Candice Lill and Adelheid Morath won the opening stage of the Wines2Whales Chardonnay that started at Lourensford Wine Estate, Somerset West, today.
The duo completed the 65km stage in 3:03:11, beating Robyn de Groot and Amy McDougall into second. Jennie Stenerhag and Nadine Rieder completed the podium.
The men’s event was won by Michiel van Aelbroeck and Erik Kleinhans, while Marc Greyling and Rohan Kennedy crossed the line in second. Alexander and Joshua Bezuidenhout came third.
Ziehaad Salie and Ila Stow won the mixed team race. Nikki Biesheuvel and Marc Barnfather were the runners-up, with Nicola Walker and Matthew Gillett third.
“The plan was to push the pace on the first climb, like we did last year,” said Lill.
“We managed to get a little gap over the dormakaba team of Robyn de Groot and Amy McDougall, but they closed it again on the rolling section that followed. Then, on a little kicker before waterpoint one, Amy seemed to be struggling a bit, so we accelerated again.
“We got a gap and pretty much held it steady all the way to the finish.”
Morath added that the racing was tough.
“Racing in the pouring rain from the start made it really difficult to see where we were going, especially following in the slippery and muddy singletracks.”
View more results below.
Candice Lill (pictured) and Adelheid Morath won stage one of the Wines2Whales Chardonnay in Somerset West today. Photo: Xavier Briel
Women
| 1 | Candice Lill & Adelheid Morath | 3:03:11 |
| 2 | Robyn de Groot & Amy McDougall | 3:04:43 |
| 3 | Jennie Stenerhag & Nadine Rieder | 3:13:46 |
| 4 | Ariane Luthi & Samara Sheppard | 3:24:17 |
| 5 | Alice Pirard & Sabine Spitz | 3:28:11 |
Men
| 1 | Michiel van Aelbroeck & Erik Kleinhans | 3:14:18 |
| 2 | Marc Greyling & Rohan Kennedy | 3:21:13 |
| 3 | Alexander Bezuidenhout & Joshua Bezuidenhout | 3:34:38 |
| 4 | Marko Visser & Raymond van Niekerk | 3:39:16 |
| 5 | Francois Joubert & Rohan Beukes | 3:43:58 |
Mixed
| 1 | Ziehaad Salie & Ila Stow | 3:47:52 |
| 2 | Nikki Biesheuvel & Marc Barnfather | 3:57:41 |
| 3 | Nicola Walker & Matthew Gillett | 3:58:09 |
| 4 | Steve Pylyser & Sylvie Allaert | 4:00:43 |
| 5 | Danie van Wyk & Rene du Preez | 4:02:31 |
General classification
Women
| 1 | Candice Lill & Adelheid Morath | 3:03:11 |
| 2 | Robyn de Groot & Amy McDougall | 3:04:43 |
| 3 | Jennie Stenerhag & Nadine Rieder | 3:13:46 |
| 4 | Ariane Luthi & Samara Sheppard | 3:24:17 |
| 5 | Alice Pirard & Sabine Spitz | 3:28:11 |
Men
| 1 | Michiel van Aelbroeck & Erik Kleinhans | 3:14:18 |
| 2 | Marc Greyling & Rohan Kennedy | 3:21:13 |
| 3 | Alexander Bezuidenhout & Joshua Bezuidenhout | 3:34:38 |
| 4 | Marko Visser & Raymond van Niekerk | 3:39:16 |
| 5 | Francois Joubert & Rohan Beukes | 3:43:58 |
Mixed
| 1 | Ziehaad Salie & Ila Stow | 3:47:52 |
| 2 | Nikki Biesheuvel & Marc Barnfather | 3:57:41 |
| 3 | Nicola Walker & Matthew Gillett | 3:58:09 |
| 4 | Steve Pylyser & Sylvie Allaert | 4:00:43 |
| 5 | Danie van Wyk & Rene du Preez | 4:02:31 |
