Natalie Bergstrom and Stuart Marais confirmed they will walk away with some of the biggest series prizes in South African mountain biking when they wrapped up the Quattro ROAG Series titles at the aQuelle Tour de Krantz at the weekend.
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Marais, from Howick in the KZN Midlands, won the Harburg event overall, finishing four minutes ahead of Leeroy Emslie which ensures Emslie now has no mathematical chance of claiming the overall men’s series title.
In the women’s event Bergstrom ended second to a resurgent Bianca Haw with Christie-Leigh Hearder claiming third. That result means Bergstrom has now accumulated enough points to ensure Hearder cannot overtake the North Coast resident.
Marais has been a star of KZN cycling this season with a series of impressive results which put him on the edge of selection for the South African Cross Country team to race at the UCI World Championships.
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Since the disappointment of missing the team last month, the Howick local has claimed two wins from two KZN races and goes into next weekend’s Mandela Day MTB Dash event as an overwhelming favourite.
Emslie finished second at the weekend with Sthembiso Masango, the up-and-coming RMB Change a Life rider, claiming third, less than a minute behind Emslie. Masango will be travelling to Perth early next month to take part in the World Championships in his second selection for the South African team.
There is still one event remaining in the ROAG Series and despite the winners of the R25 000 first prizes for both the men’s and women’s series being confirmed, there is still plenty to race for in the final event, the Safire Baynesfield Classic in September.
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Marais will be aiming to become the first rider to get a perfect 600-point haul with six wins. Currently he has five wins and a second place and a win at Baynesfield will allow him to discard the second position from the Sugar Rush Classic when he was beaten by Julian Jessop earlier in the year.
And behind Marais and Emslie, David Low and Brennan Anderson are fighting for the final spot on the series podium with just 32 points separating the two in third and fourth positions respectively.
In the women’s series, Nadine Nunes is just 21 points ahead of Belinda Mason in the fight for third.
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Current Quattro ROAG MTB Series Standings
(after 8 of 9 events – best six results count – number of events in brackets)
MTB Classic
Men
1 Stuart Marais 586 (6)
2 Leeroy Emslie 448 (7)
3 David Low 375 (7)
4 Brennan Anderson 343 (7)
5 Jedson Tooms 311 (7)
6 Carl Calverley 260 (8)
7 Hendrik Bester 258 (6)
7= Nathan Treble 258 (6)
9 Carl Adendorff 230 (7)
10 Jordan Wisdom 218 (6)
Women
1 Natalie Bergstrom 546 (7)
2 Christie-Leigh Hearder 492 (7)
3 Nadine Nunes 323 (6)
4 Belinda Mason 302 (6)
5 Tarryn Morgan 283 (8)
6 Bronwyn Evans 191 (5)
7 Sarah Ryan 179 (5)
8 Frances Marsburg 172 (6)
9 Carol Thomas 153 (5)
10 Jessica Ramsden 139 (5)
Tour de Krantz results
Mountain Bike
Men
1 Stuart Marais 1:49:46
2 Leeroy Emslie 1:53:22
3 Sthembiso Masango 1:54:17
4 Jedson Tooms 1:56:27
5 Brennan Anderson 1:56:28
6 Warren Price 1:57:05
7 David Low 1:57:06
8 Dean Wortmann 1:58:31
9 Nathan Treble 2:01:42
10 Hendrik Bester 2:01:44
Ralph Schroder /
Schroder Sports Photography
Women
1 Bianca Haw 2:05:28
2 Natalie Bergstrom 2:15:01
3 Christie-Leigh Hearder 2:21:35
4 Debrah Thomas 2:29:53
5 Nadine Nunes 2:33:59
Trail Run
Men
1 Ewoud Grobler 47:32
2 Mark Mackenzie 48:03
3 Bryan Rees 50:32
4 Werner Jonas 54:11
5 Haydn Bam 55:02
Women
1 Wendy Mills 55:15
2 Patricia Dammann 55:32
3 Stephanie Wills 57:39
Source: ROAG
