Sarah Hill and Theresa Ralph remain a force to be reckoned with after winning the women’s team race on stage four of joBerg2c that finished at Emseni Camp, Winterton, today.
Hill, who had placed first alongside Ralph since the opening day, felt the 91km stage was a “true love-hate relationship”.
“We entered absolutely amazing singletrack at the Great Wall My China and the Emzeni drop with the end finishing off with one of my favorites – the Long Drop. Every single person ended the day with a massive smile.
“In the middle of these awesome sections were a whole lot of dirt roads where my partner once again showed her strength.”
Hill added that this course was the start to all the best singletrack the country had to offer.
“Every singletrack section on today’s route we entered the world of Berg & Bush and these trails rock.”
The Galileo Risk rider said her legs were starting to “feel pretty tired” and the accelerations were starting to fade.
“But we know that around day five and six is where the body adapts and starts to get stronger. I can’t wait for that.”
Sarah Hill (right) and Theresa Ralph (left) won the women’s team race on stage four of joBerg2c that finished at Emseni Camp, Winterton, today. Photo: Supplied
Darkhorse Wheels-Insured by TIB’s Andrew Hill and Shaun-Nick Bester also continued to dominate the men’s team race.
“We managed to win overall today after beating HB [Kruger] and Matthys [Beukes] to the line,” said Bester.
“Even though they’re not our competition as they ride in the solo race, it’s nice to be able to say that we won the stage overall and there was absolutely no one in front of us.”
He added that it was quite a nice stage and that the route was good with a lot of flowing singletrack.
“On the first climb of the day I made it a bit hard and the group split. It was myself, HB, Matthys and Andrew. From there we worked together well.
“Going down the Long Drop, which was the last real technical singletrack section to the finish, I went into it first and rode as fast as I could to keep the guys on the edge.”
He said coming into the finish he went underneath the bridge with 700m to go, opened a gap and kept going.
“As I came to the finish, the gap was 300m to the others and I waited before the line for Andrew as he outsprinted the other two.”
More results can be viewed below.
Stage four results
Men’s teams
1. Andrew Hill & Shaun-Nick Bester (Darkhorse Wheels-Insured by TIB) 3:11:15
2. Luke Evans & Craig Uria (Sage Racing) 3:19:08
3. Julian Gavillet & Ecoffey Sylvain (Sylvains Team) 3:19:08
4. Gerrie Beukes & Johan Labuschagne (Cool Beans) 3:29:19
5. Darren Constantinou & Craig Kingham (Team Sage 2) 3:35:33
Women’s teams
1. Sarah Hill & Theresa Ralph (Galileo Risk) 3:34:54
2. Auralia Edwards & Gina Wills (Seattle Speed) 4:19:31
3. Sandra Lippert & Heather Craemer (Crazy Nam Gals) 5:00:16
Mixed teams
1. Michael Posthumus & Amy McDougall (dormakaba Mixed) 3:23:36
2. Ben Melt Swanepoel & Yolandi du Toit (Garmin) 3:43:41
3. Overney Corinne & Vincent Flueck (Ekibike-Dupasquier Sports) 3:59:57
4. Amy van Zuydam & Wessel Burger (FRIB – Mixed A) 4:05:41
5. Estelle Gous & Gerhard Strydom (Team X) 4:40:01
Solo men
1. Matthys Beukes 3:11:18
2. HB Kruger 3:11:18
3. Mark Vennix 3:44:22
4. Deon van Vuuren 3:30:08
5. Riaan Weideman 3:38:28
6. Kristof De Neys 3:32:33
7. Kristof Sterckx 3:32:01
8. Cedric Deltour 3:41:41
9. Mark Prince 3:42:32
10. Herman Swart 3:42:32
Solo women
1. Sandra Hart 3:46:56
2. Monica Glover 4:00:39
3. Yvette Roberts 4:09:47
4. Caroline Francis 4:42:56
5. Yolanda Witteveen 4:39:00
6. Tracy Watcham 4:35:03
7. Heidi Gugliotta 4:55:49
8. Ester Soriano 4:52:10
9. Nadine Klopper 4:57:57
10. Nelina Brand 4:59:28
General classification
Men’s teams
1. Andrew Hill & Shaun-Nick Bester (Darkhorse Wheels-Insured by TIB) 15:58:23
2. Luke Evans & Craig Uria (Sage Racing) 16:30:24
3. Julian Gavillet & Ecoffey Sylvain (Sylvains Team) 16:31:27
4. Gerrie Beukes & Johan Labuschagne (Cool Beans) 16:57:34
5. Darren Constantinou & Craig Kingham (Team Sage 2) 17:39:07
Women’s teams
1. Sarah Hill & Theresa Ralph (Galileo Risk) 17:22:06
2. Auralia Edwards & Gina Wills (Seattle Speed) 19:46:09
3. Sandra Lippert & Heather Craemer (Crazy Nam Gals) 22:44:16
Mixed teams
1. Michael Posthumus & Amy McDougall (dormakaba Mixed) 16:35:16
2. Ben Melt Swanepoel & Yolandi du Toit (Garmin) 18:03:17
3. Overney Corinne & Vincent Flueck (Ekibike-Dupasquier Sports) 18:34:12
4. Amy van Zuydam & Wessel Burger (FRIB – Mixed A) 19:12:35
5. Estelle Gous & Gerhard Strydom (Team X) 19:54:55
Solo men
1. Matthys Beukes 15:49:41
2. HB Kruger 15:49:41
3. Mark Vennix 17:17:36
4. Deon van Vuuren 17:18:58
5. Riaan Weideman 17:22:19
6. Kristof De Neys 17:23:36
7. Kristof Sterckx 17:27:54
8. Cedric Deltour 17:43:46
9. Mark Prince 17:43:51
10. Herman Swart 17:46:38
Solo women
1. Sandra Hart 18:14:12
2. Monica Glover 18:57:26
3. Yvette Roberts 19:35:37
4. Caroline Francis 20:54:39
5. Yolanda Witteveen 21:01:10
6. Tracy Watcham 21:11:25
7. Heidi Gugliotta 21:38:22
8. Ester Soriano 21:51:18
9. Nadine Klopper 21:57:34
10. Nelina Brand 22:15:00
