Mpumalanga’s Nico Bell and Western Cape’s Cherise Stander gave Gauteng mountain bikers a lesson to win the men and women’s titles at round one of the 2015 Gauteng Nissan TrailSeeker Series at Buffelsdrift near Pretoria on Saturday.
Bell, the 2014 national marathon series champion (RECM), clocked 2:26:53 to win the 70km marathon in dry conditions. Second went to Melt Swanepoel (Squirt Lube), two seconds off the pace, with Neil Roberts third in 2:27:16.
Nico Bell won the first leg of the 2015 Nissan Trailseeker Series Gauteng near Pretoria on Saturday. Photo: Zoon Cronje
The first 20km were largely on dual track and gravel roads, which saw a sizeable lead pack form. But once the field hit the Power Line Climb, the splintering began.
The race featured a mere 800 metres of vertical ascent, but it lacked in climbing, it made up for in technical single-track.
Roberts claimed the Dunlop Hotspot prize and was part of a lead pack for most of the race that included Bell, Swanepoel, Gawie Combrinck (EAI Cycling) and Guylin van den Berg.
“With so little climbing, the riders were able to stay close together,” said Bell. “Near the end there was a concrete climb where I saw Melt get a bit of a gap. I managed to go over the top with him and got into the technical single-track in front.”
Former national marathon champion Cherise Stander clocked 2:45:44 to win the women’s race.
Go to Bundu Bash for more results and news.
