Swiss racer Konny Looser captured victory at the final round of the National Mountain Bike Series at Rooiberg on Saturday.
Konny Looser mentally prepares himself for the tough Rooiberg course on the start line at the National MTB Series. Photo: www.zcmc.co.za
Looser (BIXS) covered the 97km course in hot, dry conditions in a time of 4:11:00 to secure his first win in the series.
Nico Bell (Team NAD) finished second a minute later, with Philip Buys (Scott LCB Factory Racing) rounding out the podium in 4:18:23.
Some early drama struck Looser, making his win even more impressive. He punctured within the first 10km, but managed to repair it with a plug. However, it wasn’t the perfect solution and his tyre gradually lost air throughout the race.
He also crashed at around 35km while swapping bottles from his jersey to his bike.
“It was a silly thing to do at the time and I hit the ground really hard and hurt my arm and my hip. I must have also hit my head because I felt confused for a while,” said Looser.
At that stage of the race, Looser was in a five-rider lead group with Bell, Buys, Gawie Combrinck (Team NAD) and Lourens Luus (PSG Wealth).
The series leader and winner of the four previous rounds, Max Knox (Lowveld Tractors), was further back and ended up withdrawing at the 56km Tech Zone due to illness.
Although he didn’t finish, Knox had already secured enough points before the final round at Rooiberg to secure the series title for the third time.
After the Tech Zone, Luus began to push the pace, putting his rivals under pressure, with Combrinck dropping off.
Just before the big climb at 60km, Luus punctured, leaving Buys, Bell and Looser in front. On the climb, Looser pushed the pace in an effort to eliminate Buys before they reached the single-track section.
Robyn de Groot leads out the elite women from the start chute at the National MTB Series at Rooiberg. Photo: www.zcmc.co.za
“I know Philip is fast in the single-track and I didn’t want to risk reaching it with him,” said Looser.
“I tried to attack, but I was sore from my fall. But I must have made some impact because he dropped off.”
The hot, dry conditions ultimately gave Looser the break he needed to take control. At the final water point, he pulled ahead when Bell stopped to get water.
With 20km remaining his main concern was managing his front tyre, which was continually losing pressure.
In the women’s race, Robyn de Groot (Ascendis Health) avoided taking any risks to ensure victory.
She covered the 70km distance in a time of 3:22:16 to earn the maximum points. Second place went to Theresa Ralph (Galileo Risk), who was the series leader going into the final round, with Vanessa Bell (Bells Cycling) claiming the final podium spot.
“Rooiberg is always a proper African mountain bike experience – rocky, thick sand and extreme heat. With the drought, I think it was even more extreme this year. Fortunately for me, all went smoothly,” said De Groot.
With four wins and a fourth place, De Groot did enough to claim the 2016 series title. It is the second time she has won the coveted crown after having claimed it in 2013.
View more results here.
