Cape Town – Erik Kleinhans and Jennie Stenerhag showed their mountain biking prowess at the picturesque Arabella Hotel & Spa in Kleinmond on Sunday when they won gold in the men’s and women’s 50km Cell C Arabella MTB Challenge.
They recorded combined finishing times of 4 hours 01 minute 36 seconds and 4 hours 40 minutes 36 seconds respectively.
According to Kleinhans, his plan for stage two was to stay with the front riders. “Stefan Senekal went out strong at round about the 20km mark. I made a mistake and had to make up on time. The young guys went hard up the hills, I just hung on.
“I got away on the flat terrain. On the Highlands Road, the elastic snapped and I managed to keep my lead to the finish. The route was great with a really fun single track.
“This year the racing was definitely more serious, but the Cell C Arabella MTB Challenge is more than just about racing. I will always come back to this event.” Kleinhans claimed his second stage victory. Adriaan Louw was the runner-up on the weekend, while Dylan Rebello secured the final spot on the podium.
Jennie Stenerhag also secured her second stage victory on the day.
“Today’s stage was tough,” says Stenerhag. “There was a lot of sand and a lot of ups and downs. I went out hard from the start, keeping the pace for the first hour. On the long open stretches, I could see Carmen Buchacher in the distance. I had to work hard to beat her. The Cell C Arabella MTB Challenge was a really good test after my operation. I am really happy to be able to push as hard as I did, winning was a bonus. I’d definitely like to be back next year.”
Carmen Buchacher was the runner-up on the weekend, while Katherine Lennard secured the final spot on the podium.
Results
Stage Two, Men: 1 Erik Kleinhans 01:50:06, 2 Dylan Rebello 01:50:27, 3 Adriaan Louw 01:50:30, 4 Stephan Senekal 01:51:16, 5 Justin Tuck 01:54:21, 6 Luke Evans 01:57:58, 7 Renay Groustra 01:57:59, 8 Nico Pfitzenmaier 02:01:02, 9 Conrad Strauss 02:01:19, 10 Craig Gerber 02:02:09
Women: 1 Jennie Stenerhag 02:08:45, 2 Carmen Buchacher 02:10:57, 3 Katharine Lennard 02:14:32, 4 Diana Carolin 02:23:41, 5 Ila Stow 02:23:42, 6 Robynne Klee 02:26:41, 7 Marianne Bergli 02:26:52, 8 Jeanie De Villiers 02:30:03, 9 Amy Burton 02:33:24, 10 Emma Pienaar 02:37:08
Stage One and Two combined, Men: 1 Erik Kleinhans 04:01:36, 2 Adriaan Louw 04:02:01, 3 Dylan Rebello 04:02:51, 4 Stephan Senekal 04:09:37, 5 Justin Tuck 04:11:03, 6 Renay Groustra 04:16:10, 7 Luke Evans 04:19:20, 8 Nico Pfitzenmaier 04:20:32, 9 Izak Hanekom 04:23:57, 10 Craig Gerber 04:24:05
Women: 1 Jennie Stenerhag 04:40:36, 2 Katherine Lennard 04:49:45, 3 Carmen Buchacher 04:52:13, 4 Ila Stow 05:05:45, 5 Diana Carolin 05:11:50, 6 Marianne Bergli 05:19:25, 7 Jeanie De Villiers 05:20:02, 8 Amy Burton 05:29:33, 9 Robynne Klee 05:33:25, 10 Michelle Lombardi 05:35:54
– ANA