In the Bunch

Cycling news, results, live streams, events, reviews & forum

  • Home
  • News
    • Road
    • Mountain bike
    • Gravel
    • Track
    • International
    • Features
    • Triathlon
    • Race reports
    • Blogs
    • Reviews
    • Featured event news
    • Partner content
  • Results
    • SA Results
    • International results
  • Streaming
  • Photos
  • Events
    • Categories
    • Locations
    • Add your Race
  • Find
    • MTB Trails
    • Cycle Shops
    • Add listing
  • Forum
    • View forum
    • Register
    • Login
  • Contact
    • About
  • Sign in
    • Reset password

De Villiers ready to take on Zuurberg race

May 28, 2014, 12:51 pm By Coetzee Gouws

Veteran stage racing champion Yolande de Villiers is getting ready to take on the second edition of the three-day PwC Great Zuurberg Trek, which starts at Addo near Port Elizabeth on Friday.

SasolRacing's Yolande de Villiers will line up for the three-day PwC Great Zuurberg Trek as part of her final preparations for the national mountain bike marathon championships. The race starts at Addo near Port Elizabeth on Friday. Photo: Oakpics

SasolRacing’s Yolande de Villiers will line up for the three-day PwC Great Zuurberg Trek as part of her final preparations for the national mountain bike marathon championships. The race starts at Addo near Port Elizabeth on Friday. Photo: Oakpics

De Villiers, who rides in the colours of SasolRacing, will use the 209km event as part of her final build-up towards the national mountain bike marathon championships in Pietermaritzburg next weekend.

“I’m very excited and looking forward to the race,” said De Villiers, who will be teaming up with husband, manager and training partner Henties for the very first time.

“It’s going to be good to race over terrain that’s nice and technical. I’m especially looking forward to the jeep and single-track in and about Addo and the beautiful views.”

The three-stage route charts a diverse course through the Sundays River Valley, Addo Elephant National Park, Zuurberg Mountains and portions of the national cross-country championship course at Hayterdale Trails.

De Villiers will be familiar with sections of the route, having previously competed in the 80km Extreme mountain bike challenge during The Herald VW Cycle Tour.

She said the race would in all likelihood be won or lost on the queen stage on day two, which featured over 2 000 metres of climbing in the Zuurberg range.

“Hopefully we’ll bring our climbing legs, but we must also ride safely and not have any mechanical issues.”

The Oudtshoorn-based rider is currently on good form after a stellar season that saw her and teammate Ischen Stopforth claim the African women’s jersey at the Cape Epic in March.

Earlier this month, she also triumphed in the mixed category at the Old Mutual joBerg2c alongside Franso Steyn and finished on the second step of the Nedbank sani2c podium alongside Johan Labuschagne.

“I’m really happy with my form but there’s still lots more work to be done. It’s addictive – you just train harder and harder and get better and better!”

The 41-year-old, who only started riding competitively at the age of 33, said her stage racing abilities had only improved with time.

“I’m definitely now more equipped to deal with the demands of stage racing, especially the endurance side and strategically too. You get wiser with time and learn lots of lessons along the way!”

Naturally competitive, De Villiers described her whole life as a race.

“Even when I’m out shopping, I’ll dice somebody and see if I can be first at the till. And I’ve got the best support base in my husband and kids.”

The former Cape Epic and national marathon series winner said she preferred racing in the mixed category as it forced her to push herself even harder.

“In a mixed team, the woman is usually weaker and riding at her limit. Racing in the women’s category is more about looking after your partner and working together to get the maximum out of each other.

“Henties is technically very good, so I’m going to eat his dust in the single-track but I’ll push him on the uphills.

“As our team manager, he doesn’t get a chance to race much, so I thought the Great Zuurberg Trek would be an amazing event for us to ride together.”

De Villiers said she was anticipating sharing “war stories” over a glass of wine each evening at the Zuurberg Mountain Village, which will be the race village for the duration of the event.

Visit www.greatzuurbergtrek.co.za or follow the event on @zuurbergtrekker and Facebook.

Read more Great Zuurberg Trek news here.

Exposure for your race: If you would like In the Bunch to promote your event through a series of articles, click here to ask us about our new PR product. See examples.

Next story
Previous story

MORE RELATED ARTICLES

No related photos.

FEATURED EVENT NEWS

DPD Laser and Great Zuurberg Collection poised for the long haul

Radisson Blu a home away from home for cycle tour riders

Herald Cycle Tour on a drive to give back

PARTNER CONTENT

GZT-E Day 1 - Stuart Woodhead and Alex Solomon

Age just a number at Great Zuurberg Trek E-edition

GZT 2023 - Men

Gqeberha duo peerless en route to Great Zuurberg Trek title

GZT Mens winner - stage 2

Local boys tighten grip on Zuurberg MTB race despite setbacks

GZT Mens podium crop

Campbell and Carneiro conquer the mud at Zuurberg

LATEST REVIEWS

Review: Luck MTB cycling shoes

Luck’s Ator

Review: Luck road cycling shoes

Westfalia BC 75 bike rack

Review: Westfalia bike rack

Copyright © 2010 - 2025 · Developed and managed by Full Stop Communications · Privacy Policy

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT