Bell and Beers on top at Berg and Bush mountain bike race after Day 2

FOR the second day in a row the finishing sprint was all that separated the leading teams at the closely-contested Grindrod Bank Berg & Bush Descent, with Nico Bell and Matt Beers (NAD Pro) claiming a crucial advantage on the line at the end of Day 2 on Saturday, 6 October.

The NAD Pro pair will start Sunday’s third and final stage with a narrow two-second lead over the PYGA Euro Steel duo of Matthys Beukes and Philip Buys. Eleven seconds behind are the second NAD Pro combination of Wessel Botha and Gawie Combrinck who claimed third, also in a sprint, ahead of Shuan-Nick Bester and Andrew Hill (TIB / Silverback).

In the women’s race Samantha Sanders and Amy Beth McDougall (dormakaba) extended their lead over Hayley Smith and Christie Hearder (Bell Equipment). The two women’s leaders maintained their ninth position overall which keeps their top 10 goal intact.

Yolandi du Toit and Ben and Melt Swanepoel (Team Garmin) added another four minutes to their lead in the mixed category and barring a problem in the final day they should safely claim that title ahead of Tom Wetton and Theresa Ralph (Galileo Risk Mixed).

The 62km second stage started and finished at Em’seni camp just outside of Winterton in KwaZulu-Natal and saw riders tackle a route through the bushveld that was characterised by lots of single-track and short, steep climbs.

Up front, with the leading four teams all on the same time at the start of the fast second day it was no surprise the pace was hard from the gun, with lots of attacks as the leaders battled to eke out any small advantage.

The PYGA pair were the main initiators of the attacks but could not get a break to stick, and as the teams headed toward the finish all four leading teams were still together. With about three kilometres to go on the final short climb NAD Pro 1 and PYGA opened a small advantage and in the final kilometre Bell and Beers got into the two leading positions which enabled them to win the final sprint

The third day is even shorter at just 48km which will make for a tense game of cat and mouse until the big feature of the final day, the short but extremely steep climb up Spioenkop Mountain 14km from the finish. From there to the finish is virtually all downhill single-track, which means the riders can put everything into making a break on the climb.

“It was a good race, but it was too difficult to ride away,” said Bell at the finish line. “PYGA attacked a few times on the climbs but we were all just too evenly matched and nobody was able to ride away.

“This race is difficult to get any time and the first day is normally the place to gain an advantage but that did not happen. There is not a lot of climbing… these climbs are short and punchy so it is hard to make a break.

“Tomorrow is a very short stage but we are going up Spioenkop so that is a big climb just before the finish and I think it is going to be quite hard. I think the mountain and the single-track drag leading up to it will be crucial. There will be a few shots fired before the climb and then we will see on the climb who is stronger.”

Buys was clearly disappointed to have given up an advantage going into the final day but was still confident they can take the overall win.

“The race is still open so we will have to think about where we will try and get away,” he said. “I think it may be best to put everything into Spioenkop and try and get a few seconds and hold that to the finish.

“I think we are maybe slightly better than them in the technical riding but the single-track to the finish is not technical enough for us to make up time on them – it is too fast and flowing. I think Spioenkop will be the key to winning.”

Day 2 (GC time in brackets)

1 Nico Bell and Matthew Beers (NAD Pro 1) 2:12:00 (5:33:09)
2 Matthys Beukes and Philip Buys (PYGA Euro Steel) 2:12:02 (5:33:11)
3 Wessel Botha and Gawie Combrinck (NAD Pro 2) 2:12:13 (5:33:22)
4 Shuan-Nick Bester and Andrew Hill (TIB / Silverback) 2:12:14 (5:33:23)
5 Julian Jessop and Phillimon Sebona (PYGA Euro Steel 2) 2:17:34 (5:47:13)

Women

1 Samantha Sanders and Amy Mcdougall (dormakaba) 2:33:46 (6:26:37)
2 Hayley Smith and Christie Hearder (Bell Equipment) 2:50:40 (7:05:59)

Mixed

1 Yolandi Toit Ben and Melt Swanepoel (Team Garmin) 2:34:47 (6:26:32)
2 Tom Wetton and Theresa Ralph (Galileo Risk Mixed) 2:38:30 (6:32:55)
3 Dirk Nel and Ronel van wyk Nel (Lynx Real Estate) 2:50:06 (7:08:16)

Mountain bike safety – Wearing a Helmet can Save your Life! https://t.co/CJJLw6VTCt #ArriveAlive @RugbyFifteen pic.twitter.com/PKaxEpOpzn

— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) March 7, 2017