“One down and eight to go,” was the simple mantra of the riders in the 2016 Old Mutual joBerg2c mountain bike race as they rolled into the tiny dorp of Frankfort in the Free State on Friday.
For the pro racers it was simply a case of getting the 116km first day done, with the traditional neutral opening stage, as always, offering no clues as to who would be challenging for top honours.
All the top competitors were happy simply to enjoy the relatively meaningless ride from Heidelberg with little or no drama.
But from on Saturday morning the action starts in earnest with the 93km stage from Frankfort to Reitz sure to see the top riders looking to gain some time on their rivals wherever they can.
The three teams likely to be driving the pace are the pre-race favourites, the crews of Gawie Combrinck and Nico Bell; Johann Rabie and HB Kruger; and Andrew Hill and Tyronne White; with Pieter Seyffert and Hanco Kachelhoffer hoping to pull off a bit of a surprise.As expected Hill looked relaxed as he crossed the line yesterday with the large front group of about 20 riders.
”Yeah, it was nice and relaxed out there,” he said before heading off to wash his bike.
”(Saturday) things will get a bit more serious and we will see who is strong.”I expect Gawie and Nico and Johann and HB will be the teams to beat. We are nice and rested because we have not done the Epic or (SA Champs) in Clarens last weekend so hopefully that will help us.
”The mixed category of this two-person-team event looks like being a fascinating competition with a genuine international feel, no doubt thanks to the R80?000 first prize in the category.
The two all-South African teams hoping to claim the same prize money as the winning men are former unofficial world single-speed champion Amy McDougall and fellow single-speed enthusiast Grant Usher, while former top road racer Darren Lill has teamed up with young star in the making Candice Neethling.
These two will do well to beat off the challenge of some top overseas riders: World 24-hour champion Sonya Looney from the USA has teamed up with Japanese endurance rider Yuki Ikeda, while the Slovenia/Germany combination of Peter Vesel and Ivonne Kraft could be a threat.
Another bi-national combination looking for a good pay-day after the nine-stage race is that of South African Johan Labuschagne and Briton Catherine Williamson.The latter, a former Cape Epic champion is well known to the local mountain biking community as she spends a large portion of her year racing in the Western Cape.
One rider who received probably the biggest cheer for finishing Friday’s stage was Kenyan Douglas Sidialo and his tandem partner John Mwangi. Sidialo, who was injured in the 1998 US Embassy bomb blast in Nairobi, is completely blind and will be attempting to finish his second joBerg2C.
Saturday Star