{"id":14198,"date":"2021-08-22T07:31:37","date_gmt":"2021-08-22T06:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2021\/08\/22\/botha-shatters-attakwas-record-to-claim-maiden-win-r8307\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T19:02:12","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T19:02:12","slug":"botha-shatters-attakwas-record-to-claim-maiden-win-r8307","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/botha-shatters-attakwas-record-to-claim-maiden-win-r8307\/","title":{"rendered":"Botha shatters Attakwas record to claim maiden win"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSouth Africa\u2019s Wessel Botha confirmed his status as a new marathon-racing star when he won the 2021 Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme presented by Biogen in a new record time on Saturday. The Team Type Dev NanoTime racer had to contest a tight three-way sprint to claim his maiden victory in South Africa\u2019s toughest one-day mountain bike race.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Wessel
\n\tWessel Botha celebrates as he crosses the finish line ahead of Alex Miller and Marco Joubert at the 2021 Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen. Photo: ZC Marketing Consulting<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tSouth African marathon champion, Yolande de Villiers (The Coopetto) took a comfortable victory in the women\u2019s race finishing an impressive 30th overall. It was a day that saw a limited field of riders due to Covid-19 restrictions tackling the 121km race from Oudtshoorn to Groot Brak River in near perfect weather conditions.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Attakwas
\n\tThe women\u2019s podium of the 2021 Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen is, from left: Kelsey van Schoor (fifth), Sarah Hill (third), Yolande de Villiers (first), Amy Beth McDougall (second) and Kim Le Court (fourth).\u00a0Photo: ZC Marketing Consulting\u00a0<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBotha, who finished third at the 2020 edition, was eager to improve on that result and was attentive throughout the demanding race, which included 2900 metres of climbing. The 22-year-old professional racer from Pretoria, outlasted most of the field and eventually outsprinted his final two rivals to claim the win in a time of 04 hours 46 minutes 22 seconds. Second place went to Nambia\u2019s Alex Miller (Trek Vaude) and third to South African Marco Joubert (Imbuko Giant), both also beating the previous record.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Attakwas
\n\tWessel Botha (left) leads Alex Miller and Marco Joubert towards the finish of the 2021 Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen. Photo: ZC Marketing Consulting<\/em>
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tBotha\u2019s winning time was 01:34 quicker than the previous record of 4:47:56 set by Swiss ace Urs Huber in 2014. But the course for the 2021 edition was around 1500 metres longer as the organisers needed to create a detour near the finish because of damage to the route caused by recent rain.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tAs is usually the case, the rugged terrain and steep gradients of the section through the Attakwas Reserve after Water Point 2 was the most decisive. Pieter du Toit (Pyga EuroSteel) claimed the King of the Mountain prize at the 56km point, but he punctured on the descent. That left a group of five in the lead comprising two-time winner and pre-race favourite, Matthys Beukes (Pyga EuroSteel), Tristan Nortje (Imbuko Giant), Miller, Joubert and Botha.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Attakwas
\n\tThe change of date from January to August saw more water and deeper river crossings on the route of the 2021 Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen. Photo: ZC Marketing Consulting<\/em>
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tBeukes then also punctured on the descent putting paid to his hopes of contesting the win and Nortje was distanced on the climb with 87km completed, leaving Miller, Joubert and Botha to tackle the finale at the front.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\t\u201cInitially Alex tried some attacks but he couldn\u2019t drop us so we decided to work together and ensure we kept our lead,\u201d explained Botha. \u201cWe worked well together but I knew from last year that those last two climbs were crucial. I attacked on the second one and Marco got dropped. But he managed to claw his way back to us and I then realised that it would come down to a sprint and I knew the first rider onto the last descent would be in the best position for the win.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Attakwas
\n\tThere is some rugged terrain that faces the riders at the Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen. Photo: ZC Marketing Consulting<\/em><\/p>\n

\t\u201cAlex managed to get in front on the last downhill, but he went a bit wide on a turn and I managed to pass him on the inside. From there it\u2019s quite twisty and narrow to the finish and so I just kept the pressure on and was able to cross the finish line first,\u201d explained an elated Botha.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tPerennial Attakwas podium contender, Gert Heyns (Pyga EuroSteel) paced himself well to finish fourth with Beukes rounding out the top five.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\t\u201cThis is definitely one of the highlights of my career,\u201d smiled Botha. \u201cAttakwas is the toughest one-day race in South Africa and riders have a lot of respect for it. To win it for my team and to break the course record is something I\u2019m very proud of. With about 30km to go I noticed our time and thought that we would be close to the record, but I was more concerned about trying for the win. The weather conditions were really perfect, which definitely helped with the fast time.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Attakwas
\n\tThe leading men tackle the Attakwas Kloof Reserve during the 2021 Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen. Photo: ZC Marketing Consulting<\/em>
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tUnlike the men\u2019s race, the women\u2019s race saw De Villiers lead from start to finish. It was the 48-year-old\u2019s ninth participation in the iconic race and her third victory. She claimed her first win in the first edition of the race in 2007. Her second win came from thrilling a sprint finish at the 2019 edition and her third a somewhat \u2018social distanced\u2019 one in 2021.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tDe Villiers clocked a winning time of 05:59:23. Second place went to Amy Beth McDougall in a time of 06:04:55 with Sarah Hill rounding out the podium in a time of 06:18:49.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\t\u201cI attacked from the start and was on my own at the front for the whole race. My strategy was to race my own race and basically \u2018go til you blow\u2019!\u201d said a satisfied De Villiers.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Attakwas
\n\tA wildebeest dashes across the road ahead of a competitor at the 2021 Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen. Photo: ZC Marketing Consulting<\/em>
\n\t\u00a0
\n\t\u201cThis was a special victory for me because I lost my previous sponsor at the end of July as a result of the lockdown restrictions due to Covid-19. And today I raced for the first time for my new sponsor, The Coopetto, which is a cycling coaching company owned by my coach, Timo Cooper.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tThe first ten finishers at the Attakwas Extreme get gold medals and all finishers under six hours get silver medals with bronze medals going to the remainder of the finishers. This year there were only 30 riders that broke the six-hour silver-medal cut-off.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Attakwas
\n\tThe men\u2019s podium of the 2021 Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen is, from left: Gert Heyns (fourth), Marco Joubert (third), Wessel Botha (first), Alex Miller (second) and Matthys Beukes (fifth). Photo: ZC Marketing Consulting<\/em>
\n\t\u00a0
\n\t2021 Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme, presented by Biogen leading results:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\tOverall men<\/strong>
\n\t1 Wessel Botha, RSA (Type Dev NanoTime) 04hrs46min22 sec
\n\t2 Alex Miller, NAM (Trek Vaude) 04:46:22
\n\t3 Marco Joubert, RSA (Imbuko Giant) 04:46:23
\n\t4 Gert Heyns, RSA (Pyga EuroSteel) 04:48:24
\n\t5 Matthys Beukes, RSA (Pyga EuroSteel) 04:49:29
\n\t6 Rudi Koen, RSA (Imbuko Giant) 4:59:51
\n\t7 Tristan Nortje, RSA (Imbuko Giant) 05:00:48
\n\t8 Carel van Wyk, RSA 05:04:36
\n\t9 Jacques Janse van Rensburg, RSA (Team DSV) 05:07:59
\n\t10 Tristan de Lange, NAM (Imbuko Giant) 05:09:24
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tOverall women<\/strong>
\n\t1 Yolande de Villiers, RSA (The Coopetto) 05:59:23
\n\t2 Amy Beth McDougall, RSA (Perigon\/Motor Lease\/BH) 06:04:55
\n\t3 Sarah Hill, RSA (Liv Racing) 06:18:41
\n\t4 Kim Le Court, MRU (Galileo Infiniti Spot) 06:43:56
\n\t5 Kelsey van Schoor, RSA (Customised BioPlus) 06:46:58
\n\t6 Leone Verster RSA (Wintergreen) 06:57:05
\n\t7 Mandi Augustyn, RSA 06:57:10
\n\t8 Nicola Walker, RSA 07:00:55
\n\t9 Sarita Louw, RSA 07:07:36
\n\t10 Franci Joubert, RSA 07:47:51
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tFor full results, visit www.atta.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa\u2019s Wessel Botha confirmed his status as a new marathon-racing star when he won the 2021 Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme presented by Biogen in a new record time on Saturday. The Team Type Dev NanoTime racer had to contest a tight three-way sprint to claim his maiden victory in South Africa\u2019s toughest one-day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":58366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5305],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-14198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-null"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14198"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=14198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}