Waylon Woolcock and HB Kruger put the finishing touches to their first appearance in the PwC Great Zuurberg Trek mountain bike race outside Port Elizabeth today by winning the title in convincing style.
The BCX duo won their third stage in a row, edging their rivals by 20 seconds in today’s 50km stage at the Zuurberg Mountain Village, near the Addo Elephant National Park.
The Western Cape pair kicked hard at the end to cross the line in 2:11:40 for a combined race time of 8:08:01.
They were followed home by the Ascendis-LCB outfit of Gert Heyns and Arno du Toit, who finished in 2:12:00, taking the second spot in the general classification in 8:12:30.
Waylon Woolcock (left) and HB Kruger of BCX negotiate a technical section en route to winning the final stage and overall title at the PwC Great Zuurberg Trek mountain bike race outside Port Elizabeth today. Photo: Full Stop Communications
Defending champion Andrew Hill, who teamed up with Marco Joubert for TIB Insurance-Momsen, finished third on the day in 2:12:16 for third place overall in 8:15:49.
With a four-minute buffer going into the technically challenging final stage, Woolcock said their strategy was based on defence rather than attack.
“We knew something serious would have to go wrong for us to blow the four-minute lead and we just tried to make sure that did not happen,” he said.
With the title in the bag, Woolcock said they spotted an opportunity with about a kilometre to go.
The overall men’s podium at the PwC Great Zuurberg Trek mountain bike race, which took place outside Port Elizabeth, are, from left, Andrew Hill and Marco Joubert (TIB Insurance-Momsen), HB Kruger and Waylon Woolcock (BCX) and Gert Heyns and Arno du Toit (Ascendis-LCB. Photo: Shayne Minott
“It wasn’t really planned, but we saw Arno taking a bit of strain coming up the last drag to the finish so we just put the hammer down for the stage win,” said Woolcock.
Woolcock said he and Joubert had enjoyed their first experience in one of the Eastern Cape’s premier mountain bike races.
“Besides the great hospitality and organisation, the terrain is amazing, with lots of variety and it can be quite gnarly and rough in some places.
“As a climber, I enjoyed the fact that the stages finished at the top of a mountain every day.”
Having added the Zuurberg title to the Winelands Encounter they won last month, Woolcock said it was important for them to show their credentials.
“At the end of the day it’s all about giving back to our sponsors and getting as much coverage as we can so this win fits in with our team objectives.”
Mixed section champions Neill Ungerer (front) and Yolande de Villiers of Dryland-Ultimate Cycling in action during the third and final stage of the PwC Great Zuurberg Trek mountain bike race outside Port Elizabeth today. Photo: Shayne Minott
Knowing they needed to force the pace for a shot at the overall victory, Heyns and Du Toit said they tried to put on the pressure from early on.
“But the BCX guys rode very well defensively and kept getting onto the single-track in front and we couldn’t really get away,” said Du Toit.
Hill, who won in 2014 and last year, said he and Joubert also tried to go hard from the start, but knew that BCX would make a charge on the final climb.
“That’s what happened. We almost got second, but didn’t quite make it, and that’s how racing goes.”
The mixed title went to Neill Ungerer and Yolande de Villiers of Dryland-Ultimate Cycling, who dominated all three stages for a decisive victory.
GZT-Pedigree’s Siska van der Bijl, who won the women’s category alongside Annie Davids, said the event had a bright future.
“Trevor and Rob Hayter (the race founders) and their team did a wonderful job and the amount of work they put in was amazing.”
