Matt Posted May 2, 2011 Posted May 2, 2011 Stewart, Lill take charge at joBerg2cPress Release: Full Stop Communications, Day 4 - 2 May 2011 FedGroup Berg and Bush’s Brandon Stewart and Darren Lill took full advantage of the first technical stage of this year’s Fairbairn Capital/Old Mutual joBerg2c to claim the win and the overall lead. They stopped the clock on 5:05:48 in the fourth stage that took them over 125 ruggedly beautiful kilometres between Sterkfontein Dam in the Free State and Winterton Country Club in the Central Drakensberg. Brandon Stewart (left) and Darren Lill of FedGroup Berg and Bush cross the line to win the fourth stage of the 900km Fairbairn Capital/Old Mutual joBerg2c between Sterkfontein Dam and Winterton on Monday. Photo: Full Stop CommunicationsEven though they surrendered their tiny overnight lead, Team RE:CM’s Neil MacDonald and Waylon Woolcock put in another impressive performance to finish runners-up in 5:07:13 – falling to second in the general classification. MTN-DoItNow’s Max Knox and Rwandan partner Adrien Niyonshuti – tipped by experts as the pre-race favourites – were third in 5:12:21, dropping to third in the standings. “This has been one of the best days of mountain biking I’ve ever done,” said Stewart, who praised Lill – the national road champion – for his handling of the technical sections. “After three hard days in a row, the pressure’s off us right now. Tomorrow we’ll be able to sit in.” The race split up early on after a fast start, leaving the top three teams to battle it out over the final three-quarters of the stage. Stewart and Lill took charge at Solly’s Folly – a technical stretch that forms part of the extreme drop down the escarpment into KwaZulu-Natal – and led to the first waterpoint at the 44km mark. This forced the other main contenders to play catch-up and expend a lot of energy. The leading three teams reached the second waterpoint together. The climb up Spioenkop and its technical descent around the 80km mark played a pivotal role in the day’s outcome. Stewart and Lill, in the company of Knox and Niyonshuti, were able to inch ahead and draw clear of MacDonald and Woolcock on the steep incline. Down the other side, a fall by Niyonshuti on a rocky section put him and Knox on the back foot for the remainder of day, handing the initiative to the eventual winners. With 26km to go, they had pulled a minute clear of MacDonald and Woolcock, with Knox and Niyonshuti a further 50 seconds back. At the 105km mark, they had extended their lead to 1:10. This margin enabled them to manage their effort over the closing stages, which included the climb up Puff Adder Pass. Team bizhub’s Ischen Stopforth – a former MTN Series champion – and British team-mate Catherine Williamson were able to fight back from multiple punctures to continue their winning streak in 6:21:55 and extend their lead in the women’s race. The overall leaders in the mixed section, Fairbairn Capital’s Erik and Ariane Kleinhans, completed the stage in 5:44:14 to claim eighth on the day. Tuesday’s fifth stage will take riders on a 102km journey from Winterton to Kamberg. The 900km race finishes in Scottburgh on the KwaZulu-Natal coast on Saturday. Visit www.joberg2c.co.za, follow @joberg2c_journo on Twitter or join the official Facebook group.
kosmonooit Posted May 2, 2011 Posted May 2, 2011 Nice bikes! nice forks! Hardtail Cannondale Flash (26'ers?) They were riding 'dales with DCM, glad to see they still with them. Riders choice or sponsor deal?
The Drongo Posted May 2, 2011 Posted May 2, 2011 Nice bikes! nice forks! Hardtail Cannondale Flash (26'ers?) They were riding 'dales with DCM, glad to see they still with them. Riders choice or sponsor deal? Them's look like 29ers to me. **can see this one kicking up a whole new debate * **
kosmonooit Posted May 2, 2011 Posted May 2, 2011 thanks - wheel size purely of academic interest, just couldn't seem to resolve it from this angle. Note also bar-ends on the Lill's bike
shimano 105 Posted May 2, 2011 Posted May 2, 2011 Yip,29er they are.Technical rocky section kings.Just roll over everything.Our great great grandfathers knew what they bwewre doing when they buildt the oxwagons with the huge wheels.
jayz Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) Yip,29er they are.Technical rocky section kings.Just roll over everything.Our great great grandfathers knew what they bwewre doing when they buildt the oxwagons with the huge wheels.Ya those 29erss roll over evrything(not) just look how burry rolled over his handlebars on the rocky section in pmb last weekend. Edited May 3, 2011 by jayz
The Drongo Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 thanks - wheel size purely of academic interest, just couldn't seem to resolve it from this angle. Note also bar-ends on the Lill's bike "just couldn't seem to resolve it from this angle." No prob. Maybe get a LCD screen with a better viewing angle, or look at yours head on.. "Note also bar-ends on the Lill's bike" - Note also, Lills is a Roadie. (although apparently very competent on the technical stuff.) Well done Lills! (And well done Tracy - keep it up girl!!)
The Drongo Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 An hour ago at wtpt2, 27ks to go: woolcock/macdonaldstewart/lillmorrison/marais 54 minutes ago, 27 ks to go: First ladies through: stopforth/williamson Will be all over shortly.
nickc Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 An hour ago at wtpt2, 27ks to go: woolcock/macdonaldstewart/lillmorrison/marais 54 minutes ago, 27 ks to go: First ladies through: stopforth/williamson Will be all over shortly. Cool - Thanks, keep us updated.
The Drongo Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Cool - Thanks, keep us updated. Trying. They seem to be like me though. Not good at Farcebook or Twatter! Had to phone Glengarry.
The Drongo Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Day 5 Mens Macdonald / Woolcock - RE CMStewart / Lill - Fedgroup BBMorison / Marais - Blend Prop No times yet...
Jaco-fiets Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) Dont want to step on any toes and dont mean any harm but i think Knox is a superior mtb'er to the rest of the entrants. Maybe with another partner he would have been way infront. Im saying again: Nothing agains Nyonshuti. He is a great rider in his own right. Just my humble opinion Edited May 3, 2011 by Jaco-fiets
kosmonooit Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 No prob. Maybe get a LCD screen with a better viewing angle, or look at yours head on.. No problem with my screens - it's just when you see a 29'er 'in the flesh' those wheels look hoooj. In this pic, they dont quite stand out, so that's why I ask. The give away is the clearance between the headset and the wheel, that limited fork travel (80mm in this case) Anyway my post was to celebrate that these bikes had Lefties on, and were Cannondales. Wheel size? personal choice, like pedals. Whatever works for you bru.
The Drongo Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Dont want to step on any toes and dont mean any harm but i think Knox is a superior mtb'er to the rest of the entrants. Maybe with another partner he would have been way infront. Im saying again: Nothing agains Nyonshuti. He is a great rider in his own right. Just my humble opinion Sounds like they may have been in 4th. Nyonshuti had a slam and a mechanical (yesterday?), but despite their time lost they were only 30 seconds down by day end.
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