Matt Beers was the overall winner of the Knysna Bull following his victory in the third stage today.
Matt Beers takes the stage win and overall victory at the Knysna Bull today. Photo by Seamus Allardice.
He rode away with the grand prize of R100 000.
Beers, who rides for NAD Pro MTB, won the prologue and all three stages of the event. Rogan Smart (The Bike Shop) finished second in the third stage, followed closely by Justin Tuck in third.
The grand prize winner among the women was Anne Terpstra, who tied for first in the 52km third stage with Ghost Factory Racing teammate Barbara Benko. Amy McDougall, who rides for team dormakaba, completed the podium.
“Because I started off pretty well I could control everything a little bit more for the past two days,” said Terpstra, who also won R100 000.
“I wanted to use this race as preparation for the Cape Epic, so I still tried to push as much as I could. I wanted to be fast but not destroy myself completely and I think that worked out super nice.
“I am happy to take the win, but I am also happy with my four days of riding.”
Taking the Young Bulls title was Tristan Nortje, who was followed by Henry Liebenberg and Willie van Eck in second and third respectively.
Like Beers, Nortje won all the stages and the prologue.
Danielle Strydom, who rides for Trek Bikes SA, was the women’s Young Bull champion. Second was Frances Janse van Rensburg (Absolute Motion) with Christie Hearder (Absolute Motion) third.
Strydom had Janse van Rensburg on her tail for each stage, but came out tops every time.
“Coming into it I knew I was going to be up against some tough young ladies. We might be young but we are mighty,” said Strydom.
“I was preparing myself for a hard race and that’s what it turned out to be. I was also expecting the fun, which got delivered first-hand. The ‘gees’ here is amazing.”
View provisional results below.
Stage three
Bull men
| 1 | Matt Beers | NAD Pro MTB | 1:56:48 |
| 2 | Rogan Smart | The Bike Shop | 2:07:33 |
| 3 | Justin Tuck | Gear Change SA | 2:07:48 |
Bull women
| 1 | Barbara Benko | Ghost Factory Racing | 2:19:39 |
| 2 | Anne Terpstra | Ghost Factory Racing | 2:19:39 |
| 3 | Amy McDougall | dormakaba | 2:25:05 |
Young Bull men (U23)
| 1 | Tristan Nortje | Imbuko Giant | 2:01:31 |
| 2 | Henry Liebenberg | Absolute Motion | 2:06:08 |
| 3 | Willie van Eck | Absolute Motion | 2:07:34 |
Young Bull women (U23)
| 1 | Danielle Strydom | Trek Bikes SA | 2:29:50 |
| 2 | Frances Janse van Rensburg | Absolute Motion | 2:32:11 |
| 3 | Christie Hearder | Absolute Motion | 2:37:13 |
General classification
Bull men
| 1 | Matt Beers | NAD Pro MTB | 6:33:15 |
| 2 | Justin Tuck | Gear Change SA | 7:07:47 |
| 3 | Rogan Smart | The Bike Shop | 7:11:10 |
Bull women
| 1 | Anne Terpstra | Ghost Factory Racing | 7:35:13 |
| 2 | Barbara Benko | Ghost Factory Racing | 7:39:47 |
| 3 | Robyn de Groot | dormakaba | 7:44:27 |
Young Bull men (U23)
| 1 | Tristan Nortje | Imbuko Giant | 6:46:29 |
| 2 | Henry Liebenberg | Absolute Motion | 7:01:56 |
| 3 | Wessel Redelinghuys | dormakaba | 7:08:42 |
Young Bull women (U23)
| 1 | Danielle Strydom | Trek Bikes SA | 8:12:55 |
| 2 | Frances Janse van Rensburg | Absolute Motion | 8:23:58 |
| 3 | Courteney Webb | Ciovita Cycling | 8:50:50 |
Log in or register to view the FULL provisional results for all age categories below:
