WHITE RETURNS TO THE WINNERS’ STEP AT ESTON
Tyronne White rolled back the clock and returned to the top step of the podium when he claimed a tense sprint victory over Stuart Marais in the 40km MTB race at the Illovo Eston Trail Challenge on Sunday.
The 37-year-old DriveTrain Academy rider, who spends most of his time coaching other riders, is clearly back at peak form as he outsmarted Howick-based Marais to break the recent dominance of the {TypeDevNanoTime) rider.
White’s narrow win is the first time Marais has been beaten since racing returned following the third wave of Covid-19.
In recent weeks Marais has emerged as the victor at the Virginia Race the Trails event, the Kamberg Classic and last week at the Karkloof Classic.
In cool conditions, made tricky by heavy rain, that forced the race organisers into a last-minute switch to a wet-weather route, the two 30-somethings handed out a lesson in tactics and experience, as they kept youngsters, Michael Foster and Hilton’s Brendan van Eeden, off the top two steps of the podium.
It was a double celebration for the DriveTrain team with White’s squad also claiming the women’s title as Rouxda Grobler managed to do what Marais was unable to and notched up her fourth win in the space of two months.
The Ballito-based Grobler has dominated the women’s MTB scene in recent weeks and got home less than a minute ahead of Hayley Smith, with the young up and coming 16-year-old, Riley Smith (H2 Nutrition), third.
In the trail running, Nokukhanya Memela followed up her win at Karkloof last weekend. She was followed home by multiple series champion, Sarah Gray. Erika Korte ended third in the women’s race.
It makes this year’s
Quattro ROAG Series powered by Momentum very intriguing. After four events, Gray has one win and three second positions. Memela only has two first-place finishes, but if she achieves a couple more victories, Gray could lose the grip on the title she has held for the past few seasons.
Bongani Hlongwane just edged out Mthokozisi Xulu by a mere seven seconds with Innocent Skhumbuzo Bhengu another seven seconds further back in third.
MTB
• Men 40km: 1, Tyronne White 01:25:02; 2, Stuart Marais 01:25:02; 3, Michael Foster 01:25:03.
• Women 40km: 1, Rouxda Grobler 01:44:57; 2, Hayley Smith 01:45:34; 3, Riley Smith 01:56:08.
Men 18km: 1, Joshua Paul 00:43:07; 2, Seth Aszalos 00:43:36; 3, Mitchell Bryan Boik 00:45:43.
• Women 18km: 1, Errin Mackridge 00:45:45; 2, Madison Bateson 00:45:45; 3, Jodi Mackinnon 00:46:45.
Trail run
• Men 18km: 1, Bongani Hlongwane 01:03:27; 2, Mthokozisi Xulu 01:03:34; 3, Innocent Skhumbuzo Bhengu 01:03:41.
• Women 18km: 1, Nokukhanya Memela 01:23:20; 2, Sarah Gray 01:26:12; 3, Erika Korte 01:33:17.
• Men 9km: 1, Thulani Skhakhane 00:37:55; 2, Hlelani Radebe 00:38:36; 3, Charli Mlotshwa 00:39:30.
• Women 9km: 1, Christina Stanton 00:51:02; 2, Khanya Singh 00:55:47; 3, Hana Newlands 00:57:15.