![\"ccs-62657-0-74464300-1572781902.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-74464300-1572781902-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Matt Beers and Wessel Botha were in fine form throughout the three stages of the 2019 FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz. Photo credit: Nick Muzik.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cFrom the start, today, we set quite a hard pace\u201d Botha recounted about how the final stage was won. \u201cThe plan was to test the other guys a bit. On the Houw Hoek climb, we saw DSV Pro Cycling struggling a little bit. So, we knew we were the stronger team. On the Kat Pas, we took it easy, to avoid punctures, and they re-joined us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NAD Pro MTB team and DSV Pro Cycling\u2019s Gert Heyns and Arno du Toit went through the first waterpoint, at Botrivier Primary School together. The quartet then raced their way through the Wildekrans singletracks in close formation, before the open climb towards waterpoint 2 provided an opportunity for Beers and Botha to attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the climb to the Art House, Matt wound it up and we managed to get a gap\u201d Botha continued. \u201cFrom there it was just heads down to the finish. We went full gas on the road sections but took it a little easier in the singletracks, just to avoid any punctures or mechanicals. Luckily we could hold it to the finish and take the third stage win.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo come back as the defending champs is not always easy\u201d Beers reflected. \u201cThere is always extra pressure and it doesn\u2019t happen often that a team can defend their title. To get three stage wins in doing so was just a bonus. I\u2019m really happy to get another win.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was a last-minute call-up. Nico Bell phoned me on Wednesday and told me that he couldn\u2019t race because he had a chest infection\u201d Beers clarified. \u201cI\u2019ve been riding a Specialized Epic Evo Comp, so I actually raced on Nico\u2019s bike. Fortunately, we both ride extra-large frames – it went way better than I expected. Wessel has progressed so much since he joined the team; people underestimate him because he is so softly spoken, but he is one of the best mountain bikers in the country\u201d he concluded, praising his young partner.<\/p>\n DSV Pro Cycling was caught by a recovering PYGA Euro Steel in the Gaf se Bos singletracks between the Art House waterpoint and the Karwyderskraal Road. That set up a tense final 20 kilometres for Heyns and Du Toit, who had clearly burnt too many matches trying to take the race to NAD Pro MTB.<\/p>\n \u201cThe prize money for second is still a nice bonus at the end of the year [R50 000]\u201d Heyns confessed after finishing second on the stage and second overall. \u201cMatt and Wessel rode really well. We tried our best, so second is not too bad.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToday we kept up with NAD really well\u201d Heyns explained how the day unfolded from a DSV Pro Cycling perspective. \u201cWhen they decided to really go, we just didn\u2019t have the firepower to follow them. But luckily, we could still hold onto second overall.\u201d<\/p>\n PYGA Euro Steel\u2019s Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes finished the stage in third, after losing out to Heyns and Du Toit in the sprint for second. The result secured them third overall, on the final general classification standings. NAD Pro MTB\u2019s time of 7 hours, 32 minutes and 37 seconds was a massive 27 minutes faster than the event record, set by Buys and Beukes in 2017. DSV Pro Cycling and PYGA Euro Steel both comfortably beat the previous record time, as did the fourth-placed team of Keagan Bontekoning and Jean-Pierre Lloyd. The fifth spot on the overall standings was filled by SPOT Africa DEVMCO Umhlanga Arch\u2019s Timothy Hammond and Julian Jessop.<\/p>\n<\/a>DSV Pro Cycling’s Arno du Toit and Gert Heyns during Stage 3 of the 2019 FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz. Photo credit: Nick Muzik.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Wessel Botha and Matt Beers of NAD Pro MTB celebrate after claiming the 2019 FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz title. Photo credit: Nick Muzik.<\/span><\/p>\n