Race Report - Stage 4
Kamanassie
Kamanassie! If the name conjured up visions of Heaven and Hell in anticipation of today's 103 km, 4th stage of the Cape Pioneer Trek, then, at the end of the day, it was indelibly imprinted on the traumatised psyches of all who rode into this immense and overpowering wilderness area between De Rust and Uniondale.
The leading teams spent all but an hour and a bit of today's heavy-duty challenge getting in and out of this gloriously beautiful Nowhere Land to finish in 5.36.37 with half a minute between the top two. For the second day in a row Donovan Jackson and Roan Exelby of Tread Magazine took the stage honours from General Classification leaders Erik Kleinhans and Johnny Kritizinger (Memory FoundationVelotex). And with Squirt's Lieb Loots and Cornelius Muller less than a minute back and still third after this stage's 2444m of climbing, the G.C. at the top remains more-or-less the same.
Strong winds were again a feature of today's serious struggle. These blew cold in and out of Kamanassie, and from the front when that part of the ordeal was over, but there were still 60 odd kilometres of rolling country roads (with one nasty pimple in the middle) to contend with.
Today's upset came, again, in the Mixed section where G.C. leaders Peter and Ischen Stopforth (Marsillio Products) were convincingly trounced by Schwinn's Petrus Malherbe and Janneke Leask'(6.07.59) who are now only two-and-a-half minutes from the top G.C. position. Fienie Barnard and Esther Lategan were impressive yet again in the Women's Category with a zesty 6.39.54.
The Infradev Dunkeld Cycle Veteran's team of Gus Klohn and Mark Wiederkehr took today's stage to stay at the top in their category but once again, very much in the shadow of the Sludge super-toppies, Masters Category leaders, Brian Strauss and Linus van Onselen, in a head-shaking 6.11.12. What made the latter's performance even more remarkable was that Van Onselen lost the sole of one shoe in the middle of the wilderness and having tacked it together with cable ties, was obliged to limp in with a severely impaired pedal stroke.
The dynamic European duo of Christoph Sauser and Bobby Behan, who were on the podium yesterday, picked up mechanical problems in the Kamanassie as did the Squirt boys when Muller punctured again. The overseas SpecializedSongo guys, who are the most popular team in the event were rumoured, like so many other teams, to have suffered a slight lapse in their highly developed senses of humour.
Apparently senses of humour took a general pounding along with other more tangible, physical, aspects of interaction with today's route. There were certainly a few disgruntled back-markers coming out of Kamanassie as survivors more than competitors. And even riders who thrive in technical conditions admitted, sadly, that they were too tired to enjoy the descents.
In the wilderness section there were scenes reminiscent of a war zone and special arrangements had to be made to evacuate those casualties who were quite willing, for the most part, to admit that their injuries were mainly the result of inadequate preparation: they just ran out of legs! But they had been warned and many of those who bailed today acknowledged this reason and were unstinting in their praise of the organisation and of the event generally. Now they know what to expect.
With tomorrow's 113 km stage to George beckoning, and described as probably the hardest of the race, there is little doubt that the Cape Pioneer Trek will become the must-do challenge in South African mountain bike stage racing. Many Epic veterans (some of whom bailed) rate it higher in many respects certainly toughness. It probably won't get to be as big as the other event (the organisers don't want that) but in status and public interest like so much of the route it is on its way up!
Results, Race Report & Photos for Stage 4 of the Cape Pioneer Trek
www.capepioneer.co.za
Kamanassie
Kamanassie! If the name conjured up visions of Heaven and Hell in anticipation of today's 103 km, 4th stage of the Cape Pioneer Trek, then, at the end of the day, it was indelibly imprinted on the traumatised psyches of all who rode into this immense and overpowering wilderness area between De Rust and Uniondale.
The leading teams spent all but an hour and a bit of today's heavy-duty challenge getting in and out of this gloriously beautiful Nowhere Land to finish in 5.36.37 with half a minute between the top two. For the second day in a row Donovan Jackson and Roan Exelby of Tread Magazine took the stage honours from General Classification leaders Erik Kleinhans and Johnny Kritizinger (Memory FoundationVelotex). And with Squirt's Lieb Loots and Cornelius Muller less than a minute back and still third after this stage's 2444m of climbing, the G.C. at the top remains more-or-less the same.
Strong winds were again a feature of today's serious struggle. These blew cold in and out of Kamanassie, and from the front when that part of the ordeal was over, but there were still 60 odd kilometres of rolling country roads (with one nasty pimple in the middle) to contend with.
Today's upset came, again, in the Mixed section where G.C. leaders Peter and Ischen Stopforth (Marsillio Products) were convincingly trounced by Schwinn's Petrus Malherbe and Janneke Leask'(6.07.59) who are now only two-and-a-half minutes from the top G.C. position. Fienie Barnard and Esther Lategan were impressive yet again in the Women's Category with a zesty 6.39.54.
The Infradev Dunkeld Cycle Veteran's team of Gus Klohn and Mark Wiederkehr took today's stage to stay at the top in their category but once again, very much in the shadow of the Sludge super-toppies, Masters Category leaders, Brian Strauss and Linus van Onselen, in a head-shaking 6.11.12. What made the latter's performance even more remarkable was that Van Onselen lost the sole of one shoe in the middle of the wilderness and having tacked it together with cable ties, was obliged to limp in with a severely impaired pedal stroke.
The dynamic European duo of Christoph Sauser and Bobby Behan, who were on the podium yesterday, picked up mechanical problems in the Kamanassie as did the Squirt boys when Muller punctured again. The overseas SpecializedSongo guys, who are the most popular team in the event were rumoured, like so many other teams, to have suffered a slight lapse in their highly developed senses of humour.
Apparently senses of humour took a general pounding along with other more tangible, physical, aspects of interaction with today's route. There were certainly a few disgruntled back-markers coming out of Kamanassie as survivors more than competitors. And even riders who thrive in technical conditions admitted, sadly, that they were too tired to enjoy the descents.
In the wilderness section there were scenes reminiscent of a war zone and special arrangements had to be made to evacuate those casualties who were quite willing, for the most part, to admit that their injuries were mainly the result of inadequate preparation: they just ran out of legs! But they had been warned and many of those who bailed today acknowledged this reason and were unstinting in their praise of the organisation and of the event generally. Now they know what to expect.
With tomorrow's 113 km stage to George beckoning, and described as probably the hardest of the race, there is little doubt that the Cape Pioneer Trek will become the must-do challenge in South African mountain bike stage racing. Many Epic veterans (some of whom bailed) rate it higher in many respects certainly toughness. It probably won't get to be as big as the other event (the organisers don't want that) but in status and public interest like so much of the route it is on its way up!
Results, Race Report & Photos for Stage 4 of the Cape Pioneer Trek
www.capepioneer.co.za
