Adventure News: Evans and George throw down joBerg2c gauntlet - Day2

Adventure News: Evans and George throw down joBerg2c gauntlet - Day2 - Ndorfin, South Africa

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Saturday, 28 April 2012
Evans and George throw down joBerg2c gauntlet - Day2

Team 360Life�s Kevin Evans (left) and David George made an
immediate impression in their maiden Old Mutual joBerg2c by winning a fast-
paced second stage over 93km between Frankfort and Reitz in the Free State.
(Photo: Full Stop Communications)

David George and Kevin Evans threw down the gauntlet in their first appearance
at the nine-day Old Mutual joBerg2c as the serious mountain bike racing got
underway on Saturday.

The Nedbank 360Life duo set a blistering pace on the 93km second stage from
Frankfort to Reitz in the Free State to cross the line first in 3:01:32 and scoop
the R10 000 daily prize as well as the overall lead.

They were followed home by Brandon Stewart and Jacques Rossouw (FedGroup
Itec-Connect) in 3:02:15, who bested defending champions Waylon Woolcock
and Neil MacDonald (RE-CM) by five seconds in a sprint finish.

George and Evans� overall time of 7:23:24 puts them just short of a minute
ahead of Stewart and Rossouw (7:24:07) going into tomorrow�s 125km third
stage between Reitz and Sterkfontein Dam. Woolcock and MacDonald (7:24:12)
lurk in third.

After the neutral zone out of Frankfort, the top names rode closely together
along the banks of the Wilge River. The action started at the 15km mark when
Stewart made an early break on the first technical section.

Capetonian George followed quickly while Evans, from Plettenberg Bay,
shadowed Stewart�s partner Jacques Rossouw, who was third on the road.

�I was waiting for Jacques to close the gap but he didn�t have the legs,� said
Evans. �So I went across and when Dave saw me he just put the hammer
down.�

The two opened a gap on the chasing group that also included David Morison
and Louis Bresler Knipe (Itec Connect-Vodacom) as well as stage one winners
Nico Bell and Gawie Combrinck (Transact).

By the first water point at around 32km, the Absa Cape Epic runners-up had a
minute�s lead, which shrank by 20 seconds as the chasers turned up the heat on
the farm roads.

�We turned off into a cross wind and Dave pulled really hard there when we
noticed the group starting to battle, so it opened up again to about a minute and
10 seconds.�

On the next stretch of single track, the pursuers had them in sight but were
unable to close the gap.

Evans said they decided not to stop at the final water point to gain an extra few
seconds in an effort to avoid a sprint finish on the final drag towards the Reitz
showgrounds.

�It�s always a risk to go hard early on but it�s better than gambling on the sprint.
It was a good day but we made it hard for ourselves.�

Epic champions Erik and Ariane Kleinhans (GMAC) stamped their authority on
a strong mixed field with an impressive time of 3:22:38, which saw them place
seventh overall.

Johan Labuschagne and Yolande de Villiers (Cycle Lab KTM) finished 10 minutes
off the pace in 3:32:11, with Carel Bosman and Leana de Jager (PeptoPro-
bizhub) claiming third in 3:42:17.

The Kleinhans pair�s overall time of 7:44:29 gives them the lead in the mixed
section, followed by Labuschagne and De Villiers in 7:54:03. Bosman and De
Jager are third on 8:04:09.

In the women�s race, reigning champions Ischen Stopforth and Catherine
Williamson (bizhub-FCF) took line honours in 3:41:47. Sarah van Heerden and
Jackie Church (Itec-Connect Vodacom) were second in 3:58:10.

Stopforth and Williamson�s combined time of 8:03:39 puts them an impressive
16 minutes ahead of Van Heerden and Church in the women�s overall standings.

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Visit www.oldmutual.co.za or www.joberg2c.co.za for more information.