Late entrant Greig Knox outlasted his competition to win the Bestmed Sondela MTB Classic near Bela-Bela in Limpopo on Sunday.
Late entrant Greig Knox of UCT Private Client Holdings takes the 60km feature race at the Bestmed Sondela MTB Classic near Bela-Bela on Sunday. Photo: Snapper.Photo
The 27-year-old UCT Private Client Holdings rider, who grew up in Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal and now lives in Atholl close to Sandton, pulled away in the last five kilometres of the 60km feature race to win in a time of 2:18:34.
In second was Ryno Smith in a time of 2:19:30, with Francois van Tonder taking third place in 2:26:13.
Knox, who entered the feature event at the last moment, said he was “ecstatic” at finishing on top of the podium.
“I have not been doing much training lately, so this win comes as a real surprise.”
It was his first appearance at Sondela.
Knox said he found the course fairly flat, which “made it tougher than expected”.
“We went out quite hard to try to create a split because the route was pretty flat and there was quite a big bunch.
“Eight of us broke away after about 20km and then we went into a single-track section.
“I worked hard there and then there were only two of us left at the front (Knox and Smith) and from there we rode up a nice gap on the rest until I managed to get ahead.”
Sanet Coetzee of Team Bestmed-ASG takes the 60km feature race at the Bestmed Sondela MTB Classic near Bela-Bela on Sunday. Photo: Snapper.Photo
Team Bestmed-ASG dominated the podium in the women’s event with 32-year-old Sanet Coetzee winning in a time of 2:39:33. She was followed home by Mariette Hattingh in 2:41:16 and Nina Sender in 2:44:49.
On Saturday, Bendeon Mybergh and Alma Bester won the men’s and women’s sections in the 40km race, with Damian Mellet and Retha Meyer taking victory in the 20km race.
Visit Bestmed Sondela MTB Classic for the full results.
