janse van Rensburg’s bike came off. Suddenly Evans was vulnerable because if Janse van Rensburg had been dropped at the time he might have had some difficulties as he would have been outnumbered three to one by the House of Paint team.

But to MTN-Energade’s credit neither van Rensburg nor the team mechanic panicked and within seconds he joined up to resume his team duties as protector of the “red jersey”’.

Janse van Rensburg’s best performance was during Saturday’s third stage on the hilly God Window’s circuit. After making sure that Evans had everything under control, he powered away from the rest of the riders with brute strength to catch up with the breakaway. It was a classic scenario of “hello and goodbye” because there was just no stopping Janse van Rensburg.

His last challenge was catching Dawid Maree (House of Paint) which he also did with about seven to eight kilometers to go. It was in the last two hundred metres that Janse van Rensburg made his only mistake by being to hesitant in when he should launch his final assault to the line.

Maree, who is certainly not known for his sprinting abilities, made the most of Janse van Rensburg hesitation by accelerating and catching Janse van Rensburg totally off guard. The big rider was not even in the right gear when Maree started sprinting. Maree won the stage.

Maree is also one of the tour’s revelations. During the first stage going up Kowyns-pass he just did not have the legs to get to the top by himself which led to him taking a tow by holding onto a truck. He was caught out and given a time penalty.

To Maree’s credit he came back fighting. Over the next three days he just became stronger and stronger, winning the third stage and finishing second in the fourth stage.

The 20-year Bakke is another of the tour’s big heroes. His biggest highlight was beating Evans in the Kowyns-pass hillclimb-timetrial (7.3km) in the process becoming the first rider to finish under 20 minutes. His winning time was 19:40. Evans finished second in 19:51.

What makes his tour-performance even more special is the fact that in the beginning of the year he was involved in what could have been a career finishing crash while being out on a training ride in Johannesburg.

To make a long story short. Bakke crashed at high speed into the back of a motor vehicle flying right though the rear window. He was badly cut up. One piece of glass missed his aorta by a mere 8 millimeters. His s one lung collapsed which meant that ended up for four days in ICU. It took four months before he was racing fit again.

Bakke described the accident as one the best things that could have happened to his cycling career.

“Nearly losing everything made me realize how much cycling means to me and how quickly a cycling career could be over. I am now motivated than ever before to make the most of every moment on my bicycle.”

The Cyclelab-Toyota youngsters – Shaun-Nick Bester, HB Kruger and Dawid Brown – all impressed in different ways during the tour as has Richard Baxter (House of Paints) and Luthando Kaka (Medscheme).

Kaka actually deserve a special mention for the way he rode during the last two days first finishing fourth and then third proving that he has the makings to become a good tour rider.

Gawie Combrink who is essentially an amateur cyclist won the last stage in impressive style when rode out in front for nearly 90 kilometers.

Overall results:

1 Kevin Evans – 15:20:39
2 Shaun Ward – 15:21:49
3 Jason Bakke – 15:21:54
4 Paul van Zweel – 15:23:01
5 Gawie Combrink – 15:25:14
6 Tiaan Kannemeyer – 15:26:32
7 Nicholas White – 15:28:49
8 Reinardt Janse van Rensburg – 15:29:41
9 Nico Bell – 15:30:05
10 Shaun-Nick Bester – 15:39:11

VAN DE WINKEL CLIMBS TO VICTORY AT CLOVER LOWVELD TOUR

Joanna van de Winkel led her Biogen Toyota team to podium dominance when she won the inaugural Clover Lowveld Cycle Tour in Graskop, Mpumalanga on Sunday. The four-day, five-stage tour took in some of the country’s most demanding road cycling terrain and attracted all the major men and women’s professional teams, hungry for a more testing event on a local calendar glaringly short of stage races.

Van de Winkel, winner of last year’s Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge, is a climbing specialist and wasted little time in asserting her slim-framed presence on the race, which was centred around the renowned ascents of Kowyn’s Pass and God’s Window outside Graskop.

The 28-year-old second-year professional rode clear of her rivals on the ascent of Kowyn’s Pass in the finale of the 108km first stage, where she claimed the race lead ahead of Team Bizhub’s Lise Oliver and Team MTN’s Lylanie Lawrens. And it was between these three riders, and their respective teams, around which the remainder of the demanding event was shaped.

Interestingly, it was on the descent of Kowyn’s Pass at the start of the 103km Stage 2 where Biogen Toyota team captain, Lynette Burger, virtually eliminated the MTN team from overall tour contention. She plummeted rapidly down the steep, twisty road and by the base, none of the MTN team were in the lead group. This surprise move left only Oliver as a serious challenger to Van de Winkel’s lead, which the latter increased on the uphill finish of the stage on her way to another victory.

“After Stage 2, I had a two-and-a-half minute lead over Lise (Oliver) and I was leading the Points and Queen of the Mountains competitions, which was something I’m not used to. I’m not used to winning because most races in this country suit the sprinters. I felt quite a bit of pressure, but my team was very supportive, which helped,” said the soft-spoken Van de Winkel, a qualified electrical engineer.

On Stage 3A, MTN’s An-Li Pretorius gave her team a welcome boost when she outsprinted a small breakaway group to win the 86km stage. And then on Stage 3B, a muscle-testing, lung-busting 7.5km individual time trial up Kowyn’s Pass, Oliver fought back bravely to win the stage and peg back 41 seconds of Van de Winkel’s lead in the process.

But it was not enough as Van de Winkel’s two teammates, Burger and Lizanne Naude, were able to help her defend the lead on Sunday’s final stage, a blustery 96km haul, which was won by MTN’s Cashandra Slingerland.

“It feels good to have won such a tough event. It’s the closest we’ve got to the harder racing in Europe and thanks to the organisers for putting on such a well-run event. It really was a proper test for the professionals and I’m sure it has a bright future,” said Van de Winkel.

Brief results:
Clover Lowveld Tour 2010, Graskop

ELITE WOMEN
Final General Classification: 1 Joanna van de Winkel (Biogen Toyota) 13hrs14min52sec, 2 Lise Oliver (Bizhub) @ 1:35, 3 Lylani Lawrens (MTN) @ 13:17.

Queen of the Mountains: 1 Joanna van de Winkel (Biogen Toyota), 2 Lise Oliver (Bizhub), 3 An-Li Pretorius (MTN).

Points: 1 Joanna van de Winkel (Biogen Toyota), 2 Lynette Burger (Biogen Toyota), 3 Lise Oliver (Bizhub).

On form Janse van Rensburg dominated proceedings at the MTN Zoo Lake Criterium

If there was a prize in South African cycling for the most improved local road cyclist Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg (MTN-Energade) would be a deserved winner.

For the past two years Janse van Rensburg was considered to be just another young rider who was battling to full fill the potential he has shown as a junior, but things are certainly changing at high speed.

On Sunday he bagged his fourth big Classic-victory for the year when he won MTN’s Zoo Lake Criterium in Johannesburg.

What makes his victory noteworthy is the fact that it was the second time in a mere four weeks that he has managed to outsprint Malcolm Lange (Medscheme) to take the victory.

Lange is generally seen as the “King of Sprint” of South African road cycling. Even though he is getting on in years there are still not a lot of youngsters that can boast about beating him in a sprint to the line.

Jacques Fullard, a former great sprinter, finished third.

Fans of the ever popular A-Team series and now also a Hollywood movie will all know Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith’s famous saying – “I love it when a plan comes together

Janse van Rensburg could be forgiven if those were exactly the words which flashed through his mind seconds after winning the MTN Zoo Lake Criterium.

For the last four months Janse van Rensburg has made it clear that the MTN Zoo Lake Criterium is the one race he dearly would love to win. Just thinking about it served as extra motivation every time he got on his bike.

Therefore it should be no surprise that Janse van Rensburg and Lange were the two most aggressive riders throughout the MTN Zoo Lake Criterium.

Quite early on during the criterium the two of them along with a few other riders got away in break which was instrumental in catching up and passing the sub-veteran riders, who started racing 35 minutes later.

Just as it seemed as if a big group of riders were going to catch up with the breakaway group Janse van Rensburg attacked again and manage to stay in front. Only Lange and Johan Rabie (both Medscheme) managed to stay with him.

“The first thing that went through my mind as we got caught was that is it, I am not going to win. All of my effort had been in vain. What made things even more difficult was the fact that Christoff van Heerden, my MTN-Energade teammate, punctured which effectively meant that there was no Plan B anymore.

“MTN-Energade was depending on me to win. Luckily through those final few hundred hectic metres of sprinting the ‘cycling gods’ smiled upon my efforts giving me a clear line to launch my final attack. Everything was just perfect,” is how Janse van Rensburg remembered the last few seconds of the race.

Lange just had a bad day at the office because as luck would have the lead-out he was bargaining on faded away before it even got started which put him in a definite disadvantage.

“It does not really help to be upset. It is one of those things that happen in cycling. Sometimes you have the perfect sprint and other times not.”

It is the second time that Lange has finished second in the MTN Zoo Lake Criterium.

Results:

1st Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, MTN Energade
2nd Malcolm Lange, Team Medscheme
3rd Jacques Fullard, Black Rock racing
4th Julius Cobbet
5th Dusty Day, House of Paint
6th Arran Brown, Team Medscheme
7th Pieter Seyffert, DCM
8th Hanco Kachelhoffer, Team Medscheme

The second race of the day for the elites was a flying lap sprint race. Once again Team Medscheme fired up the train and was looking good, but into the headwind finish, MTN’s Janse van Rensburg was on a roll for the day, and just managed to get past Lange again for the win! Very impressive from the young rider on the day, taking two wins in the sprint after racing aggressively for the duration of the race!

Sprint lap results:
1st Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, MTN
2nd Malcolm Lange, Team Medscheme
3rd Arran Brown, Team Medscheme

Janse Van Rensburg is certainly experiencing a good season. So far he also won Lost City, Carnival City and Knysna Oyster Festival races.

“Congratulations to Reinhardt for his two victories on the day. The new race format was well received and relied on a much more tactical approach than previous events. All told, it was a wonderful day out for cycling enthusiasts and families alike ,” says Bernard Pieters, senior sponsorship manager at MTN South Africa.

Van Rensburg’s next big goal is to win the MTN Amashovashova.

Niyonshuti considered as one of the true heroes of African cycling

Adrien Niyonshuti (MTN-Energade) is considered by some to be one of the true heroes of African cycling.
When Niyonshuti tells the story of his life, it becomes clear that this is a man who truly lives every minute of every day. The well-known saying: ‘When the going gets tough, the tough gets going’ is certainly applicable to him.

In his short life of 23 years, Niyonshuti has experienced unimaginable horrors but it seems as if these setbacks have just made him more motivated to train harder and push himself to the limit. He meets life’s challenges head-on and, by doing so, he sets an example to each and every one of us.

The short version of Niyonshuti’s life started in 1994 during the genocide in Rwanda in which nearly 800 000 people (roughly estimated at 20% of the country’s population) were killed in a period of six months. He lost seven brothers.

According to Jock Boyer, technical director of the Rwanda Cycling Federation, Niyonshuti’s best friend, Godfrey, was run over and killed by a motorist while he was riding on his bicycle. Godfrey, an up-and- coming cyclist, was a young orphan who lived with his mentor, Adrien, in Rwanda.

The accident happened shortly after Niyonshuti’s father died 18 months ago from an unknown disease. Niyonshuti lived with his mother in a town called Rwamagana in Rwanda. Adrien has used his race winnings to make improvements to his mother’s house. It now has electricity, cement floors and running water.
According to Boyer, Adrien Niyonshuti is a rider with a remarkable talent. He also has a drive to succeed that surpasses that of most other athletes.

“When I met him almost four years ago, his perseverance soon became apparent. To take part in the Olympics is an important goal for him, but I sincerely hope that he will be able to continue with his cycling career until long after the 2012 Games. Through his cycling exploits, Adrian has become a symbol of hope for many youngsters in Rwanda.

“He won the Tour of Rwanda two years ago and was 3rd overall last year. Not many people know that Rwanda is becoming a growing centre for cycling in central and east Africa. The country is perfectly suited for both road riding and mountain bike riding.

“Presenting international cycling events in Rwanda is important to the country because it shows that Rwanda has more to offer than merely a bad past.”

When talking to Niyonshuti it becomes very clear that quitting on life will never be an option for him.
“I will admit that I have had some bad experiences, but life goes on. If you start feeling sorry for yourself life will simply pass you by.

“The most important lesson that I have learned early in my life, is that life is never only about oneself. Everything you do and say has an effect on the people around you. Having lost most of my family I fully realize that I have a huge responsibility to help support the remaining members of my family.
“This responsibility motivates me to give my all every time I get onto my bike to train or race. I think it gives me a competitive edge.”

Niyonshuti has proven during the past twelve months that he is one of the up-and-coming young cyclists.
His teammates, Paul Cordes and Kevin Evans, are both full of praise for the way in which he has improved with every race. They both predict that it will be just a matter of time before he begins to win some of the really important local mountain-bike classics.

So far this year he has already won two of the four races in the Nissan series (Tyger Valley and Centurion) and he has managed to achieve a top-ten finish in basically each of the MTN ultra-marathons.

On Sunday morning (19 September), during the MTN Zoo Lake Criterium race in Johannesburg, spectators will have the opportunity to watch one of the most amazing riders ever to have raced in South Africa. Niyonshuti will use the Criterium as part of his final preparation for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India.

TAYLOR SHOWS GOOD FORM WITH DOME-2-DOME VICTORY

South African road cycling champion, Cherise Taylor (USN) got her spring racing season off to the perfect start when she won the Dome2Dome Cycling Spectacular in Krugersdorp at the weekend.

Taylor was part of a race-deciding 10-rider breakaway group that formed after 30km into the undulating 90km race. The group also included Taylor’s USN teammate, Karien van Jaarsveld, Robyn de Groot, An-Li Pretorius, Cashandra Slingerland and Lylanie Lauwrens (all MTN), Anriette Schoeman and Joanna van de Winkel (both Biogen Toyota), Lise Olivier (Bizhub) and Jeaun-Mari Breytenbach.

The elite pack rode smoothly and strongly in an echelon formation for some time before the MTN riders used their numerical advantage to begin launching attacks in an effort to whittle the group down as they reached the final 20km.

However, the tactic wasn’t a success and with 15km remaining, the 10-rider group was still intact. As the group hit the approach to the final tough climb up Sterkfontein Hill, Schoeman did a strong turn on the front, which resulted in some of the more weary riders dropping off the back.

With 5km to go – much of it uphill – just six riders remained out front: Taylor, Schoeman, Van de Winkel, Olivier, Lauwrens and De Groot. Taylor managed to edge out Schoeman in the final dash on an incline to clock a winning time of 2hr 30min 23sec. Schoeman was a second slower in securing the runner-up place in the same time as De Groot, who claimed the final podium spot.

“The pace was fast from the start. Biogen Toyota were very aggressive early on which helped get that initial 10-girl group clear,” explained Taylor. “The hills at the end made the final section quite tough and I was lucky to be able to produce a strong sprint on the uphill finish to get the win.”

Taylor will compete at the MTN Zoo Lake Criterium on Sunday 19 September before she heads off to represent South Africa in Australia at the UCI World Championships and then India at the Commonwealth Games.

For detailed results visit www.racetec.co.za

Pothole lands three MTN Energade riders in hospital

A pothole was the reason why three riders from the MTN-Energade men’s road cycling team yesterday ended up in hospital with broken bones.

It is debatable whether Jaco Venter, Dylan Girdlestone and Bradley Potgieter will recover in time to race in any of the last three big Classics of the season, namely Amashova, OFM and 94.7.

Venter broke his arm in three places. Girdlestone broke his shoulder bone and, as luck would have it, Potgieter injured the same ankle that was fractured in a car accident early this year.

Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg, who was also training with his teammates on the road just past the Hartbeeshoek Satellite Station west of Pretoria, said they were busy with a team motorpacing session when the accident happened.

“Jaco and I were riding next to one another, while Bradley and Dylan were just in front of us. Roughly estimated, we were doing about 80km/ph when Jaco hit the pothole.”

According to Janse van Rensburg, the moment the accident happened Venter’s bicycle shot up in the air. Moments later he totally lost control and crashed down at high speed.

When Ian Wilson, the driver of the Kombi that was used by the riders for their motorpacing, saw in his rearview mirror that Venter had crashed, he immediately braked.

“Unfortunately, Dylan and Bradley were looking backwards to see what had happened to Jaco and whether he was OK. They did not realize that the Kombi was slowing down and consequently they crashed into it at full speed.

“Dylan’s shoulder really looked bad. Just glancing at it I could see that the bone had broken right through.”

This accident means that MTN-Energade will be racing with only half a team in the Dome2Dome race in Johannesburg on Sunday (5 September).

The accident did not phase Janse van Rensburg. “Now I am really motivated to win. On Sunday I will not be racing for myself but for my injured teammates. I badly want to win the Dome2Dome for them. It would be the least I could do.”

“We share in the disappointment of Jaco, Dylan, and Bradley as they had high hopes for the remaining Classics this year. However, we wish them a speedy recovery and know that they will come back even more motivated than before,” says Bernard Pieters, seniors sponsorship manager at MTN South Africa.

The DCM Cape Pioneer Trek Mountain Bike Tour just keeps getting better and better

The DCM Cape Pioneer Trek Mountain Bike Tour just keeps getting better and better.

This is the promise made by Ian van der Walt from DCM, the sponsors of the six-day tour that will take place in the Southern Cape and Klein Karoo (18 to 23 October).

“If I should have it my way, we as DCM would love to build out the Cape Pioneer Trek to become the ‘must-do’ tour on the calendar of every serious mountain biker in South Africa, as well as in the rest of the world. Our aim is to make it ‘the people’s tour’ and in my opinion the organizers are well on their way to make this a reality.

“There is a very good reason why the tour has, already in its first year, been voted by the riders as the most popular multi-stage event in South Africa.

“As sponsors we are approached by many events organizers with brilliant ideas, but it is one thing to talk and something quite different to turn those words into reality.

“I have the highest regard for Henco Rademeyer, Carel Herholdt and Katot Meyer of Dryland Events Management. For them it is not just about making money. The important guideline for every decision that is made as far as the Cape Pioneer Trek is concerned, is how the mountain bikers will feel about it. If there is even the slightest indication that it will not be well received by the riders, it is not going to happen.

“What makes us as a sponsor even more proud of our involvement in the tour, is the emphasis on nature conservation. Every rider who completes the tour will realize that conservation is the responsibility of everybody and not just of a few individuals.

“If you listen to Henco, Carel and Katot when they talk about their vision for the Cape Pioneer Trek, you cannot help but join in their enthusiasm.

Van der Walt does not just sponsor the tour, he is also planning to take part in it.

“After hearing all the good things about the Cape Pioneer Trek, I decided that I have to experience it firsthand for myself. But I must admit that I am slightly worried about my abilities.

“The riders of the DCM mountain-biking team told me that it is a tough tour, so I hope that I will survive. Luckily I have no goals of winning anything, I just want to enjoy myself.

“I will leave the winning to Max Knox and Thomas Zahnd from my DCM team. They certainly have a realistic chance of taking the top honours in the tour.

“What is exciting is that Zahnd has agreed to ride full-time for DCM in multi-stage events from next year. Max and he have what it takes to become one of the worlds best tour teams. Zahnd finished third overall in the Trans-Alp Tour. Knox and Brandon Stewart won two stages in the BC Bike race in Canada and they also finished 2nd overall.

“Silvio Bundi (Switzerland) will also ride for DCM in international mountain-bike tours.”

For more information visit www.capepioneer.co.za or www.dryland.co.za