De Groot, Bell claim TrailSeeker series titles on a high note

In years gone by the Nissan TrailSeeker Mountain Bike Series has established itself as a breeding ground for new talent through races that aren’t too far from major centres and not too difficult for newcomers. Road cycling professionals have used the popular series successfully to transition into mountain biking.

This past weekend, the finale of the Gauteng Nissan TrailSeeker Series, dubbed the Diamond Rush, held at Cullinan, east of Pretoria, was no exception. Waylon Woolcock, Gawie Combrinck (EAI Cycling) and Nico Bell (Team RECM) who made their mountain biking debut at the Nissan TrailSeeker Series only a few years ago and have since established themselves as salted mountain biking professionals, were the three main protagonists in the men’s marathon.

In the women’s marathon, Robyn de Groot (Ascendis Health), also from a road racing background and the current South African Marathon champion, took top honours on the day and in the process also secured the overall win in the Nissan TrailSeeker Gauteng Series.

The event also attracted the attention of top South African road and track cycling sprinter, Nolan Hoffman (Abantu). Hoffman said he chose the Nissan TrailSeeker event as his first ever offroad event because it is a gradual introduction to technical riding and a good enough challenge to test the waters.

The furious tempo from the outset of the race saw Hoffman and one of his Abantu teammates at the fore, together with the top established mountain bikers battling for both race and series supremacy. But Hoffman’s challenge nearly ended abruptly when he took a tumble over his handlebars in a technical section known as Little Eden just after the 20km mark.

Gawie Combrinck leading the pack, followed closely by NIco Bell – Photo Credit: ZC Marketing Consulting

“My bars were so wide and the trail through the rocks just kept getting narrower and narrower, big respect to the guys who do this every week, mountain biking is hard,” a clearly excited Hoffman commented afterwards, who ended in 14th place. “This was quite spontaneous. My teammate challenged me to take part. This was a proper introduction to mountain biking. I probably blew up three times out there today but I really had hard fun and I will be back!”

It was shortly after this technically testing section that Woolcock, Combrinck and Bell, marking each other’s every move, broke clear of the main pack. The tricky sections through the local game reserves made for a closely contested tussle eventually coming down to three-way dash to the line.

Bell crossed the line just ahead of Woolcock, leaving third place to Combrinck, the current national marathon champion. The win cemented Bell as the Nissan TrailSeeker Series overall victor with three wins in the series from five events, giving him the perfect score.

“The race had a really fast start and I had to work to get a good position before the singletrack sections. This morning I checked the route and I knew I had to stay tight in the final corner so coming into the sprint I had a bit of an advantage,” said Bell. “I expected the bunch sprint with such a competitive field and I just managed to squeeze passed Gawie in the final sprint. But the line came just too soon to still shoot past Nico, but I’m quite happy with the result,” said Woolcock.

Combrinck had to settle for second place in the series after a consistent showing at four of the five events. “The flat and fast course didn’t really allow much opportunity to ride away, it has been a really good season and I’m looking forward to next year already,” said Combrinck.

Rising star, Thinus Redelinghuys (Jeep Team) rounded off the overall series podium standings in third place, followed by Guylin van den Berg (IXS Sport) and William Mokgopo (Kargo Pro) in fourth and fifth respectively.

Robyn de Groot skilfully navigating the rocky single track – Photo Credit: ZC Marketing Consulting

The women’s race was dominated by an in-form De Groot.

“It was great to finish off the season with a win. I was under a bit of pressure to take the win, so I didn’t take too many risks and only pushed when I knew I could afford it. I just renewed my sponsorship with Team Ascendis Health and I’m already looking forward to seeing what the Nissan TrailSeeker Series organisers put together for us for the new year,” said De Groot.

Vanessa Bell (Bells Cycling) managed to secure second place on the day ahead of podium newcomer, Maricel Bekker. According to Bell she knew De Groot would be the rider to beat but the heat and dust played a major role. Bekker, elated with her result said: “This is all rather new for me. I only recently decided to try make the leap to go pro and I am really happy with this result.”

The flawless victory by De Groot also secured her the series win over Theresa Ralph and Vanessa Bell, who completed the podium in second and third respectively. Adrienne Moolman and Michelle Benson impressed to finish in fourth and fifth overall.

Next year’s dates to be announced on 18th November.