Max Knox took the title at the fifth round of the National MTB Series which took place at Sugar Rush, Ballito, on Saturday.
Philip Buys claims the KOM, with Max Knox and Gert Heyns hot on his heels. Photo Credit: www.zcmc.co.za
Knox (New Holland Agriculture) was involved in a near race-long battle with a field that stayed fairly tightly knit until almost three quarters of the way through the 102km event.
Philip Buys (SCOTT LCB Factory Racing) was an early pace-setter, riding off the front to claim the King of the Mountain prize at 30km.
But he was reeled back in and for most of the race a lead pack of around 15 riders broke up and reformed a few times.
Gert Heyns (SCOTT LCB Factory Racing) and Knox made a decisive move after a single-track section before the second Tech Zone at 75km.
The pair worked together and increased their lead over the pack, which was starting to lose cohesion as riders began to tire.
With 10km remaining, Knox kept the pressure on and the pace proved too much for Heyns.
In the final run, Heyns was caught by Nico Bell (Team NAD), who had chased back hard after suffering a mechanical.
The pair sprinted for the second place with Heyns just pipping Bell in what required a photo to decide the positions.
Lourens Luus (PSG Wealth) and Johann Rabie (Team Telkom) rounded out the top five places respectively.
“It was a lot tougher than I anticipated. The depth of quality riders has increased and the terrain was quite smooth and the course quite flowing, which meant a high average speed.
“I knew that it would be difficult for anyone to ride away on their own, so when the opportunity came to get away with Gert, I was keen,” said Knox.
In the women’s race, Samantha Sanders took an early lead which she managed to increase throughout the 75km course.
Jeannie Dreyer (Merchants) finished a distant second almost nine minutes later, with Therese Ralph (Galileo Risk) rounding out the top three in 3:38:21.
“I was a bit concerned coming in to this race after a sick week. I went out hard very early so I could determine the pace.
“It was risky, but with the short, sharp climbs it suited me. I’m finally finding some marathon form after getting out of XC racing a bit,” said Sanders.
The series now moves to South Africa’s Mpumalanga province for round six on September 3 and 4.
