Jan Withaar won his first Land Rover West Rand Silverstar MTB Challenge in Krugersdorp during the weekend of 10 and 11 September. The 34-year-old from Bryanston took advantage of the technical sections on the twisting 40km course to establish an early lead, using his cross-country background to power to victory in 1:36:44. He was followed home by Wessel Redelinghuys, who crossed the line in 1:38:05, and Josef Bester, in 1:40:02.
Jan said he had expected a stiff challenge from defending champion Henry Uys, but the battle never materialised.
“Henry initially sat back on the first climb to see what the other guys would do. Towards the top, he upped the tempo and a group of five of us got away.”
Jan went on to say he then positioned himself towards the front as they approached a stretch of gravel, and managed to open up a gap on the technical sections that followed.
“The other riders quickly dropped off when things got a bit more technical. I was on my own after about 15 minutes and from there I just focused on keeping my pace as fast as I could for as long as possible.
You can enjoy racing so much more when you don’t have people on your back.”
Jan, who focuses on the national cross-country events, said he used races such as the Land Rover West Rand Silverstar MTB Challenge to help him prepare during the off-season.
“Basically we are in a building phase at the moment, training during the week and then using races such as Silverstar for that added intensity.”
The women’s feature event ended in a relatively comfortable win for Nadine Visagie of Cyclezone, who completed the 40km in 1:59:27. Petruschika Constancon was runner-up in 2:07:51, with Tanya Hartley completing the podium in 2:10:50.
“The course was fantastic, not too technical, but just the right mix for a mountain bike race,” said Nadine, who made her third appearance at the race.
“I managed to move into the lead at the start and did not see too many other girls, but I wouldn’t say it was easy,”
Johan Gouws won the 20km race in 1:08:57, with Chloe Gardner of Portable Shade taking the women’s title in 1:13:31.
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