The Polish team of Piotr Brzozka and Mariusz Kozak dominated from the start to win the Sanlam Investments MTB Invitational at their first attempt in the Western Cape today.
The fifth edition of the two-stage mountain-bike race, presented by ASG Events, took place from the Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville, Cape Town.
Polish riders Mariusz Kozak (front) and Piotr Brzozka set the pace on the second stage of the Sanlam Investments MTB Invitational mountain-bike race, which finished at the Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville, Cape Town, today. Picture: Henk Neuhoff Photography
The JBG2 CryoSpace1 team built up a handy 10-minute cushion in yesterday’s opening stage and finished in 1:46:53 today for an overall time of 3:30:51.
This gave them a decisive 25-minute lead over Casper Pretorius and Tristan Nortje (Eden Young Guns), who crossed the line today in 1:55:30.
In third place were the second Polish team of Jacek Brzozka and Wojciech Halejak (JBG2 CryoSpace2) in 4:00:48.
Piotr Brzozka said they controlled the stage after an early attack by their rivals.
“We were able to defend that and from there we just tried to extend our lead whenever we could.”
A former professional cross-country cyclist, Brzozka competed in the 2012 Olympic Games and is in South Africa on a business trip.
He said he and Kozak, who live near each other in the south of Poland, had decided to take the opportunity to do some races in the country.
Corne Barnard (left) and Sarita Louw won the mixed category in the two-day Sanlam Investments MTB Invitational mountain-bike race, which finished at the Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville, Cape Town, today. Picture: Henk Neuhoff Photography
Although he had ridden in KwaZulu-Natal previously, Brzozka said his first visit to the Western Cape had been a memorable one.
“There are so many great single-tracks and a variety of trails so this region is really perfect,” he added.
“I will recommend coming here for anyone who wants to do some training and from the view of competing in races.”
The women’s race was won by Anneke Viljoen and Louise Ferreira, riding for Overberg MTB Events. They finished today’s stage in 2:20:25 for an overall time of 4:37:37.
In the mixed category, Corne Barnard and Sarita Louw (RA) took the honours in 4:26:53 after crossing the line today in 2:15:30.
