[Release] Stewart, Lill take charge at joBerg2c

[Matt]

Stewart, Lill take charge at joBerg2c

Press 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 Communications

Even 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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

An hour ago at wtpt2, 27ks to go:

 

woolcock/macdonald

stewart/lill

morrison/marais

 

54 minutes ago, 27 ks to go:

 

First ladies through:

 

stopforth/williamson

 

Will be all over shortly.

[The Drongo]

1st ten teams through at Glengarry Kamberg.

[nickc]

An hour ago at wtpt2, 27ks to go:

 

woolcock/macdonald

stewart/lill

morrison/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]

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]

Woolcock / MacDonald win todays stage.

[The Drongo]

Day 5 Mens

 

Macdonald / Woolcock - RE CM

Stewart / Lill - Fedgroup BB

Morison / Marais - Blend Prop

 

No times yet...

[Jaco-fiets]

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]

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]

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.