{"id":12957,"date":"2022-10-18T14:35:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T13:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2022\/10\/18\/chardonnay-race-attracts-top-talent-to-fnb-wines2whales-r8481\/"},"modified":"2023-03-20T08:51:11","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T06:51:11","slug":"chardonnay-race-attracts-top-talent-to-fnb-wines2whales-r8481","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/chardonnay-race-attracts-top-talent-to-fnb-wines2whales-r8481\/","title":{"rendered":"Chardonnay Race Attracts top Talent to FNB Wines2Whales"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe defending champions, Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss, headline the 2022 FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay Race. The KingPrice Rola team will face stiff competition from Amy Wakefield and Irina L\u00fctzelschwab, and Vera Looser and Kim LeCourt, while fascinating battles are sure to play out throughout the 16 team strong field.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"image.jpeg\"Defending champions, Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss will face stiff competition from Amy Wakefield and Irina L\u00fctzelschwab, and Vera Looser and Kim LeCourt<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 2022 FNB Wines2Whales gets underway with the Women\u2019s races in the Chardonnay event, from the 28th to the 30th of October. With significant prize money at stake, including R100 000 for the winning team, there is no shortage of motivation among the top teams. The desire to win will not be enough, however; conditioning, freshness, skill and racing acumen will all play their parts in determining the victors.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHeadlining the Women\u2019s field in 2022 are the defending champions, Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss. Racing as KingPrice Rola, the pair are reuniting for their fourth Epic Series stage race in 13 months. \u201cMy form is building again towards the FNB Wines2Whales,\u201d Strauss pointed out. \u201cI took my season break after racing the City Mountain Bike XCE series and now I\u2019m building back up again towards 2023.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFNB W2W is always a great race!\u201d Strauss enthused. \u201cIt\u2019s a great way to end the year and I\u2019m really looking forward to racing it and giving my all alongside Candice [Lill] in defence of our title. Hopefully we can end the year on a strong note and take that momentum into next year.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTeamwork is obviously key to success in any Epic Series stage race and it\u2019ll be no different in the Chardonnay race,\u201d she confirmed. \u201cThe foundation for Candice and my success as a team is that we get along very well on and off the bike. There\u2019s a great atmosphere in the team when we\u2019re together at events and because we know each other so well we don\u2019t always need to rely on verbal communication. It\u2019s so reassuring to know that you have a partner that will be there no matter what. I know if things get tough Candice will be there. And I believe we bring out the best in each other.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

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\n\tWhile the team with number 1 on their bike boards will be tried and tested, their most highly ranked rivals are an all-new combination. Amy Wakefield will be lining up alongside Irina L\u00fctzelschwab, of Team Bulls, for E-fort Symbtech. The Swiss marathon and stage race specialist is taking on her first Epic Series event, though she did win the 2021 4Islands MTB Croatia race before it joined the series.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI made an effort to race in Europe as much as possible this year and in doing so got to know the top marathon women,\u201d Wakefield explained of how the partnership with L\u00fctzelschwab came about. \u201cIrina [L\u00fctzelschwab] stood out for me because besides being very strong, she is level headed and consistent which are two very valuable traits in a stage racing partner.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFNB Wines2Whales is an important race in itself and also doubles up as a \u2018trial\u2019 event for the Cape Epic,\u201d Wakefield confirmed. \u201cI am looking forward to racing with Irina and testing out a potential future partnership for 2023\u2026 That said, the Chardonnay is fully focussed on the women\u2019s race so we will be giving it the respect it demands. It is so special, because we can focus 100% on our own race without any interference. We also have all the media coverage which is incredible for our sponsors, women\u2019s cycling in general, and then for our individual careers too.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis year it will be a very exciting race because there is such a strong line-up!\u201d she concluded. \u201cTeamwork will be very important for this one.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAlong with the KingPrice Rola and E-fort Symbtech teams the other five-star favourites for the race are the Namibian\/Mauritian combination of Vera Looser and Kim le Court. The pair raced together at the SPAR Swiss Epic in the Graub\u00fcnden region, off the back of the Commonwealth Games, and won the final stage. Along with being well matched on the bike the Efficient Infiniti Insure Rare Street Coffee team appear to get along superbly off the bike, too. If the mantra of fun is fast proves true, they will be in the mix throughout the Chardonnay race.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe Liv-Wintergreen and Bester Performance\/Titan Racing\/Altes Landhaus teams are four-star favourites, or outsiders for podium placings, in the opening event of the 2022 FNB Wines2Whales series. Both Sarah Hill and Elrika Harmzen-Pretorius as well as Yolande de Villiers and Stephanie Wohlters are teams which cannot be discounted, but how well Hill and De Villiers will be able to manage their less experienced partners throughout the three days of racing is likely to determine their chances of success. Wohlters, despite only stepping into elite racing this year, has already proven her tenacity and ability and could surprise some of the more established names in the race.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThough young in years Tiffany Keep and Danielle Strydom can also not be discounted, given their growing experience. The Valley Electrical Titan Racing\/Imbuko {Type} DEV team have the singletrack prowess to excel on the trail heavy route from Lourensford to Onrus. A podium place, upsetting one of the top teams will represent a superb result for young women.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tNamibia\u2019s Monique du Plessis and Jaen-Marie Mostert (Cymot Racing), and Courtney Liebenberg and Irene Steyn (Hollard Namibia) are dark horses in the Women’s field. As are their compatriots Luanne van der Schyff and Gabriela Raith (Pereira 1) and Candice Wiggill and Jeanne Heunis (Pereira 2). Time will tell if they will be mixing it up for a top five placing or racing for the minor places. The self-proclaimed \u201cfun racers\u201d, or the group of women with full-time jobs and racing licences, are evenly matched and fiercely competitive. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRobyn Williams and Ila Stow, of Clickatell, have already proven themselves the team to beat in this race within a race. They will once again be facing off against Nicola Freitas and Juanita Mackenzie (Spoke and Mirrors) as well as Kylie Hanekom and Tarryn Povey. Povey will be lining up alongside Paceline teammate Sarita Louw, with the Paceline 2 team of Catherine Pellow-Jarman and Almari de Milander joining them on the start line at Lourensford. The final Women\u2019s team is the Engineering Hub combination of Mandi Augustyn and Tracey Campbell.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHanekom meanwhile will be partnered by photographer, mountain biker and trail runner Marzelle van der Merwe. Van der Merwe recently ran in third in the Otter trail run and is arguably as competitive as her Bike Hub partner. \u201cI suppose I\u2019m used to racing XC against them, so it\u2019s not really something I\u2019ve thought about,\u201d Van der Merwe said of lining up against the likes of Strauss, Lill and Wakefield. \u201cI\u2019m just excited to have a jol with a friend and seeing how deep we can bury ourselves as a team. I\u2019ve been focusing on running for the second half of the season. I\u2019m actually pretty interested to see how the legs will be with some hard run efforts in them.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tLike Stow, Hanekom and Van der Merwe have not only raced cross-country events but have also taken part in a number of provincial Enduros. These skills will stand Van der Merwe in good stead, as she explained: \u201cXCO and more trail riding just makes you super comfy on a mountain bike. I don\u2019t really have to think about trails when I ride marathon, it\u2019s just so much more mellow than XCO. I think it\u2019s a huge advantage to be able to relax and recover on the downhill. It gives you an opportunity to do things that\u2019ll make you even faster, like think about how aero you can be!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the Bike Hub team is focused on challenging themselves to the limit, Pellow-Jarman is a little less intent on pushing herself beyond her limits. \u201cIt\u2019s a serious-fun race or a fun-serious race, depending a what your goals are,\u201d the Paceline 2 woman smiled. \u201cAt FNB W2W you know that you\u2019re always going to be served some proper mountain biking combined with a good amount of fun. After all they don\u2019t call it the \u2018race with gees\u2019 for nothing!\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI think it\u2019s absolutely fantastic that FNB W2W are taking active steps to promote the growth of women\u2019s cycling in SA,\u201d Pellow-Jarman added. \u00a0\u201cThe women\u2019s specific race not only makes the racing more exciting but also indirectly encourages more women to participate. It\u2019s always great to see a stacked field of women and having 16 top class teams taking part this year makes me very excited!\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAs often as us \u2018fun racers\u2019 say \u2018we\u2019re not racing\u2019, we secretly are,\u201d Pellow-Jarman confessed. It might not be against the podium contenders, but I think amongst ourselves we\u2019ll definitely have a bit of a throw-down.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

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\n\tWomen\u2019s Field for the 2022 FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay:<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n