PYGA Euro Steel’s team of Pieter du Toit and Philip Buys and their solo rider Jaedon Terlouw picked up where they left off at the Euro Steel Drak Descent MTB race to claim the race title after Sunday’s 53km second stage. Tyler Jacobs claimed a comfortable women’s race win.
The trio had looked comfortable in establishing their authority on Saturday’s 43km route and finished the job without too much fuss on Sunday, despite the close attention of the young team of Omar Wilson and Keegan Tullis. Another perfect, sunny morning greeted cyclists, conditions which were ideal for Buys.
“Despite the rain in the area in the lead up to the event, I found the route quite dry and with less mud than previously,” he said. “Pieter and I had enjoyed some good training rides before this and approached the race as another opportunity to get some good riding into the system before the Cape Epic.”
Solo entrant Terlouw, whose partner Michael Foster was forced to withdraw due to illness, set the pace early on, but Buys and Du Toit where never far off his wheel and paced their race to perfection; while Wilson and Tullis were able to stay close enough to contest the finish sprint.
“Jaedon went hard but we just sat off him without too much effort. There wasn’t much tactics called for and our plan was to stick near the front and do enough to win the event,” said Buys. “It’s early in the season but this was ideal preparation for the Cape Epic in March, the first big one for the year for us.”
Wilson and Tullis, two young riders from Pietermaritzburg, finished second overall, with Underberg locals Andrew Houston and Damon Stamp claimed third in the team event.
Terlouw was the solo winner, with Daniel van der Watt and Josh Johnson filling the podium positions.
In the women’s race, the solo riders dominated with up and coming Tyler Jacobs winning both stages comfortably to emerge as the clear women’s winner. Francis Janse van Rensburg finished second with former Dusi Champion and talented mountain biker Bianca Haw making full use of her local knowledge to finish third.
Full final results are here.
Stage 1 report
Team PYGA Euro Steel dominated the opening stage of the Euro Steel Drak Descent MTB race with Phil Buys and Pieter du Toit claiming victory in the team event while their team mate Jaedon Terlouw beat Drive Train Academy’s Daniel van Der Watt in the solo category.
Overnight rain meant ideal sticky and slightly muddy conditions greeted cyclists taking on the 43km first day of the scenic event in the Southern Drakensberg on Saturday morning.
Pristine vistas, challenging inclines and loads of single track were the order of the day and after 1:45:41 it was Du Toit of the PYGA Euro Steel men’s team who lead the field home. His team partner, Buys, was a second behind in 1:45:42, with Jaedon Terlouw sandwiched in between as the leading solo rider, with the same time as Du Toit.
Du Toit, Buys, Terlouw and Van der Watt were always at the front of the race, with Terlouw riding as a solo entrant after Michael Foster was forced to withdraw overnight due to an overnight illness.
“It was a super day and early on, going up a singletrack concrete incline there were initially four of us. Jaedon attacked early,” said Du Toit. “Daniel fell slightly behind on a climb at 30km, leaving the three of us to stay together and pace ourselves to the end. It was great fun out there and nice to be leading.”
Terlouw enjoyed the fast conditions, using the race to fine tune his skills ahead of next weekend’s SA road champs. “It’s disappointing Michael had to withdraw, leaving me as a solo entrant, but it was great to race with Pieter and Phillip, using strategy and speed at various times to stay in the groove for what lies ahead, especially for the Cape Epic where I am riding with Michael. This is my debut at this race and I’ve really enjoyed it.”
In the women’s race, privateer Tyler Jacobs cruised home in 1:59:12, enjoying a big advantage over Frances Janse van Rensburg (2:10:28) and former Dusi Canoe Marathon champ and Underberg local Bianca Haw (2:15:05).
“It was a great day out for me. I enjoyed the race from the start. It was smooth, sticky at times thanks to the rains, but fast and beautiful,” said Jacobs. “I put my head down from the start, managing to follow and stay with a bunch of guys through until the end.”
Source: Gameplan Media
