Results, pics & videos: Zini Estate Buffalo Classic

Results are out for the first race in the MiWay Big5 Series -- the Zini Estate Buffalo Classic from Sunday, 13 May 2012.

• 50km results
• 25km results

For any results disputes, please email shane@nashuazulu.co.za.

Photos

• Check out the photo album on Facebook here.
• There will be individual photos to purchase online, courtesy of Big5, ready at the end of May. We’ll keep you posted!

Videos

Check out the official YouTube video clip of the Zini Estate Buffalo Classic race!

Visit MiWayMTB on YouTube for the highlights video and product reviews!

Enter the next race

Results: joBerg2c 2012

All the results right here!

• Day 1 (neutral start)
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Day 7
• Day 8
• Day 9

Congrats to all who particpated!

Stander, Sauser toast Cape Epic victory with another stage win!

Christoph Sauser of 36One-Songo-Specialized and Burry Stander of 36One-Songo-Specialized celebrate after winning the 2012 Absa Cape Epic. Photo credit: SPORTZPICS

Sunday’s final stage of the 2012 ABSA Cape Epic wasn’t the procession it was expected to be as defending champions and overall leaders, Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser, attacked their rivals on the 64km leg from Oak Valley to Lourensford to win a sixth stage and claim their second successive overall win as teammates.

The 36One-Songo-Specialized pair broke clear of the lead group just before the Telkom Hot Spot, won the R10000 cash prize for being first across the prime and then continued to power away up the steep climb that followed. They then carried a relentless pace to the finish, where Stander, on the final approach, grabbed a South African flag, which he carried proudly across the finish line.

Second place went to the Topeak Ergon duo of Alban Lakata (AUT) and Robert Mennen (GER) who pipped Songo-Specialized’s Max Knox (RSA) and Kohei Yamamoto (JPN) in the sprint for second place, just less than a minute down on Stander and Sauser.

It was Stander and Sauser’s sixth stage win in eight days this year and it confirmed their dominance at the ninth edition of the world’s most prestigious mountain bike stage race. It was Sauser’s third victory in the event, his other coming in 2006 with compatriot Silvio Bundi. Stander is the only South African to have won the overall Cape Epic title. His total of 20 career stage wins is second only to Sauser, who has 26.

South African Nedbank 360Life teammates, Kevin Evans and David George were fifth on the final stage, but secured second place on the General Classification, the highest ever placing by a South African team in the event. They also won the ABSA African Team competition. Hannes Genze (GER) and Andreas Kugler (SUI) of Team Multivan Merida, were third overall.

Unlike many of their rivals, Stander and Sauser had an incident-free eight days, virtually unheard of in a race that covers such rugged terrain and in such varied weather conditions as this year’s edition, which included intense heat, gale force winds and driving rain.

“We simply rode on the front for about 80% of the entire race and stayed out of trouble,” said Stander. “When you ride on the front you can pick your line and avoid possible problems. When you follow someone else, you can’t anticipate what’s coming. I felt so much more in control riding on the front more this year.

“We worked hard for this stage and the overall. We will never say no to the opportunity of winning a stage. Twenty-seven minutes is a big victory margin, but not only thanks to us. Our whole team and our equipment played a role. We learnt our lessons in previous years. The ABSA Cape Epic is a story. Everyday is a chapter and that makes it so amazing. Now we know the Yellow Jersey is ours. Until now it felt like we were borrowing it. Nothing compares to it,” added Stander.

The only other South Africans to win a category were the Team Contego 28E pairing of Erik and Ariane Kleinhans. The married couple won the Mixed category title overall, and collected seven stage wins in the process. They were by far the most dominant Mixed team in the race with an eventual winning margin of 02 hours 07 minutes over runners up Udo Boelts (GER) and Milena Landtwing (SUI) of Team Centurion Vaude. Boelts won the Master’s division last year and is a former top 10 finisher at the Tour de France.

Former World and Olympic champion and 2005 Cape Epic winner, Bart Brentjens (NED) and his compatriot Jan Weevers of the World Bicycle Relief team won the Telkom Masters (over 40) category. They were followed by two all-South African teams – Delaney Impey and Adrian Enthoven (JAG Craft) and Scott McKenzie and Warren Squires (Complete Cyclist) in second and third respectively.

The women’s division was dominated by the Wheels4Life team of Sally Bigham (GBR) and Esther Suss (SUI), winning seven stages and the overall title. South African Theresa Ralph and her Norwegian partner Nina Gassler were second, while another South African, Karien van Jaarsveld and her Swiss teammate, Jane Nuessli of Team MTN Qhubeka, were third.

A total of  604 two-rider teams started the 781km, eight-day race, with 481 teams finishing and 93 solo riders completing the event after their partners withdrew.

Leading final General Classification results:
MEN
1 Burry Stander (RSA) / Christoph Sauser (SUI) 36One-Songo-Specialized 31hrs 46min 50sec
2 Kevin Evans (RSA) / David George (RSA) Nedbank 360Life @ 27:22
3 Hannes Genze (GER) / Andreas Kugler (SUI) Multivan Merida @ 31:07
4 Thomas Dietsche (FRA) / Tim Boehme (GER) Bulls 2 @ 31:57
4 Alban Lakata (AUT) / Robert Mennen (GER) Topeak Ergon @ 32:32

WOMEN
1 Esther Suss (SUI) / Sally Bigham (GBR) Wheels4Life 38:34.11
2 Theresa Ralph (RSA) / Nina Gassler (NOR) Biogen Britehouse @ 49:26
3 Karien van Jaarsveld (RSA) / Jane Nuessli (SUI) MTN Qhubeka @ 1:35.03

MASTER
1 Bart Brentjens (NED) / Jan Weevers (NED) World Bicycle Relief @ 35:35.58
2 Adrian Enthoven (RSA) / Delaney Impey (RSA) JAG Craft @ 1:38.52
3 Warren Squires (RSA) / Scott McKenzie (RSA) Complete Cyclist  @ 3:52.28

MIXED
1 Erik Kleinhans (RSA) / Ariane Kleinhans (RSA) Contego 28E 34:26.29
2 Udo Boelts (GER) / Milena Landtwing (SUI) Centurion Vaude @ 1:53.19
3 Klaas van Moortel (BEL) / Inne Gantois (BEL) BAIL Peak Performance Brugge @ 2:47.29

For all results, click here!

Team Bonitas claim team trial gold

Team Bonitas riders prepare for the start

Team Bonitas have claimed the gold medal in the team time trial at the 2012 South African road cycling championships in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga. The six-rider unit clocked a time of 01 hour 02 minutes 56.9 seconds for the undulating point-to-point 47.8km course, starting in Kaapmuiden and ending at the Mbombela Stadium.

Team NuWater finished second with Team ASG completing the podium positions. The six-man Bonitas team comprised Tyler Day, Darren Lill, Johann Rabie, Hanco Kachelhoffer, Jason Bakke and Ian McLeod. “We came into this event with only the gold medal in our sights and we achieved that. It’s very satisfying,” said Team Bonitas owner, Malcolm Lange.

“It was quite a tough course with some nasty uphill drags near the end. We lost Tyler with about 15km to go, but the remaining five riders kept it consistent until the end.” Team Bonitas used special Pinarello time trial bicycles designed to put the rider in a more aerodynamic position than on a regular road bike.

“Because the position is quite different, the team spent quite a lot of time training together on these bikes. in addition to power, rhythm and flow are important elements in a team time trial. As soon as that is interrupted, you start to lose time,” explained Lange. At the 20km checkpoint, Bonitas were two minutes and 30 seconds down on NuWater, but then began to pull back that deficit steadily and turned it into a similar winning margin by the finish.

“I think the other teams might have started a bit too fast and began losing riders early on (the time is taken on the fourth rider across the line). We aimed for an even pace throughout and knew it was important to keep strong in the final section and it worked out well,” smiled Lange. This is Team Bonitas’ second medal of the 2012 championships following the bronze medal secured by Johann Rabie in the Elite men’s individual time trial on Thursday. The team will be out to defend Darren Lill’s title in Sunday’s 160km road race.

“It’s a tough course for the road race, but we have some good depth in our team and are confident we can contest the gold medal. We have a few different trump cards and will play them all if necessary. It’s going to be a cracker race!” said Lange.

Team time trial – 47.8km

Leading results:

1. Team Bonitas (Darren Lill, Ian McLeod, Jason Bakke, Johann Rabie, Hanco Kachelhoffer, Tyler Day) 01hr 02min 56.9sec
2. Nuwater (Shaun Ward, Jaco Venter, Theuns van der Bank, James Tennent, Johannes de Beer, Anton Wynand) 1:05:22.8
3. ASG (Kevin Patten,James Fourie, Dustin Kilpatrick, Wiehann du Plessis) 01:07:40.9

Podium Dominance for Cycle Lab Toyota at SA Time Trial Champs

Cherise Taylor successfully defended her South African Elite women's time title.Photo: Dominic Barndardt

The racing division of Cycle Lab Toyota, South Africa’s largest cycling club, secured three gold and one silver medal on the first day of the 2012 South African Road Race Championships in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga on Thursday. The individual time trial events got the four-day annual showpiece off to an exciting start with some top class performances.

Conditions were hot and the racing course followed an undulating out-and-back route from the Mbombela Stadium on the outskirts of the province’s capital. Cherise Taylor of the Momentum Toyota professional women’s team charged to victory in the Elite women’s 30km event, clocking a time of 45 minutes 34.92 seconds.

It was the second successive gold medal in this event for the Beijing Olympian. Taylor was followed home by Momentum Toyota teammate, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio who claimed the silver medal for the second year in succession, clocking a time of 46 minutes 56.10 seconds, one minute and 17 seconds off the time of Taylor.

In the Under-23 men’s race over 43km, Toyota CSA Academy rider, Louis Meintjes, went one better than last year when he snapped up the gold medal in a time of 51 minutes 41.68 seconds. The performance placed him seventh overall in the Elite and Under-23 men’s field, 61 seconds down on Elite winner, Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg (MTN Qhubeka). In the Junior women’s race, Cycle Lab Toyota Academy’s Heidi Dalton overcame some pre-race drama to secure the gold medal.

Officials ruled that her time trial bike didn’t comply with the technical regulations so she had no choice but to compete on her standard road bike. She stormed to a dominant victory in a time of 28 minutes 37.06 seconds for the 20km event, more than three minutes quicker than her nearest rival.

The Cycle Lab Toyota racing teams will contest the road race events on Saturday and Sunday. The Toyota CSA Academy men’s team that will compete in the team time trial on Friday is: Louis Meintjes, Willie Smit, Emile Jacobs, Steven van Heerden, Bradley Stroberg and Martin Scheppel.

Leading results:

Elite women 30km

1. Cherise Taylor (Momentum Toyota) 45min 34.92sec
2. Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (Momentum Toyota) 46:56.10
3. An-Li Pretorius (MTN Qhubeka) 47:08.83

Under-23 men 43km

1. Louis Meintjes (Toyota CSA) 51min 46.68sec
2. JC Nel 52:02.09
3. Myles van Musschenbroek 54:22.39

Junior women 20km

1. Heidi Dalton (Cycle Lab Toyota Academy) 28min 37.06sec
2. Rosemary Devink 31:50.79
3. Corlia van der Merwe 31:58.19

Surprise success as Cycle Lab employees win stage race

Ben Mwanje (pictured) and Daniel Alikisente of Team Cycle Lab Toyota won the Bridgestone Route 69 Experience stage race.

Everyone was surprised that Ben Mwanje and Daniel Alikisente of Team Cycle Lab Toyota, won the overall title at the Bridgestone Route 69 Experience, a three-day mountain bike stage race held in the north west of Johannesburg, Gauteng at the weekend.

Everyone that is, except them. It was the first stage race that Mwanje (29) and Alikisente (30) had competed in as a team and the overall win was a confidence booster for the pair, who will tackle the ABSA Cape Epic, the world’s toughest mountain bike stage race, next month. “It felt very good to win. We were aiming for a top three finish.

We have been training together as a mountain bike racing partnership since December 2011. Our big goal is to finish the ABSA Cape Epic and we are fortunate that we have been given the chance by our employer, Cycle Lab, and our coach, Andrew McLean,” said Mwanje. Alikisente is employed in the workshop and Mwanje as a salesperson at Cycle Lab’s Fourways, Design Quarter branch.

They work full time and fit in training around their work. “We train about two hours on weekdays and on weekends we can go longer – up to four hours,” said Alikisente. “We are lucky to have a bike and supplement sponsor. We use Biogen supplements when we are riding and afterwards for recovery.

That is most important, recovery, especially for a stage race.” The pair finished all three of the Bridgestone Route 69 Experience stages in third position, but their daily consistency gave them the overall victory. “On Day 1 Daniel had a rear tyre puncture so we lost time. We rode very hard to try make up that time but couldn’t.

I said to Daniel do not to worry because if we recover well and ride strong on the next two days we can still win. On the last day the leading overall team had a crash and lost some time. We were consistent and that helped us to win,” explained Mwanje. At the end of January, the pair competed in the MTN Barberton Ultra-marathon.

Alikisente finished 39th and Mwanje 42nd. “That was a wake-up race for us! We suffered a lot and realised we need to be more focused on our training and we must learn to pace ourselves better in a race. One month later we were a lot stronger and more clever. The Route 69 stages 1 and 2 were rocky and tough. But that is mountain bike racing. It must be hard! We managed them no problem,” smiled Mwanje.

For the ABSA Cape Epic, the pair intends to be even more cautious with their pacing. “That is a very long stage race. We will see how we go each day. Maybe one of the days we can prove ourselves near the front.

But it won’t be so easy. We put our work first and our riding second. Maybe one day, if we get better results, riding races can be our work,” said Alikisente.

Craft claims Knysna three-stage

Johannesburg’s Adrian Enthoven (left) and Delaney Impey of Team Craft claimed overall victory in the three-day Garden Route Rocky Mountain 300 mountain bike race in Knysna on Sunday. Photo: Elle Redman

Johannesburg’s Adrian Enthoven and Delaney Impey preserved their eight-minute lead to claim overall victory in the taxing three-day Garden Route Rocky Mountain 300 mountain bike race in Knysna on Sunday. The Team Craft pair crossed the line in third on the final stage to secure the honours in 12:32:25 ahead of day one leaders Timo Cooper and Jarryd Haley of Team Rocky Mountain (12:40:15).

Billy Stelling and Riccardo Stermin of Team Daikin Gu were third (12:57:24). Cooper and Haley, from Wellington and Hermanus respectively, bounced back to win the 80km final stage in an exciting three-way sprint in 3:15:07 after relinquishing their overall lead the previous day. They beat Capetonians Stelling and Stermin to the line.

A series of technical difficulties erased Catherine Williamson (Britain) and Yolandi du Toit (Heidelberg) of Team bizhub-FCF’s 15-minute overnight lead to end their title hopes in the women’s race. Fellow bizhub riders Nicci Grobler (Pretoria) and Leana de Jager (Stellenbosch) won the stage in 3:39:41 to take the overall win in a combined time of 14:38:36. Locals Hannele Steyn-Kotze and Chris Nel, of Team Rocket-Medac, made a clean sweep of the stages to win the mixed section in 14:16:33.

Cooper and Haley tried to force an early break by pushing the pace on the first major climb up Phantom Pass, but overnight leaders Enthoven and Impey held on gamely. “We thought we could have a go at them and make up some time, but they just sat on our wheel,” said Haley.

Capetonians Stelling and Stermin also latched on to form a breakaway group of six. “Eventually we all realised we couldn’t get rid of each other, so we decided to pace together and open up a gap on the chasers.”

Pretoria’s Nicci Grobler (left) and Stellenbosch’s Leana de Jager of Team bizhub-FCF claimed overall victory in the three-day Garden Route Rocky Mountain 300 mountain bike race in Knysna on Sunday. Photo: Elle Redman

In his first outing with Impey, Enthoven said he was very pleased with their overall result after he finished runner-up last year. “We took a wrong turn on day one so we had to fight all day to secure second. We started the second day three minutes behind so we rode absolutely flat-out for five hours.

“Today was a bit easier for us. We took it easy, sat in the group and just made sure we didn’t make any mistakes.” He said the race was excellent preparation for next month’s Absa Cape Epic as the conditions were similar.

Enthoven described the 295-kilometre route as “stunning, with a nice mix of forest roads and some of the best single track in the country”. For more info visit www.gardenrouteevents.co.za, follow @In_the_Bunch on Twitter or like the Facebook page.

Craft masters Knysna race

Impey and last year’s runner-up Enthoven won the 115-kilometre second stage in 4:50:09 to claim the overall lead in 9:17:16, which puts them eight minutes clear of their closest challengers. Team Daikin Gu’s Billy Stelling and Riccardo Stermin outsprinted stage one winners, Team Rocky Mountain Syncros’ Timo Cooper and Jarryd Haley, to take second on the day in 5:00:23 and move up to fifth overall.

Cooper and Haley’s time of 5:00:26 sees them slip back to second after 9:25:08 of racing. Team Cycle Lab’s Shan Wilson and Willie Engelbrecht finished in 5:09:02 to take fourth on the stage, dropping them to third overall. The race broke up fairly quickly after a brisk start by overnight leaders Cooper and Haley on the Knysna lagoon’s western head.

“The youngsters went really hard on those first few climbs up Featherbed Nature Reserve but we managed to hang in there,” said 42-year-old Enthoven. “Our plan was just to sit with them for the first three hours but they struggled on the sandy section and we opened up a gap of maybe 30 or 40 seconds.”

The Johannesburg-based masters’ pairing, riding in their first race together, then put their heads down on the Seven Passes section to stretch out their lead. Defending champion Cooper said he and Haley decided to ride at their own pace rather than chase down the leaders. The two were caught just before the 80-kilometre mark by the chasing group comprising Stelling and Stermin and Wilson and Engelbrecht.

After dropping the latter pair on the final climbs, the remaining four riders paced together to the finish. Twenty-year-old Cooper said he was looking forward to the final stage because of his team-mate’s background as a downhiller. “Jarryd is extremely strong on the single track, so we’re going to hammer it on the descents.”

Team bizhub-FCF’s two pairings congratulate each other after dominating the second stage at the Garden Route Rocky Mountain 300 mountain bike race in Knysna on Saturday. Photo: Elle Photography

The two Team bizhub-FCF pairings once again dominated the women’s race with Nicci Grobler and Leana de Jager taking the stage win in 5:42:47 on this occasion.

They were followed seven seconds later by stage one winners Catherine Williamson and Yolandi du Toit.

Unfortunate early leaders Williamson and Du Toit followed one of the lead bunches off course early on and had to ride hard to reel in Grobler and De Jager after 20 kilometres, from which point on the foursome worked together.

Williamson and Du Toit retain the women’s lead with a combined time of 10:44:05, which also puts them 14th overall. Team Rocket-Medac’s Hannele Steyn-Kotze and Chris Nel beat Team Giant-Mavic’s Ann Harrison and Paul Jacobs by a single second in the mixed section for their second stage win of the race.

They stopped the clock on 5:41:12 for a total time of 10:41:08. For more info visit www.gardenrouteevents.co.za, follow @In_the_Bunch on Twitter or like the Facebook page.

Results – Babba’s Lodge MTB Event #1 – 8 January 2012

The organisers put up an excellent race, with a well-marked track, a live singer to entertain, delicious food stall, with a lovely setting in the bush and a great finish line (including plenty of shade under the trees)!

Congrats to all who participated in either the 70km, 35km, 12km and the kiddies 1km fun ride.

Results – Babbas Lodge – 8 Jan 2012

Please feel free to give us your feedback for the race by leaving a comment.

Some MiWay brand representation spotted at Babba's Lodge over the weekend!

 

Results & photos: 94.7 Cycle Challenge 2011

Congrats to everyone who participated!

Results are in. Simply click here and search using your name or chip number.

Want results from all previous 94.7 races? Click here.

Photos – click here and search by chip number.

Results for the 94.7 MTB Challenge 2011 can be found by clicking here.