After a short break, the Ashburton Investments National MTB Series resumes on Saturday with Round 3 in Clarens, in the Free State province. The event also doubles as a round of the UCI Marathon World Series and has attracted a strong field.
After two rounds, South African Waylon Woolcock (Red-E Blend) leads the prestigious national MTB series in the ultra-marathon category where the Elite and Under-23 men do battle. He has a slim two-point lead over Swiss rider, Konny Looser (Meerendal Wheeler), with Erik Kleinhans (RECM) in third.
Stunning Scenery as riders make their way through the Maluti Mountains at MTB Clarens.
Expect all three to be on the start line of the 120km race in Clarens, although for Woolcock, the trip to Clarens in itself was a challenge as he and teammate Darren Lill were unable to secure team sponsorship after the Cape Epic. Woolcock, will be racing in neutral kit, but wearing the series leader’s orange jersey.
“Being in the leader’s jersey and with a possible good pay day if I have a good result, I made a plan to get to Clarens,” said Woolcock. “I reckon I have some decent form but it’s hard to tell how the body will respond in the first major race after the Cape Epic. I’ll be giving my all though, that’s for certain.”
Winner of the previous round at Sabie, Max Knox (Biogen Volcan) will also be lining up and eager to secure his second title of the 2015 Series. He’s in superb form with his sights set on claiming the overall National Series title for a second time.
Also expect a strong performance from Matt Beers. The third-placed finisher at Sabie rode himself into the national series limelight with that result and confirmed that he’s a rising star in the discipline after only focussing on marathon racing for the past two years.
Other podium contenders in the men’s race include Germany’s Stefan Sahm (Bulls), Nico Bell (RECM), Gawie Combrinck and Johann Rabie (EAI Cycling), Adriaan Louw (Contego Swift) and Darren Lill.
The women’s race is likely to be another showdown between RECM’s Series leader, Ariane Kleinhans and the Ascendis Health pair of Robyn de Groot and Jennie Stenerhag, who occupy the top three Series positions respectively.
Kleinhans and Danish teammate Annika Langvad were dominant winners of last month’s Cape Epic with the Ascendis Health pair finishing runners up.
The infamous slick rock climb at MTB Clarens.
De Groot has been struggling with a fractured clavicle and Clarens will be her first major post-injury test to see if she can dethrone the flying Kleinhans, who was second at Round 1 in Meerendal and winner at Round 2 in Sabie. Also expect Theresa Ralph (RBS), to be in the battle for a podium place.
Ralph won the Clarens event in 2014 and is eager to try and defend her title after struggling to find her best form in the summer.
“The terrain does suit me and I’ve got quite good form, but I think more than that, I have altitude conditioning on my side. I seem to cope better with the altitude than the coastal riders as I live and train in Johannesburg,” said Ralph.
The average elevation of the Clarens course is 1700 metres above sea level, similar to that of Johannesburg.
The women will race over the 75km marathon distance and also likely to be in the podium hunt are Theresa Ralph (RBS), Candice Neethling, Yolandi du Toit (Garmin) and Cherise Stander (RECM).
The route is probably the most visually appealing and varied of all the National MTB series events. But it’s also likely to be the most challenging. It follows gravel road, jeep track, huge rock-trails and singletrack over some of the most incredible rock landscapes of the Eastern Free State.
It’s a new route and traverses mostly private land with an abundance of wild life. The race starts and finishes in the Clarens Town Square and crosses the Maluti Mountains on the edge of the Lesotho border.
The trails for the route have been built and maintained by the Working on Fire teams, when they aren’t fighting fires. This not only creates sustainable trails but also injects money into local tourism well after the race has been run.
The event has shown a steady growth since it became part of the Ashburton Investments National MTB Series. It attracted 1550 entrants in 2012 and is expected to be around 2200 this year.
On Sunday, there will be a 48km Half-marathon as well as 20km and 10km fun rides, making it a worthwhile weekend getaway for the whole family.
For more information, visit www.nationalmtbseries.com. For full results, visit: www.saseeding.co.za.
2015 Ashburton Investments National MTB Series Standings
Elitemen – 115km Ultra-marathon:
1. Waylon Woolcock
2. Konny Looser
3. Erik Kleinhans
4. Mathew Beers
5. Stefan Sahm
6. Arno Du Toit
7. Nico Bell
8. Gawie Combrinck
9. Adriaan Louw
10.Timo Cooper
Elitewomen – 72km marathon:
1. Ariane Kleinhans
2. Robyn De Groot
3. Jennie Stenerhag
4. Candice Neethling
5. Nicola Gilliomee
