Toyota-Specialized makes a move on the Queen’s Stage of KAP sani2c
With a cool cloudy start to the day and a descent into the Umkomaas Valley without sun in their eyes, the top riders at KAP sani2c’s 92 km Queen’s Stage, focused on getting to the front of the bunch before the real challenge of making a break, either before or during the Iconic Climb at the 60 km mark.
It was Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje of Toyota Specialized who were able to make the break and now have an overall lead of 2 minutes 31 going into tomorrow’s final stage. They finished in 03:16:51. Imbuko {Type} Dev’s Marco Joubert and Wessel Botha (03:19:28) were second, and Insect Science’s Arno du Toit and Keagan Bontekoning were third (03:22:21).
The front batch that stuck together in the first part of the race was made up of Toyota-Specialized, Imbuko {Type} Dev A and B teams, Insect Science and the Young Guns from team Trek SA, Kai von During and Justin Chesterton. Stage 1’s Young Gun leaders, Unathi Nxumalo and Matthew Scott of Absolute Motion/Pump for Peace, were upfront until they had to stop for a flat tyre after about 18 kms, and could not make it back to the front group for the rest of the race.
"Matt Beers has just won Epic and is one of the strongest riders in the world at the moment, so it was not going to be easy catching them" - Joubert
The Insect Science team of Arno du Toit and Keagan Bontekoning crossed the Tile of Africa Bridge at 38 kms first, together with the leading bunch, and it appeared that Toyota-Specialised were off the back for a brief time. Nortje and Beers had experienced some technical issues, grass in Nortje’s derailleur, and a dropped chain, and they had to stop a couple of times and then chase back to the group.
Beers and Nortje then attacked and put in a sprint ahead of Iconic Climb at about the 50 km mark. Marco Joubert had a bush or vine caught in his derailleur and had to stop, and Insect Science passed them at that point. Toyota-Specialized put in a massive effort and moved away from the group, climbing on their own up the rest of Iconic. By the 72 km mark at ‘Haibo 1’ and “Haibo 2’ sections of the route, the gap had opened up to about two minutes.
Botha says: “We were in the front going into the Umko, but then when Matt and Tristan attacked we had to stop for Marco’s derailleur. We then had to chase and managed to pass Insect Science, but could not catch Matt and Tristan again. We then had to limit the damage, as anything can happen tomorrow.”
Joubert and Botha have two and a half minutes to make up to retain their title
Joubert says they focused on creating as big a gap as possible with the team behind them: “Matt Beers just won Epic and is one of the strongest riders in the world, so it was not going to be easy catching them. We just tried to ride as fast as possible to have a gap on third place, as you never know with mountain biking what is going to happen.”
Du Toit says: “We knew positioning would be really important early on, and Keagan was really aggressive to get in front down the Umko. At the end though, we were outridden up Iconic.”
Bontekoning says: “I fought quite hard, maybe too hard, and spent a bit too much energy on the flats.”
Insect Science are now in a strong position to podium at KAP sani2c
The Imbuko {Type} Dev B team of Pieter du Toit and Franko van Zyl and the Trek SA riders diced it out, but it was Du Toit and van Zyl who crossed the finish line in 4th place, less than 30 seconds ahead of von During and Chesterton (03:26:40), who took 5th place, as well as the Young Guns first place.
Women
Efficient Infiniti’s Kim Le Court and Samantha Sanders (04:01:07) did not appear to need to work very hard today to achieve their second stage win. The two Efficient Infiniti riders increased their gap in General Classification to nearly 39 minutes, making any changes in the order of things tomorrow, almost impossible. Sarah Hill and Elrika Harmzen of HH Women’s Racing (04:27:46) had a solid day of riding, but did not have the firepower to chase down Le Court and Sanders.
Sanders says: “We wanted to be safe down the Umko so we let the big bunch go and hooked up with a mixed team, and paced it really nicely. The drop down was probably my best in all my many years of riding sani2c, as there was no sun in our eyes – you could just see clearly and the views were amazing. We paced it steady down to the bottom through the waterpoint, and then kept a steady tempo on the climb up Iconic.”
With such a big lead on second place, Sanders says she is looking forward to the reverse start tomorrow, which sees the front riders having to pass through the full field: “We can hopefully really enjoy the vibe and finish safely.”
Kim Le Court and Sam Sanders (Efficient Infiniti) comfortably took first place in the Women’s Race.
With the Imbuko {Type} Dev women’s team of Danielle Strydom and Karla Stumpf sitting it out after having to withdraw with stomach issues yesterday, there was no meaningful racing amongst the women today. The Veteran Women’s Double Spoke team of Kerry Campbell and Cheryl Robinson came across the line at King’s Harvest School after 05:44:18, and this was enough to be placed third overall.
Sarah Hill and Elrika Harmzen of HH Women’s Racing were happy with a solid day of riding for second place.
Bell Equipment’s Jason Davies and Hayley Smith convincingly won the Mixed category again, in a time of 04:14:30. The pair are now nearly 41 minutes ahead on General Classification.
Tomorrow is a fast 80 kms from Jolivet Farm to Scottburgh Golf Club to decide the KAP sani2c champions for 2023. The race is broadcast live on the KAP sani2c Instagram: _sani2c
STAGE TWO RESULTS
MEN
Toyota-Specialized (Matt Beers/Tristan Nortje) 03:16:51
Imbuko {Type} Dev A (Marco Joubert/Wessel Botha) 03:19:28
Insect Science 1 (Arno du Toit/Keagan Bontekoning) 03:22:21
Imbuko {Type} Dev B (Pieter du Toit/Franko van Zyl) 03:26:14
Trek SA (Kai von During/Justin Chesterton) 03:26:40
WOMEN
Efficient Infiniti (Kim Le Court/Sam Sanders) 04:01:07
HH Women’s Racing (Sarah Hill/Elrika Harmzen) 04:27:46
Double Spoke (Kerry Campbell/Cheryl Robinson) 05:44:18
MIXED
Bell Equipment (Jason Davies/Hayley Smith) 04:14:30
Restonic-02-AmriC-Faces (Rimani Sutton/Fritz Pienaar) 04:30:30
The Peanut Gallery (Steve Mee/Caitlin Mee) 04:43:55
YOUNG GUNS MEN
Trek SA (Kai von During/Justin Chesterton) 03:26:40
ACT (Thomas Hudson/Keagan Tullis) 03:37:10
Absolute Motion/Pump for Peace (Matthew Scott/Unathi Nxumalo) 03:44:47
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
MEN
Toyota-Specialized (Matt Beers/Tristan Nortje) 06:09:37
Imbuko {Type} Dev A (Marco Joubert/Wessel Botha) 06:12:09 +02:31
Insect Science 1 (Arno du Toit/Keagan Bontekoning) 06:17:51 +08:13
Imbuko {Type} Dev B (Pieter du Toit/Franko van Zyl) 06:21:29 +11:52
Trek SA (Kai von During/Justin Chesterton) 06:26:58 +17:21
WOMEN
Efficient Infiniti (Kim Le Court/Sam Sanders) 07:31:00
HH Women’s Racing (Sarah Hill/Elrika Harmzen) 08:09:54 + 38:53
Double Spoke (Kerry Campbell/Cheryl Robinson) 10:18:28 +02:47:46
MIXED
Bell Equipment (Jason Davies/Hayley Smith) 07:49:24
Restonic-02-AmriC-Faces (Rimani Sutton/Fritz Pienaar) 08:30:13 +40:49
The Peanut Gallery (Steve Mee/Caitlin Mee) 08:34:16 + 44:52
YOUNG GUNS MEN
Trek SA (Kai von During/Justin Chesterton) 06:26:58
ACT (Thomas Hudson/Keagan Tullis) 06:40:35 + 13:36
Absolute Motion/Pump for Peace (Matthew Scott/Unathi Nxumalo) 06:44:28 +17:30