HB Kruger and Regis Maniora won their third stage in a row to seal overall victory in the Liberty Waterberg MTB Encounter near Bela-Bela in Limpopo today.
HB Kruger (ASG-Cape Duo) leads the way on the final stage of the Liberty Waterberg MTB Encounter, presented by STANLIB, at the Sondela Nature Reserve in Bela-Bela today. Photo: Gerrie Kriel/Twin Productions SA
In the final stage, which culminated at the Sondela Nature Reserve after 59km of racing, the ASG-Cape Duo pair took a hard-fought three-second victory over ASG Store Paarl’s Hanco Kachelhoffer and Pieter Seyffert, who secured the runner-up spot in the general classification.
Kruger and his makeshift Luxembourg teammate clinched the top spot with an overall time of 6:50:18, a minute ahead of their closest rivals.
LikeToBike’s Floris Engelbrecht and Justin van der Linde finished a distant third overall after three successive podiums.
Kruger, who is based in Paarl, was delighted with their victory in his second appearance in the Waterberg Encounter, presented by STANLIB.
“It was a good feeling to win,” he said, admitting that he was more relaxed than during his debut.
“From my experience last year, I knew it would be an enjoyable race with a good vibe and I was looking forward to another challenging weekend.
“To take the victory added that little bit extra – it was the cherry on top.”
Kruger said he and Maniora were pushed hard on the final day after a less than perfect start.
“Earlier in the stage my teammate had a bit of a tumble, which put us on the back foot slightly.
“We were about a minute-and-a-half behind Hanco and Pieter and had to chase hard.
“Luckily we eventually caught up and were strong enough to stay with and then beat them in the sprint.”
Gerhard Strydom and Estelle Barbara Gous were equally undefeated over the weekend to win the mixed category in 8:30:26. Oscar and Mireille Koster were second with Richard Hoal and Yvette Roberts third.
Marie-Louise Kleynhans and Rentia van Tonder won the women’s race in 11:06:49.
