Brendon Davids’ fine form proved to be too much for Philip Buys, who set out determined to make up the time deficit when he tackled the second day of the Champagne Valley National MTB Series this weekend.
Davids drew first blood on day one, when he took first place, three minutes ahead of Buys.
The PYGA Euro Steel rider and teammate Matthys Beukes set out from the start with a plan to get ahead of Davids as the pair were not prepared to settle for second place.
“On the second day I went and, together with Matthys, we decided to make the racing as hard as possible for Brendon from the start,” said Buys.
The technical course at the fourth round of the National MTB Series suited Philip Buys as he fought to catch leader Brendon Davids on the second day of the event in the Drakensberg this weekend. Photo: ZC Marketing Consulting
He said he and Beukes put in a number of attacks from the get go, once they’d passed through the neutral zone, and did their best to maintain the momentum.
“We knew if we set a fast pace from the start we’d be putting everyone, not just Brendon, on the back foot so that’s what we tried to do,” he said.
The 28-year-old said despite their best efforts to crack Davids, the RoadCover rider responded strongly to everything they threw at him.
“Eventually the two of us got away and it looked like we had him but he steadily rode up and caught up to me.
“Unfortunately from then on we just couldn’t match him and about 16km from the finish he got that final gap on me,” said Buys.
The event, the fourth of a seven part series, took place at Champagne Sports Resort and was new to many of the riders.
“Being unfamiliar with the course, it made it harder to plan your attacks so we just did our best to position ourselves in prime positions to tackle whatever came.”
Despite facing the route for the first time, Buys said he had felt confident as it was a technical course with short and punchy climbs that suited the PYGA Euro Steel pair well.
“Matthys and I we tried everything we could do get the best of Davids but he really was strong.
“At the end of it all, we’re not at all disappointed with second and third.”
After the two days it was Davids who finished first overall with Buys having an overall time five minutes slower and Beukes finishing third a further four minutes behind.
In the women’s category Amy McDougall took the title for the fourth round of the series as she finished first on both days.
