Olympian Alan Hatherly and 2014 Commonwealth Games cylist Mariske Strauss both put on commanding performances and dominated their Elite races at the second round of the 2017 SA National MTB Cup Series XCO at the Wolwespruit Bike Park in Tshwane on Saturday.
Hatherly (Team Spur) commanded his race over six laps of the short and punchy four-kilometre track in a time of 1hr 22min 54sec, winning the Elite Men race by less than a minute over fellow Olympian Philip Buys (Team PYGA Eurosteel) in 1:23:38, with Matthys Beukes (Team PYGA Eurosteel) finishing third in 1:25:21.
Speaking about his race, Hatherly (pictured above) said: ‘When racing at altitude, you always have to play it smart tactically. If you start too hard, you will pay the price at the end.’
Hatherly completed the first lap in Buys’ wake. ‘I was sussing out the first lap and playing it safe. I felt good, but Phil seemed to play tactically and was trying to get Matthys to link with us. That wouldn’t have worked to my favour so I pushed off on the first main climb of the lap and rolled off and settled into my own pace.’
The Rio Olympian’s attack placed a suitable gap between himself and Buys, which he managed to maintain throughout the remaining laps. ‘I gapped it and kept the pace up, and kept the gap up, attacking every descent and finding the flow. On the whole it was a good race.’
Hatherly’s next race is the third round of the National Cup Series in Bloemfontein on 6 May, before he heads off to the island of Mauritius for the African Continental Championships. Thereafter he returns home briefly before jetting off to Europe on 14 May for the UCI MTB World Cups in the Czech Republic and Germany.
The Elite Women’s race saw a battle for podium positions between Ariane Luthi (Team Spur), Frankie du Toit (Absolute Motion) and Bianca Haw (Red Bull) as race winner Strauss (OMX Pro Team) surged ahead in complete control, posting the fastest laps in each of her five laps and claiming her victory in a time of 1:27:15. Luthi was the second rider home in 1:33:30, with Du Toit rounding out the podium in a time of 1:35:07.
The current national champion (in action above) said: ‘My race went smoothly – I have to admit I was a tiny bit nervous as I wasn’t sure how my legs would perform. My game plan was to gradually open the valves and that seemed to have worked for me.’
Strauss adopted the approach of trying to chase the men’s lap times, in a racing format where every category races on the exact same course (apart from the Nippers and Sprogs on a shortened course). It showed in her lap times, which were in the 17 and even 16 minute bracket.
‘I’m happy with how it went,’ she said. ‘Now to pack again as I prepare to set off for the Swiss Cup next week.’
The Junior Men raced four laps, with Pieter du Toit claiming victory in a time of 1:00:36. Ryan Conradie and Mulder Oosthuizen’s tight battle ensued until the very end, with the former taking second place in 1:02:43 and Oosthuizen third, five seconds behind.
Fresh from her recent European campaign, Tiffany Keep kept a one-minute buffer between herself and second placed Danielle Strydom to take the victory in the Junior Women’s race in 56:35. Azulde Britz rounded out the podium in 1:00:28.
Luke Moir, who has also recently competed in Europe, managed to keep Jamie Penfold at bay to secure his victory in 48:54 in the Youth Men’s race, with Penfold taking second place five seconds behind in the three-lap battle. Daniel van der Walt finished in third place, only one second behind Penfold.
Also competing over three laps, the Youth Women’s race saw Zandri Strydom take victory in 57:24. Christelle Coetzer finished in second place in a time of 1:05:55, while Andrea De Waal finished in third place (1:07:16).
The third round of the 2017 SA National MTB Cup Series XCO takes place in Bloemfontein on Saturday 6 May.
Pictures of Hatherly and Strauss courtesy of Etienne Schoeman
Summary of Results
Elite Men (six laps)
1 Alan Hatherly 22:54
2 Philip Buys 23:38
3 Matthys Beukes 25:21
4 Jan Withaar 26:32
5 Stuart Marais 26:49
6 Arno Du Toit 28:19
7 Julian Jessop 29:23
8 Dominic Calitz 29:35
9 Franco Pelser 31:36
10 Tristan De Lange 32:27
Elite Women (5 laps)
1 Mariske Strauss 1:27:15
2 Ariane Lüthi 1:33:30
3 Frances Du Toit 1:35:07
4 Bianca Haw 1:37:06
5 Sarah Hill 1:38:25
Junior Men (4 laps)
1 Pieter Du Toit 1:00:36
2 Ryan Conradie 1:02:43
3 Mulder Oosthuizen 1:02:48
Junior Women (3 laps)
1 Tiffany Keep 56:35
2 Danielle Strydom 57:39
3.Azulde Britz 1:00:28
Youth Men (3 laps)
1 Luke Moir 48:54
2 Jamie Penfold 48:59
3 Daniel Van Der Walt 49:00
Youth Women (3 laps)
1 Zandri Strydom 57:24
2 Christelle Coetzer 1:05:55
3 Andrea De Waal 1:07:16
Sub Junior Boys (3 laps)
1 Luca Ruwiel 56:16
2 Ben Du Plessis 59:00
3 Jordan Bold 59:20
Sub Junior Girls (2 laps)
1 Chante Olivier 43:34
2 Chloe Bateson 46:44
Sprog Boys (4 laps)
1 Alec Coleske 27:24
2 Ernest Roets 28:03
3 Francois de Jager 28:08
Sprog Girls (3 laps)
1 Lilian Baber 22:48
2 Olivia Penfold 23:59
3 Riley Smith 24:37
Nipper Boys (3 laps)
1 Luca Zietsman 22:43
2 Logan Stander 22:48
3 Jed Bridger 23:49
Nipper Girls (2 laps)
1 Hannah Elliot 16:56
2 Danel de Jager 17:15
3 Megan Botha 19:51
Sub Vet Men (4 laps)
1 Armand Du Toit 1:05:59
2 Matthys Koekemoer 1:06:46
3 Petrus Malherbe 1:09:14
Sub Vet Women (3 laps)
1 Theresa Ralph 1:01:23
Veteran Men (4 laps)
1. Mark Moir 1:13:11
2 Rynard Van Hoven 1:14:11
3 Xavier Berteau 1:21:51
Master Men (3 laps)
1 Colin Gibbings 1:06:18
2 Marc Ruwiel 1:07:54
3 Daniel Marneweck 1:15:44