Durban - There was drama aplenty on the second day of the Sani2C, in both the men’s and women’s races, as the leaders in the respective contests suffered major setbacks to allow for new leaders to emerge.
The 99 kilometre Queen’s stage is renowned as the toughest day of the three-day race, and it lived up to expectations as it claimed a number of victims. Those lucky enough to come through unscathed were stage winners Matthys Beukes and and Gert Heyns, who climbed up from fifth-place on the first day in a time of 03:34:41.
Second and third place remained unchanged for the day, but the pair of Johann Rabie and HB Kruger took the overall lead with two second-place finishes in a row, only 16 seconds after the winners. JoBerg2C winners, Gawie Combrinck and Nico Bell, remained in contention with their third-place finish in 03:39:39 heading into the final ride to Scottburgh tomorrow.
In the men’s race, overnight leaders Darren Lill and Waylon Woolcock had to deal with a puncture and a tumble by Lill, as well as Woolcock shattering his front tire before they limped home in fifth on the day. This also saw them drop to fourth in the overall standings.
The Ladies race also saw a change of leader as the two rival teams of Robyn de Groot and Jennie Stenerhag, and Candice Neethling and Vera Adrian swapped positions. The former duo taking a wrong turn along the route which led to their demise.
Neethling and Adrian were incredibly close to taking the day one honours, but for De Groot and Stenerhag sprint to the finish. Today, the leader’s lost over five minutes as they headed down the wrong path, and there was not enough racing left for them to catch up again as Neethling and Adrian took the stage honours in 04:10:55.
OVERALL RESULTS:
1. Johann Rabie - Hendrik Kruger:- 03:34:57 | 06:25:22
2. Matthys Beukes - Gert Heyns:- 03:34:41 | 06:27:54
3. Gawie Combrinck - Nico Bell:- 03:39:39 | 06:30:17
4. Waylon Woolcock - Darren Lill:- 03:49:17 | 06:37:30
5. Derrin Smith - Timothy Hammond:- 03:48:00 | 06:45:31
6. Adriaan Louw - Matthew Beer:- 03:54:27 | 06:46:34
7. Gordon Gilbert - Paul Theron:- 03:57:07 | 06:54:16
8. Nic White - Grant Usher:- 03:54:08 | 06:56:23
9. Andrew Hill - Tyronne White:- 03:59:15 | 06:58:08
10. Dave George - Justin Tuck:- 03:54:46 | 06:59:30
WOMEN’S
1. Vera Adrian - Candice Neethling:- 04:10:55 | 07:24:48
2. Robyn de Groot - Jennie Stenerhag:- 04:14:12 | 07:27:50
3. Teresa Ralph - Samantha Sanders:- 04:27:21 | 07:53:44
MIXED
1. Catherine Williamson - Johan Labuschagne:- 04:08:47 | 07:19:26
2. Yolandi du Toit - Ben-Melt Swanepoel:- 04:20:17 | 07:32:58
3. Hayley Smith - Andrew Warr:- 04:20:30 | 07:41:22 - Independent Media