The coastline between Plettenberg Bay and the quiet surf town of Jeffery’s Bay is something to behold. From the sheer Cape Fold mountains in the north, rolling forested hills stretch out until they become massive cliffs plunging into the rich blue of the Indian Ocean. The third Stage of the M&G PE PLETT took riders on that same journey from under the steep mountain slopes, over the hills, and to the edge of the plummeting cliffs overlooking the big blue sea. It was a fast and fun start to the day in and out of forests and farmlands without much work required to crest the little rollers along the way.
Arriving at the coastline really takes one’s breath away. The elevation you hold over the crashing waves below gives a surreal perspective. It is a moment not quickly forgotten. Stage 3 is a hard stage though. The finish is back up and over those mountains that were left in the dust half-an-hour before and the route back to them seems to have a lot more up and down than the way you’ve just come!
At 20 odd km into the course, things get steep. This is where the hard work started for the majority of riders and where the real action kicked in for the racing crews. “It broke up about 30km in. We went down quite a steep and gnarly jeep track descent with a water crossing at the bottom and then it kicked up, and the group just split.” recounts Kai von During (Trek SA). The first signs of proper gradient and the game was on.
Honeycomb Pro Cycling’s Pritzen and Nortje (pictured above) climbed like helium balloons but in a twist from previous days it was the VEC Titan Racing crew of Bekker and Beukes that followed closest on their wheels! The third placed GC team was seizing an opportunity to best the Trek SA X Insect Science partnership but there was a lot of riding left to be done on the stage. Would this move hold or was it too bold?
“I hit a wall and I couldn’t defy gravity like Herman does.” continued Von During, “I didn’t think the effort was possible so I thought I’d keep it at a level that I could sustain. Once over the top we just rolled together to the last climb and gave it a good go and then down to the finish”. Chase as best they could, VEC had found their legs and slowly extended their gap as the kilometres rolled on and up. Pritzen and Nortje were also extending their break and crested the M&G KOM at 42km with a healthy lead of two minutes to Beukes and Bekker. They would make it three from three stage wins and add two and a half minutes to their GC lead.
“It was a good day. I think we’re getting better as the week goes on. Hopefully we go one up tomorrow! We should have moved into second on GC now and that was the big goal of the day.” commented Bekker on the finish line and they had indeed moved into second on GC, setting up the fourth Stage to be a cracker. 1 minute and 27 seconds is all that separates 2nd and third in the men’s race. It will go down to the wire.
That 20km mark was also the source of a big development in our closely contested Mixed Team race! Winner of the first 2 stages along with Alex Lawrence for eFort Foodlovers, Elrika Harmzen shared what set the race into action; “Just past the first water point [20km] Alex got a flat and it was on the rim so we struggled quite a long time trying to get it plugged. We pretty much buried ourselves to close the gap to Kelsey and Sidney after that.”
Seeing that they had an opportunity to move, Ultimate Quest dropped the hammer. “We just kept going once we saw we had a gap but I was having a really bad day in the beginning because my legs just weren’t responding. I was really having to dig deep. That last descent was all a blur! I was just trying to hang onto Sidney’s wheel!” said Kelsey van Schoor. It was enough to earn their first stage win of The Ride. Elrika and Alex had given it their absolute all to close the gap and they succeeded, finishing just 13 seconds off of Kelsey and Sidney. The GC standings weren’t shaken but we certainly learned that a bit of bad luck at the wrong time can change that very fast.
Finishing 17th on GC, the leading women’s team of Mandi Augustyn and Juanita Mackenzie are getting faster with each stage. Though they don’t face much competition from the other female teams, they came here to race and are using each stage to test and better themselves in preparation for the 2024 Cape Epic, as was evident by Mandi’s exhaustion on the finish line! Her teammate had a few more words to share from the 3rd Stage of The Ride; “That M&G KOM was a monster climb. It was teamwork today! Mands led us out and I hammered us home. We were poetry in motion!”
Arriving at the next race village, Assegaaibosch Country Lodge, after 2 splendid nights at the Tsitsikamma Lodge and Spa, has been a refreshing change of scenery. Nestled in the mountains that the riders worked so hard to traverse on the stage, you get to look around and appreciate the fruits of your effort in the wide open panorama of peaks and valleys. Coming back to Assegaaibosch Country Lodge for the 9th time in our 12 years is an indication of the quality of the location. That being said, it is hard to complain about being anywhere when you’re lounging on a bean bag with a Heineken in your hand and unfiltered access to generous cheese platters and other tasty treats from the good people at Foodlovers Market. The small field of riders (limited to 250) means that the race village is a quiet and relaxing place, queues are non-existent, and you can feel the restfulness sinking deep into your body.
With the close of Stage 3 comes the sad reality that there is only one more stage left to ride before the dream-like journey is over. Stage 4 takes riders back over the mountains and down to the coast near J-Bay to finish at Zwartenbosch Golf Club. It’s no easy day with plenty of spikes in the elevation profile. That final M&G Boost Bar of The Ride will possibly be the sweetest and the finish line feeling will certainly be well earned.
2024 M&G PE PLETT – Stage 3 Results + GC
Men Teams – Stage
1. Team Honeycomb ( Marc Pritzen and Tristan Nortje) | Stage – 02:09:56
2. Valley Electrical Titan Racing (Matthys Beukes and Roussouw Bekker) | Stage – 02:12:24
3. Trek SA X Insect Science (Kai von During and Herman Fourie) | Stage – 02:14:19
Men Teams – GC
1. Team Honeycomb ( Marc Pritzen and Tristan Nortje) | GC – 06:27:58
2. Valley Electrical Titan Racing (Matthys Beukes and Roussouw Bekker) | GC – 06:35:36
3. Trek SA X Insect Science (Kai von During and Herman Fourie) | GC – 06:37:03
Women Teams
1. Elements (Mandi Augustyn and Juanita Mackenzie) | Stage – 03:00:46 | GC – 08:46:45
2. Team Vered (Sally Andrews and Wendy Long) | Stage – 04:59:23 | GC – 13:01:59
3. GoGirls (Marika Ince and Sanet du Toit) | Stage 05:00:50 | GC – 14:23:53
Mixed Teams – Stage
1. Ultimate Quest (Kelsey van Schoor and Sidney Strydom) | Stage – 02:41:57
2. eFort Foodlovers (Alex Lawrence and Elrika Harmzen) | Stage – 02:42:10
3. RAPIRO Biketime (Sascha Ludwig and Angelika Aigner) | Stage – 03:07:17
Mixed Teams – GC
1. eFort Foodlovers (Alex Lawrence and Elrika Harmzen) | GC – 07:55:49
2. Ultimate Quest (Kelsey van Schoor and Sidney Strydom) | GC – 08:02:13
3. Invicta (Arnou Oberholzer and Marisca Steyn) | GC – 09:11:14
Solo Men – Stage
1. Rogan Smart | Stage – 02:21:41
2. Jarryd Haley | Stage – 02:38:19
3. Alexander Araujo | Stage – 02:44:01
Solo Men – GC
1. Rogan Smart | GC – 06:56:52
2. Alexander Araujo | GC – 07:58:33
3. Karel Sumbal | GC – 08:22:04
Solo Women – Stage
1. Marni Sumbal | Stage – 03:00:58 | GC – 08:44:22
2. Annamarie Jacobsz | Stage – 03:15:02 | GC – 09:29:46
3. Andrea van Blommestein | Stage – 03:21:15 | GC – 09:40:41
2024 M&G PE PLETT – Stage 3 Results E-Bikes + GC
Men Teams – Stage
1. Expert Mining Solutions (Ronald Venter and Paul Venter) | Stage – 02:23:27
Men Teams – GC
1. Pofadders (David Louw and Christie Botha) | GC – 07:52:58
Women Teams
1. Foodlovers Ladies (Gina Wills and Allenore Willemse) | Stage – 02:44:26 | GC – 08:17:30
Mixed Teams
1. Coastal Cruisers (Penelope Hulett and Greg West) | Stage – 02:22:01 | GC – 08:47:32
Solo Men
1. Nevil Hulett | Stage – 02:30:08 | GC – 07:26:48
Solo Women
1. Tania Pfaff | Stage – 02:23:57 | GC – 08:00:49
Find out more about the M&G PE PLETT here: peplett.co.za/
See the full results from The Ride here: bouttime.co.za/
Source: Maryann Shaw Communications
