Konny Looser (BIXS) won the final round of the TrailSeeker Western Cape Series at Bosman Family Vineyards on Saturday.
Simon Stibjan (Team Bulls) is followed closely by Konny Looser (BIXS) as they navigate the Wellington single-track at the TrailSeeker race on Saturday. Photo: www.zcmc.co.za
Together with Simon Stibjan (Team Bulls) and Adriaan Louw (Contego), they moved clear of the lead group on the first section of single-track.
Louw eventually found the pace too hard and backed off, leaving Looser and Stibjan to battle for the win.
Looser managed to ride clear of Stibjan before the final long descent to cross the line in 3:03:17.
Stibjan claimed the runner-up spot 18 seconds later, with Louw rounding out the podium in 3:10:41.
“I had to make a gap on Simon before the last downhill because I know he is quicker than me on the downhills,” said Looser.
“I attacked and got a gap and rode my own pace to the finish, but I did run out of water. It was very hot, so it wasn’t a comfortable end to the race.”
Jennie Stenerhag (Ascendis Health) is hot on the heels of Ariane Lüthi (Team Spur) as they battle it out on a climbing single-track at the TrailSeeker race on Saturday. Photo: www.zcmc.co.za
Ariane Lüthi (Team Spur) took the women’s marathon which developed into a battle between her and Jennie Stenerhag (Ascendis Health) after the first big climb.
A hard crash saw Stenerhag lose ground, with Lüthi using the technical sections to put more time between them.
The three-time Cape Epic winner finished in 16th place overall, clocking 3:34:58. Stenerhag was second in 3:40:26, with Carmen Buchacher (Velocity) claiming the final podium place in 3:50:50.
“After Jennie crashed I could see her arm was bleeding quite a lot,” said Lüthi. “But we stayed together and I was very happy with my improved skills.
“That helped me relax a bit in the technical sections and to save energy for the end.”
