Candice Lill, Mona Mitterwallner and Vera Looser will spearhead the women’s elite field at this weekend’s upcoming Big Five MTB Challenge. The highly anticipated Imbuko Big Five MTB Challenge will take place on Saturday 17 February and will see star-studded local and international field battle it out on the iconic singletrack around Wellington.
Mitterwallner is a two-time World Marathon Champion, but the Austrian’s pedigree extends beyond the longer distances with two XCO World Cup wins and a third place overall in the rankings last year. Mitterwallner’s mix of technical skill and endurance, plus her knowledge of local conditions following an emphatic win alongside Lill at the recent Tankwa Trek makes her the undeniable favourite.
Lill won’t let her Tankwa Trek partner out of her sights, however. The Capetonian is fiercely competitive and knows the Wellington trails so well she could almost race them blindfolded. Lill finished runner-up to Mitterwallner in the Marathon event at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland and might like to go one better on home soil, however ahead of the race, she’s playing it down.
“Tankwa Trek was quite a big effort,” she says. “The first real big effort of the season and also the first stage race experience with Mona.” According to Lill, the pair raced as hard as they could even when they were in a convincing lead to test their partnership. “Then we’ve also gone into like a bit of a training camp this week, so it hasn’t really been a rest week at all for the race on Saturday.”
Despite the big efforts in the lead-up, Lill remains confident and excited for the Imbuko Big Five MTB Challenge. “I’m not completely fresh, but I’m feeling really strong and motivated. I’m exactly where I want to be at this point of the season. The Imbuko has become one of the toughest days you can do on a mountain bike and I absolutely love it. I’ve done it a few times and I just love the combination of nice long climbs (which aren’t ridiculously steep) and then looking forward to the insanely beautiful trails around Wellington. It’s always a reward for those long climbs.”
Multiple Namibian national champ (both on the road and dirt), Vera Looser, also knows what to expect in terms of the long climbs, technical descents and the pacing required to have a good day out. She will take confidence from her 2023 Absa Cape Epic victory and solid start to the year and if it’s still together close to the finish, don’t be surprised to see her take it to the line in a sprint. Also don’t discount young Danielle Strydom (Efficient Infiniti Insure) as a dark horse. Strydom raced with Looser at Tankwa Trek and would’ve learned a great deal from her more experienced partner.
Aside from the world-class trails, the Imbuko Big Five MTB Challenge will once again feature a great race village at Imbuko Wines, in Wellington with delicious food available from the restaurant and of course their renowned wines to sip on. If you can’t get down to the venue, follow all the action from the day by tuning into Imbuko Big Five MTB Challenge and WILD AIR Sports’ Instagram channels.
Source: Jazz Kuschke
