The 2015 Quattro ROAG Series kicked off with the Illovo Wartburg Classic on Saturday and it was three-time series defending champion Andrew Hill who began in the best possible fashion as he won the elite men’s race ahead of a charging Tyronne White and Leeroy Emslie while the inaugural overall women’s winner in the Quattro ROAG Series, Natalie Bergstrom, opened her account with a win in the women’s race.
It was TIB Insurance’s Andrew Hill who began the 2015 Quattro ROAG Series how he ended the 2014 edition with a win at the Illovo Wartburg Classic over the past weekend. // Photo: Supplied/ Gameplan Media.
For TIB Insurance’s Hill and Thule’s White, who have confirmed they will be taking on the 3 Mountains Challenge and the Old Mutual joBerg2c together, the race was a great way for the two to see how they can work as a pair with the day’s outcome prompting Hill to believe that the duo are well suited to racing together.
“Tyronne (White) and I managed to get away in the first 20km,” the TIB Insurance star said. “We put some time into the rest of the field on the Elevator section of the course and then we just rotated the work on the front well and it was good for us to see how well we could work together.
“We pushed each other hard before Tyronne got a bit of cramp with four kilometres to go and said I must carry on. He caught me a bit later though and we had a little race to the line,” he added.
A tactically sound race was something that Hill went into the encounter hoping to pull off and after carving out an early lead with his soon-to-be team-mate the pair worked hard to remain in front and Hill was impressed by the course that the organisers had laid out for them.
The 2015 Quattro ROAG Series was won by TIB Insurance’s Andrew Hill (centre) followed by Tyronne White of Thule/Concept Cyclery (right) in second followed by John Ntuli (left) of the RMB Change a Life Academy in third at the Illovo Wartburg Classic over the past weekend. // Photo: Paul Botma/ Gameplan Media.
“There was a little bit of rain in the build up to the race and we had a little bit during the race as well but it was nothing serious so we had a really good time out there and really enjoyed the conditions as well as the course that they prepared.
“The track was well thought out, the technical sections were tricky and the single track was great which always kept us on our toes and there was a good balance throughout the race which was brilliant.
“The longer distance of events like Wartburg has always been an advantage for me and it was nice to get some miles under the belt in a racing environment,” a satisfied Hill mentioned.
With a first win in the Quattro ROAG Series under his belt Hill plans on adding to his good start with a number of appearances in the series’ events throughout the year as he keeps a distant gaze on claiming a fourth consecutive series title.
“I would love to win a fourth title but that is a long way away and there is a lot of racing left this year so I am planning on doing a lot of the races in the series and I have to compete in six in order to just qualify to win so that is the goal.
“I have laid out a plan for the year which does include a lot of the ROAG Series events so I am really keen to keep going and work towards another series title at the end of the year.
“It was great to set up my season with a win over the weekend and it is in line with my longer term goal to pick up points early and work from there,” he added.
The women’s race was won by inaugural Quattro ROAG Series winner and the 2014 Quattro ROAG Series runner-up Natalie Bergstrom (Jowetts Cycles) who cruised to victory by over 25 minutes ahead of Sarah Briginshaw and Brenda Potts second and third respectively.
Junior Joshua Nelson won the shorter 45km race by just under a minute from Mitchell Ginsberg in second and Dean Wortmann who rounded out the podium while the young local Frankie du Toit (Time Freight) was the strongest female in the 45km ride.
The 2015 Quattro ROAG Series is a nine leg series that sees all of KZN’s top mountain bikers doing battle for the coveted title and the winner’s cheque of R22 000 for both the male and female overall winners. More information can be found at www.roagseries.co.za.
SUMMARY OF RESULTS – ILLOVO WARTBURG CLASSIC
65km Marathon
1. Andrew Hill 02:30:44
2. Tyronne White 02:31:22
3. Leeroy Emslie 02:32:44
4. Jedson Tooms 02:33:26
5. John Ntuli 02:35:11
6. Sithembiso Masango 02:35:22
7. Warren Price 02:35:46
8. David Low 02:36:37
9. Callan Deacon 02:38:20
10. Bongumusa Zikhali 02:38:45
Women
1. Natalie Bergstrom 02:54:53
2. Sarah Briginshaw 03:21:37
3. Brenda Potts 03:22:53
4. Dagmar Muhlbauer 03:25:34
5. Isabel Moolman 03:25:36
45km Marathon
1. Joshua Nelson 01:41:04
2. Mitchell Ginsberg 01:41:54
3. Dean Wortmann 01:48:01
4. Gareth Cook 01:50:35
5. Jett Bradshaw 01:53:03
Women
1. Frankie du Toit 01:56:29
2. Tiffany Keep 02:01:45
3. Sabrina van Wyk 02:13:05
Has Andrew Hill ever won anything outside of KZN? He's not really a big player on the national scene.