Kim Le Court and Vera Looser secured their second stage win in as many days at the FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay when they charged over the finish line, arms raised high, at Oak Valley Estate on Saturday, 29 October.
Play Day, Stage 2, at the FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay was a celebration of the trails on offer in the Oak Valley and Paul Cluver Estates. The early kilometres of the 68 kilometre-long stage allowed for legs to warm and minds to sharpen before the trails kicked into action.
“Today was such a fun day! For the first half an hour I didn’t know when the trails were going to come,” said Vera Looser of Efficient Infiniti Insure Rare Street Coffee. “But they then came, and they never stopped! It’s such a great day of riding, it’s just so much fun.”
At the very front of the race, Efficient Infiniti Insure Rare Street, E-fort Symbtech, and Rola Toyota King Price traded blows as they matched each other pedal stroke for pedal stroke through the very best trails in Grabouw and Elgin. The three teams remained together for most of the stage, and it wasn’t until the final kilometres that Le Court and Looser called upon some self-proclaimed “road racing tactics” to distance their chasers and secure their second stage win.
“It’s very special to be in an Epic Series leader jersey as neither of us has raced in one before today. It’s a dream come true and hopefully, we can take it to the line tomorrow! This is a moment that I’ll never forget!” said Le Court
After a challenging first stage of the FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay, Mariske Strauss and Candice Lill of Rola Toyota King Price were visibly happy with their performance as they crossed the line in second place ahead of Amy Wakefield and Irina Luetzelschwab of E-fort Symbtech.
“Today was a much better day! Way better than yesterday,” said Mariske Strauss. “The singletrack was great and Candice was amazing – I love racing with her and I love the FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay!”
As part of the Epic Series, the FNB Wine2Whales is raced in teams of two which adds an interesting and exciting dynamic to stage racing, a fact that was celebrated by Candice Lill.
“It’s super interesting racing with a partner. It makes everything different.” Explained Candice Lill. “It’s not about how strong one person is individually; it’s how we can get the best out of this team. It takes a lot of time to figure out how to do that and I think we have that sorted; it feels so good!”
After a gees-filled day of racing on the trails, the general classification of the Women’s racing field remained unchanged with Efficient Infiniti Insure Rare Street Coffee retaining the Ciovita leader jerseys and increasing their lead by one minute over E-fort Symbtech. Rola Toyota King Price remains in third, some 23 minutes back on the leaders.
The retention of leader jerseys was the theme for the day as Marisa Van Der Linde and Brigitte of Absa SheUntamed held onto their Women’s Amateur jerseys; Hanlie Booyens and Fienie Barnard of Tiletoria Ladies retained their Women’s Masters jerseys despite coming second on the stage, and the Dusty Foxies team of Ragna Nilssen and Ingrid Landman secured their second stage win and the Grand Masters jersey.
The final stage of the FNB Wines2Whales sees the teams leave Oak Valley Estate and head seaward to the Curro School in Hermanus where the winners of the event and its racing categories will be crowned. To follow the action of Stage 3, follow @wines_2_whales on Instagram and @w2wmtb on Twitter, like the Wines2Whales Facebook page and subscribe to the Epic Series YouTube Channel.
For more information visit www.epic-series.com/wines2whales.
FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay Stage 2 Results:
Stage 2
Women’s Racing:
1. Efficient Infiniti Insure Rare Street Coffee: Kim Le Court & Vera Looser | 03:04:17.1
2. Rola Toyota King Price: Candice Lill & Mariske Strauss | 03:05:16 (+00:00:58.2)
3. E-fort Symbtech: Amy Wakefield & Irina Luetzelschwab | 03:05:19 (+00:01:01.2)
Women’s Amateur category:
1. Absa She Untamed: Marisa Van Der Linde & Brigitte Joubert | 03:48:23.3
2. ILOVEBOOBIES Duo: Heather Rossouw & Jade Slabbert | 04:08:24.6 (+00:20:01.3)
3. ILB Women: Mikayla Benkenstein & Cherise Willieit | 04:21:31.4 (+00:33:08.1)
Women’s Masters category:
1. World Bicycle Relief: Alisha Myers & Tessa Keers | 03:28:30.3
2. Tiletoria Ladies: Hanlie Booyens & Fienie Barnard | 03:28:31.2 (+00:00:00.9)
3. Woolies/Pretty Pedal Masters: Nicola Walker & Katerina Slegrova | 03:37:25.1 (+00:08:54.8)
Women’s Grand Masters category:
1. Dusty Foxies: Ranga Nilssen & Ingrid Landman | 04:33:22.9
2. Talking Heads: Jennifer Cilliers & Imke Van Der Westhuyzen | 04:39:39.7 (+00:06:16.8)
3. Team T&T: Jeanette Treherne & Vivienne Turvey | 04:51:33.7 (+00:18:10.7)
FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay Stage 2 General Classification:
Women’s Racing:
1. Efficient Infiniti Insure Rare Street Coffee: Kim Le Court & Vera Looser | 06:36:48.1
2. E-fort Symbtech: Amy Wakefield & Irina Luetzelschwab | 06:39:45.5 (+00:02:57.3)
3. Rola Toyota King Price: Candice Lill & Mariske Strauss | 07:00:30.1 (+00:23:41.9)
Women’s Amateur category:
1. Absa She Untamed: Marisa Van Der Linde & Brigitte Joubert | 08:15:38.8
2. ILOVEBOOBIES Duo: Heather Rossouw & Jade Slabbert | 09:01:27.9 (+00:45:49.1)
3. ILB Women: Mikayla Benkenstein & Cherise Willieit | 09:31:16.7 (+01:15:37.9)
Women’s Masters category:
1. Tiletoria Ladies: Hanlie Booyens & Fienie Barnard | 07:33:28.3
2. World Bicycle Relief: Alisha Myers & Tessa Keers | 07:35:14.1 (+00:01:45.7)
3. Woolies/Pretty Pedal Masters: Nicola Walker & Katerina Slegrova | 07:52:08.6 (+00:18:40.2)
Women’s Grand Masters category:
1. Dusty Foxies: Ragna Nilssen & Ingrid Landman | 09:49:19.7
2. Talking Heads: Jennifer Cilliers & Imke Van Der Westhuyzen | 10:03:55.6 (+00:14:35.9)
3. Team T&T: Jeanette Treherne & Vivienne Turvey | 10:18:53.6 (+00:29:33.9)
Source: FNB Wines2Whales
