An on-form Gert Heyns claimed his first victory in the 80km Extreme mountain bike challenge at The Herald VW Cycle Tour on Saturday.
Heyns, who was last year’s runner-up, cruised into the finish at the Addo Polo Club alongside teammate Matthys Beukes to take line honours in a time of 3:05:55.
Beukes (Scott Factory Racing) finished a second further back, with former roadie Martin Wesemann (Giant) a distant third in 3:10:24.
The leaders started at an easy pace through the citrus orchards in cool and damp conditions.
Former winner Beukes went on the attack within the opening 10 kilometres, with Heyns quickly countering the move.
“I managed to get away and then rode at my own pace, floating just in front of the group,” said Heyns.
Beukes said his teammate’s escape had put Wesemann and the Kargo Pro trio of Alan Hatherly, Brendon Davids and William Mokgopo in a difficult position early on.
“They were chasing him and I was sitting on their wheels, so they were giving me a free ride. I tried to break their rhythm every once in a while with an attack, just to put them in the red for a bit.”
Heyns meanwhile continued riding hard up front and opened up a lead of around a minute over the chasing pack on the open gravel roads.
“Then on the single-track at Hayterdale Trails I managed to open the gap even further, so I could take it a bit easier up the Zuurberg Pass.”
Then, with 20km to go, Beukes put in a big effort on the final climb to bridge the gap to Heyns. From there, the two rolled in together to the finish.
In the women’s race, South African veteran marathon champion Yolande de Villiers rode strongly to take the title in 3:35:32.
She finished five minutes in front of fellow Oudtshoorn resident Fienie Barnard (3:40:33) with Siska van der Bijl third (3:54:22).
De Villiers demonstrated an encouraging return to form following a serious motor vehicle accident in September, in which she broke seven ribs and punctured a lung.
“I only started riding again towards the end of November, so I’m very grateful to be here today.”
The SasolRacing rider stayed with Barnard and the other female contenders until the top of the pass but opened up an unassailable lead on the single-track at the bottom.
“I’m so impressed with this route. The Eastern Cape has some hard riding with some beautiful single-track.”
The 60km Adventure was won by Calvin Batty (Coimbra Cycles) in 2:18:13. Elaine Batteson was the leading lady in 2:48:19.
In the 30km Powerade Leisure Challenge, the Van Wyk family enjoyed an emotional ride to celebrate the memory of their father, Kobus, who suffered a heart attack during last year’s race.
For more information, visit www.heraldcycletour.co.za.
Issued by:
Coetzee Gouws
082 575 7991
041 368 4992
coetzee@fullstopcom.com
www.fullstop.co.za
On behalf of:
The Herald VW Cycle Tour