Events

Geldenhuys does the double at the Msunduzi Road Challenge 2013

· By BikeHubCoreAdmin · 1 comment

Port Elizabeth resident Francois Geldenhuys produced the fastest overall time on Sunday in the Road Race which coupled with his Time Trial victory on Saturday meant that he completed a pair of victories in his age category on a gloomy day in Noodsberg at the 2013 Msunduzi Road Challenge.

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In what proved to be more favourable conditions for riding compared to the Time Trial on Saturday and the pace of the front runners was quick with a number of fractures occurring along the route which split the field into a number of smaller bunches.

The pressure being applied from the riders was evident but with qualification for the 2014 UCI World Cycling Tour Finals up for grabs everyone was keeping their cards close to their chests and jostling for places in their age groups as opposed to overall positions.

“There was a bit of negative riding early on,” the 30-34 age category winner Geldenhuys said. “The guys that were specifically racing to qualify held us up a bit but when I managed to get free I felt a lot more comfortable. I have been doing a lot of mountain biking and I could feel that my training there really helped me today and gave me that extra bit of power that I needed. It was great to come all this way and take two wins from two, I’m really happy,” he added.

Geldenhuys claimed the fastest time of the day when he edged out 16-29 age category winner Adolf Krige by 47 seconds. Krige felt that he produced a great race and with the help of his team mate, Lionel Moolman, he managed to fend off a late attack from local man Kevin Benkenstein.

“It was a really hard course but the race was great and I am happy with how it turned out for me,” Krige said happily. “Myself and my riding partner made our move on the second lap and then at the sprint I managed to hold out for the win!”

Johannesburg resident Bruce Diesel had enough in the tank to hold off a last gasp effort from Alan Henry and Martinus Scheepers to take the title as the men’s 45-49 age category winner and add a first place to his second that he won in the Time Trial at the same venue on Saturday.

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“It was a pretty tough race with two pretty substantial climbs but we got away on the second climb when the group broke up into six riders. The sprint was pretty tough at the end because I was quite tired from yesterday so it was great that I had enough in the tank to win my age category,” the 45-49 winner Diesel said.

With a trip to Slovenia on the cards Diesel is also hoping that a shot at the MTB World Marathon Championships might also be a possibility. “It could be a really busy year for me next year and if all goes to plan I should get a lot of competitive riding done,” he said.

In the women’s race, Junita Venter produced a dominant display to claim the fastest time when she came home in 03.09.49 which gave her the double after she was the fastest during the Time Trial yesterday. Former World Champion and future mother in law to Chris Froome, Pauline Cound, managed a second today in the combined women’s 109km race and was pleased with her performance.

“It was a really tough race today and I battled on the climbs but I was happy with how I went,” she explained. In the men’s 80km race Johan Spies produced the fastest time to take the 60-64 age group one second ahead of Bobby Nefdt.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS –

MSUNDUZI ROAD CHALLENGE ROAD RACE

109km

16-29 Male

1. Adolf Krige 03.01.49

2. Kevin Benkenstein 03.01.50

3. Lionel Moolman 03.01.55

30-34 Male

1. Francois Geldenhuys 03.01.02

2. Michael Viljoen 03.04.28

3. Martin Hillerman 03.04.31

35-39 Male

1. Trevor Rowe 03.04.21

2. Justin Short 03.13.29

3. Johan du Preez 03.16.39

40-44 Male

1. Austin Steyn 03.03.52

2. Martin van Wyk 03.03.53

3. Tat Brummer 03.03.55

45-49 Male

1. Bruce Diesel 03.03.55

2. Alan Henry 03.03.56

3. Martinus Scheepers 03.03.57

50-54 Male

1. Jackie van Eeden 03.04.55

2. Gary Beneke 03.04.55

3. Paul Kraus 03.04.56

55-59 Male

1. Mark Beneke 03.04.55

2. Peter Coombes 03.06.45

3. Willem van den Berg 03.06.47

Female

1. Junita Venter 03.09.49

2. Pauline Cound 03.32.17

3. Mira Spring 03.42.34

4. Elzaan Mathewson 03.44.03

5. Lauren Snell 03.45.12

80km

60-64 Male

1. Johan Spies 02.24.19

2. Bobby Nefdt 02.24.20

3. Noel Ziady 02.25.04

65-69 Male

1. Peter Allen Haupt 02.36.07

2. Dave Corrin 02.43.31

3. Brian Evans 02.43.32

70-75 Male

1. Jan van den Berg 02.30.10

2. Hal Mclaren 02.41.05

3. Karel Dolak 02.43.32

75+ Male

1. Michael Smith 03.08.17

2. Walter Bradford 03.16.42

3. Arthur Duncan 03.30.43

55+ Female

1. Dionne Birkett 02.56.57

2. Jennifer Rigby 03.29.06

3. Maria Collins 04.04.34

4. Charmaine Clarke 04.05.22

Image credit: Anthony Grote/Gameplan Media

Comments

jebro7

Oct 29, 2013, 4:55 PM

Awesome job Francois! Well done on a great weekend of racing! Keep the PE flag flying bro!

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