It was a warm start to Stage One of the 2017 FNB Wines2Whales Mountain Bike (MTB) Ride at the picturesque Lourensford Wine Estate on Monday, 30 October 2017.<\/p>\n
The first of two destination stages, Stage One saw riders having to complete a 64km route that featured a 1650m ascent before crossing the finish line at Oak Valley Wine Estate (Elgin-Grabouw), their home away from home.<\/p>\n
Olympian Phetetso Monese (Lesotho) and Leonhard Lukoschek (Germany) of Team ACE Lesotho applied pressure from the start.\u00a0 \u201cThis is my third W2W,\u201d says Monese.\u00a0 \u201cLast year I finished first in the men\u2019s race.\u00a0 I really want to defend my title.\u00a0 So we went fast from the start.\u00a0 Stage One featured some great riding.\u00a0 I was a little worried when I heard that Leonhard was a roadie, but after today I\u2019m no longer worried.\u201d<\/p>\n
Monese became the first Olympic cyclist from Lesotho when he qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a visiting student from Germany,\u201d says Lukoschek.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t have a mountain biking background.\u00a0 I\u2019m actually a triathlete that\u2019s more of a runner.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard that W2W is well organized and that the views are beautiful, so I expected to see stunning landscapes.\u00a0 It\u2019s definitely lived up to its reputation.\u00a0 I\u2019ve also heard that the event is one big party, so I\u2019m really looking forward to tonight.\u201d\u00a0 Team ACE Lesotho crossed the finish line in 03 hours 21 minutes 59 seconds.\u00a0 Team Transporters\u2019 Steven Bark and Fabian Valsechi came in second, with Team Tallboys\u2019 Michael Van Niekerk and Trevor Baptiste finishing third.<\/p>\n With the competitive streak clearly running in the family, brother and sister duo Mariske and Stephan Strauss of Team Oak Racing obliterated the field in the mixed team race claiming the stage victory in 03 hours 40 minutes 09 seconds.\u00a0 \u201cThis is my 4th<\/sup> or 5th<\/sup> W2W. \u00a0The event just doesn\u2019t get old,\u201d says Mariske.\u00a0 \u201cThe trails are awesome.\u00a0 I must admit the forest section was absolute heaven.\u00a0 It\u2019s getting hot out there.\u00a0 My brother was a machine.\u00a0 We said we\u2019d take it easy, but you know how it goes, you always find challengers on route to dice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the first time that we ride together,\u201d says Stephan.\u00a0 \u201cFor the past four years I\u2019ve focused on work.\u00a0 It\u2019s really nice to be back on the bike again.\u00a0 We\u2019re definitely here to have fun.\u00a0 After today I can confirm now already that we\u2019ll be back next year.\u201d\u00a0 Team Giant Durbanville\u2019s Julien Louw and Colleen De Oliveira came in second, while Haaskat\u2019s Russell Lund and Anneke Hanekom finished third.<\/p>\n Defending champions Ilse Viljoen and Jana Kruger of Team Defenders took the Stage One victory in 04 hours 26 minutes 06 seconds.\u00a0 \u201cWe had a good ride,\u201d says Viljoen.\u00a0 \u201cWe started well, but it got hot quickly out there.\u00a0 We had to stop at water point two for a drink.\u00a0 We are really looking forward to Play Day.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Kruger, Stage One was phenomenal.\u00a0 \u201cThe single tracks were superb.\u00a0 It was even more enjoyable than last year.\u00a0 To sum up Stage One, it was tough fun.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Team Pace of Mind\u2019s Halcyone Muller and Heidi Nieuwoudt came in second, while Team Pool Nurse\u2019s Alta Kriegler and Sunette Beyers finished third.<\/p>\n EVENT INFORMATION<\/u><\/strong>:\u00a0 <\/strong>FNB Wines2Whales MTB Ride<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Stage Two<\/u><\/strong>:\u00a0 Tuesday, 31 October 2017<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Start Venue:\u00a0 <\/strong>Oak Valley Wine Estate (Elgin-Grabouw)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Finish Venue:\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Oak Valley Wine Estate (Elgin-Grabouw)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Distance:<\/strong> 71km<\/p>\n Ascent:<\/strong> 1350m<\/p>\n Start Time:<\/strong>\u00a0 07:00<\/p>\n EXCITING PRIZE<\/u>:<\/strong>\u00a0 This year one lucky rider (per event) will take home a magnificent 2018 Specialized Epic Comp Carbon mountain bike to the value of R59\u00a0000.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Facebook:\u00a0<\/strong> Wines2Whales<\/a><\/p>\n Twitter:\u00a0<\/strong> @w2wmtb<\/a><\/p>\n For more information on the FNB Wines2Whales MTB events contact Chris on 083 760 3158, e-mail race@wines2whales.co.za<\/a>, adventure@wines2whales.co.za<\/a> or ride@wines2whales.co.za<\/a> or visit www.wines2whales.co.za<\/a>\u00a0 ABOUT FNB WINES2WHALES Recently acquired by Cape Epic (PTY) Ltd, FNB Wines2Whales is a three-day mountain bike stage race held in the Western Cape, South Africa. Founded in 2009, the annual event hosts four thousand riders competing in two-person teams over 70-80km per day. The race format consists of three consecutive, separate, but identical events over ten days (named \u2018Adventure\u2019, \u2018Ride\u2019 and \u2018Race\u2019) \u2013 allowing riders to choose the appropriate option that suits their level of competitiveness. With entries selling out each year, FNB Wines2Whales is regarded as South Africa\u2019s premier three-day mountain bike stage race. ABOUT CAPE EPIC (PTY) Ltd and ABSA CAPE EPIC<\/strong><\/p>\n The\u00a0Absa Cape Epic\u00ae<\/sup>\u00a0is the world\u2019s premier mountain bike stage race. The route changes every year, leading aspiring amateur and professional mountain bikers from around the world through roughly 650km of unspoilt scenery and 15,000m of accumulated climbing, over some of the most magnificent mountain passes in Western Cape in South Africa. \u00a0The Absa Cape Epic is the most televised mountain bike stage race in the world and the only eight-day mountain bike stage race classed as hors cat\u00e9gorie by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). This official UCI status makes it a highlight on the professional racer’s calendar. The Absa Cape Epic also attracts aspiring amateur riders wanting to test themselves against the best. It is a full-service race, meaning that everything is taken care of from the start – all riders need to think about is riding.<\/p>\n In 2017, Cape Epic was acquired by the IRONMAN group, part of Wanda Sports, to anchor a global portfolio of off-road events and\u00a0to spearhead the development and expansion of a worldwide series of premium mountain-bike races.<\/p>\n For more information on the FNB Wines2Whales\u00ae<\/sup>, visit www.wines2whales.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n For more information on the Absa Cape Epic\u00ae<\/sup>, visit www.cape-epic.com<\/a><\/p>\n For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, visit www.ironman.com<\/a><\/p>\n ISSUED BY:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Newsport Media<\/a><\/p>\n
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