Reigning Fedhealth XTERRA Buffelspoort Champions Bradley Weiss and Nicolette Griffioen obliterated the field on Saturday, 23 January 2016 when they successfully defended their Fedhealth XTERRA Buffelspoort titles in 02 hours 27 minutes 13 seconds and 02 hours 51 minutes 15 seconds respectively.
“Coming to XTERRA Buffelspoort as the defending champion, I had high hopes to do well,” says Weiss. “I haven’t been able to swim for the past three weeks due to a muscle injury in my back. As a result I wasn’t where I wanted to be in the swim, losing over 2 minutes to Basson Engelbrecht. To me a 1 minute deficit would be acceptable, but not 2 minutes. I came out of the swim into the mountain bike transition in round about 4th place, but managed to work my way up to 2nd place relatively quickly.”
Bradley Weiss in action on the day. Photo Credit: Tobias Ginsberg
“It took long before I could get a visual on Basson though,” continues Weiss. “I literally only caught him in the last 3km of the mountain bike discipline. Going into the trail run discipline I only had a 30 – 40 second lead on him. I didn’t think that would be enough. With the trail run featuring a lot of climbing, I knew it would be a strength run instead of a speed run. When I hadn’t seen Basson for a while, I started to take it a little easier as I still need to compete at the Fedhealth XTERRA in Port Elizabeth next weekend. I really enjoyed the route change. Stillwater Sports are always pushing the limits, looking to improve on the previous year’s event.” Basson Engelbrecht came in 2nd, while Antoine Van Heerden finished 3rd.
According to Griffioen, she was also hoping for a better swim. “I’ve trained a lot in the pool and expected to have a better swim. I really enjoyed the mountain bike discipline and managed to catch the leaders. Going into the trail run discipline I focused on holding my gab. XTERRA is definitely the best off-road triathlon. I love the challenge of training for three disciplines.” Andrea Steyn came in 2nd, while Carla Van Huyssteen finished 3rd.
The Fedhealth XTERRA Buffelspoort Full route consisted of a 1.5km swim, followed by a 26km MTB before finishing off with a 12km trail run. Entrants could participate individually or as part of a three member team.
After a gruelling day out on route XTERRA Warriors could regain their strength in the NUUN Recovery Zone. “We were there to put back what the race took out with cold coolers of our proprietary blend of electrolytes in natural, delicious flavours – all without any sugars,” says Etienne du Plessis, CEO of NUUN.
Another special feature in the NUUN Recovery Zone was the serving of the proudly South African ButtaNutt series of authentic tree nut spreads.
Results: Fedhealth XTERRA Buffelspoort Full – Saturday, 23 January 2016
RESULTS: Open Men
1 Bradley Weiss 02 hours 27 minutes 13 seconds,
2 Basson Engelbrecht 02 hours 32 minutes 51 seconds,
3 Antoine Van Heerden 02 hours 33 minutes 43 seconds,
4 Nico Sterk 02 hours 35 minutes 35 seconds,
5 Michael Lord 02 hours 37 minutes 32 seconds,
6 Charl-Stephen Nienaber 02 hours 44 minutes 25 seconds,
7 Theo Blignaut 02 hours 44 minutes 37 seconds,
8 Marc Price 02 hours 45 minutes 47 seconds,
9 Darryn Purtell 02 hours 46 minutes 34 seconds,
10 Wilhelm Steyn 02 hours 53 minutes 55 seconds.
RESULTS: Open Women
1 Nicolette Griffioen 02 hours 51 minutes 15 seconds,
2 Andrea Steyn 02 hours 52 minutes 14 seconds,
3 Carla Van Huyssteen 02 hours 56 minutes 16 seconds,
4 Susan Sloan 03 hours 08 minutes 31 seconds,
5 Carol Reeves 03 hours 16 minutes 24 seconds,
6 Sylvia van Tromp 03 hours 18 minutes 51 seconds,
7 Natia van Heerden 03 hours 20 minutes 41 seconds,
8 Herme Visser 03 hours 21 minutes 33 seconds,
9 Johandri Leicester 03 hours 24 minutes 46 seconds,
10 Nicky Booyens 03 hours 28 minutes 29 seconds
