Danish cross-country cyclist Sebastian Fini surged to his first Trailseeker win at the Banhoek Conservancy in Kylemore, outside Stellenbosch, on Saturday.
Sebastian Fini surged to his first Trailseeker win at the Banhoek Conservancy in Kylemore, on Saturday. Photo: Nick Muzik
The 24-year-old, who lives in Gentofte, Copenhagen, said it was always a good feeling to secure a win.
“That’s what I’m training and living for,” said Fini, who finished the 61km marathon in 2:27:43, beating Martins Blums by more than four minutes. Mathias Fluckiger finished third in 2:32:21.
“The Trailseeker was a perfect event with beautiful singletracks which made it so much fun to ride.
“I actually had no other goals than having lots of fun, riding my bike and smiling all the way.”
The CST PostNL Bafang rider said in the first few kilometres of the race the speed was “super high”.
“The guys really pushed and I just hung on.
“At the top of the first long climb I was in the leading group going to the first singletrack and from there on Mathias and I got a small gap that we held for a long time.
“With about 15km to go he had a mechanical problem that forced him to stop and I could ride on my own to the finish line and grab the win.”
Fini said even though the racing was hard he enjoyed the beautiful flowing singletrack sections.
“The route was cool, hard and flowy with a mix of singletrack, jeep track, steep climbs and gravel roads.”
He added that it was “so nice” to be in SA, and that the weather and surroundings were perfect for mountain biking.
“I enjoy racing these races with all the cool trails they have.
“In Denmark the weather is mostly really bad, wet and cool in the winter, so to be here is perfect preparation for the upcoming events in Europe,” said Fini, who is returning home on Wednesday.
