Alan Hatherly and Mariske Strauss dominated the second SA MTB Cup Series race that took place in Johannesburg today.
Team Spur’s Alan Hatherly, seen here during the U23 race at last year’s UCI MTB World Championships, won the second SA MTB Cup Series XCO event in Johannesburg today. Photo: Michal Cerveny/UCI
It was the first race after seven weeks of recovery for the team Spur rider, who was the first South African finisher and placed fifth overall in the first race of the series in Stellenbosch last month.
“Going into Commonwealth Games I had to get used to a world class pace, so I went hard in the beginning to simulate a world cup style essentially and from there just pace it through to the end,” said Hatherly.
“It’s a really awesome course – super punchy and technical. It’s also a very physical track, so there’s no break from that aspect. I’m stoked to have raced here, win it and claim some more UCI points.”
Second place went to Arno du Toit with Jan Withaar completing the podium for the elite men.
“It’s always nice to come out here and race on a really natural course. It was super tough racing and I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m very happy with how my day went out there,” said Du Toit.
“We all have massive respect for Alan. It was hard to not get stuck in the motion of going with him. I tried to control myself and just sit back and relax.
“I knew my legs would be sort of like a diesel engine after Cape Epic, so I tried not to get too excited at the start and just drag it through to the end.”
Strauss won the elite women’s race and was followed home by Candice Lill and Michelle Vorster.
View more results below.
Round two
Elite men (six laps)
1. Alan Hatherly 1:28:02
2. Arno du Toit 1:30:02
3. Jan Withaar 1:30:33
4. Julian Jessop 1:32:53
5. Stuart Marais 1:33:22
6. Reinhard Zellhuber 1:35:06
7. Tristan de Lange 1:35:37
8. Henry Liebenberg 1:37:10
9. Pieter du Toit 1:37:32
10. Franco Pelser 1:38:37
Elite women (five laps)
1. Mariske Strauss 1:27:37
2. Candice Lill 1:28:34
3. Michelle Vorster 1:29:19
4. Sarah Hill 1:31:01
5. Cherie Redecker 1:33:42
6. Jessica Alcock 1:41:31
7. Rozalia Kubyana 1:43:14
8. Stacey Hyslop 1:45:16
9. Marli van Eeden 1:35:44
Junior men (five laps)
1. Alex Miller 1:17:52
2. Keagan Bontekoning 1:19:16
3. Jamie Penfold 1:19:48
4. Brendan van Eeden 1:22:05
5. Daniel van der Walt 1:23:17
Junior women (four laps)
1. Tiffany Keep 1:16:05
2. Zandri Strydom 1:18:38
3. Frances Janse van Rensburg 1:22:24
4. Emma van Coller 1:25:35
5. Robin Stewart
