Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes won the joBerg2c title after a dominant show throughout the eight-day mountain bike race, which finished in Jolivet in the Highflats, KwaZulu-Natal, today.
“It’s a good feeling, having won today,” said Beukes.
“We came here to enjoy the journey and do something different – all in all we’re very happy with the way things turned out.”
Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes won the joBerg2c title after winning six of the eight stages. Photo: Em Gatland
The PYGA EuroSteel pair started the last day of racing with a 13-minute lead ahead of Gawie Combrinck and Nico Bell (NAD Pro MTB).
“We started today with a big lead, but anything can happen so we knew we just wanted to ride a safe and smooth race,” said Beukes.
“Today was nice in that it wasn’t too flat or open and we started off fairly relaxed, we just enjoyed the descent down the Umkomaas Valley.
“As soon as we hit the big climb out the valley we upped the pace a bit and pretty soon we were away.”
The two teams fought a closely contested battle over the 900km of riding and it was only Combrink and Bell who were able to deny PGYA Eurosteel eight successive stage wins.
Buys and Beukes won six of the eight stages but mechanical issues on day two gave Combrink and Bell their first taste of victory.
The PYGA EuroSteel team reclaimed the top podium position on the third day, but a sprint for the finish on the fourth day left them in the dust as they once again finished behind Combrinck and Bell.
The NAD Pro MTB pair finished second overall, while Willie Smit and Brendon Davids (RoadCover) rounded off the men’s podium.
