Former champion Andrew Hill will be targeting a return to the top spot on the podium when the PwC Great Zuurberg Trek mountain bike race takes place from Friday to Saturday.
Starting and finishing at the Zuurberg Mountain Village about 70km outside Port Elizabeth, Hill, from Durban, will be chasing his third title, in partnership with Shaun-Nick Bester.
Riding for TIB-Silverback-Best4Sport, Hill, the winner in 2015 and 2016, said he had developed a good partnership with Bester, a former road ace who has taken to the mountain-bike trails.
Durban rider Andrew Hill will be aiming to regain the men’s title in the PwC Great Zuurberg Trek mountain bike race when he teams up with Shaun-Nick Bester for the three-day event starting at Zuurberg Mountain Inn on Friday: Picture: Full Stop Communications
“I am definitely looking forward to this weekend because it is a top-class event,” said Hill. “The riding is great and we are always so well looked after.
“I felt this was a wonderful opportunity to invite Shaun-Nick to experience something different.”
Bester has shown his mountain-biking skill be winning the PE Plett team race and finishing third on the podium at the joBerg2c, partnering Declan Sidey on those occasions.
The women’s race has been boosted by the entry of Swiss mountain-biking star Ariane Luthi, who is based in Stellenbosch, but spends part of her year racing in Europe.
She will team up with five-time South African mountain bike marathon champion Robyn de Groot this weekend.
Swiss star Ariane Luthi will make her first appearance in the PwC Great Zuurberg Trek mountain bike race when she partners five-time national marathon champion Robyn de Groot in the three-day event starting at Zuurberg Mountain Inn on Friday: Picture: Ewald Sadie
A former Cape Epic champion (two women’s titles and three mixed), Luthi said she had jumped at the chance to partner De Groot at the event.
“Although we have had lots of competition on the bike, we are very good friends and I’m delighted about this chance to ride with her,” said Luthi.
Riding for Ascendis Health Spur, Luthi said she was looking forward to a race about which “I have heard only good things”.
With a wealth of experience in South African mountain bike races, including the popular Winelands Encounter, Luthi has had a taste of riding in the Eastern Cape previously.
“I did experience the Addo area in my first year in South Africa in 2011 when I competed in the Herald Cycle Tour mountain-bike race,” she said.
“I do remember beautiful mountain-biking terrain and I am very excited to be part of this event.”
The Swiss ace recently competed in the European mountain-bike marathon championship in Italy, where she was happy to take third place in the face of strong opposition.
