![\"ccs-62657-0-87355000-1572451325.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-87355000-1572451325.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Michael Lambrecht from UCT on the charge. Photo credit: Xavier Briel.<\/span><\/p>\nStage 3 was not without drama though. The men\u2019s race saw mechanicals, Simpson taking a brief swim, and a broken handlebar for Tuks\u2019 Andries Nigrini scuppered his and Antonie Joubert\u2019s chances of a stage win. The women\u2019s race was smoother, with UCT racing without incident to the finish.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndries and Antonie really made it hard for us today\u201d Simpson confessed. \u201cI finally popped in the Wildekrans singletracks. But missing the bridge had nothing to do with that. I just couldn\u2019t see where it was and I underestimated how deep the stream was. I thought I could just ride through it\u201d he recounted, still wet and starting to shiver, on the finish line.<\/p>\n
\u201cTuks had a lead of nearly 2 minutes at the end of the singletracks, but when we got to Water Point 2 [44 kilometres into the 69-kilometre-long stage] we saw them stopped with a broken handlebar\u201d Simpson explained. \u201cI come from a road racing background and we tried to use road tactics on them today\u201d Nigrini said, clarifying how the stage unfolded from a Tuks point of view.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe managed to get a gap in the Wildekrans singletracks, but then, approaching the next water point, I slipped on a bridge\u201d Nigrini added. \u201cI took it a bit wide and lost my front wheel when it rolled off the mesh and onto the wet wood. My front wheel washed out and I fell, snapping my handlebar.\u201d<\/p>\n
The only option for Nigrini and Joubert was to duct tape Nigrini\u2019s shifter and brake lever in. That left his bike lopsided and though Tuks were able to catch up to UCT again, Nigrini was at a definite disadvantage, in the final 10 kilometres. \u201cShame, it must have been really difficult for him in those singletracks\u201d Simpson commiserated.<\/p>\n In the singletrack-filled closing kilometres, Nigrini was unable to keep up with Simpson and Lambrecht. He and Joubert slipped from parity to 2 minutes and 6 seconds behind the general classification victors by the time they crossed the finish line. UCT\u2019s stage win secured them the overall title by 7 minutes and 36 seconds over the Tuks team.<\/p>\n The Maties men were third on the stage and the general classification.<\/p>\n Things were less dramatic in the women\u2019s race, though it was no procession to the sea for Webb and Tait. The Nelson Mandela University team, of Jean-Marie Roelofse and Stacey Hyslop, along with the Stellenbosch University team, of Catherine Pellow-Jarman and Susan Kruger ensured the racing was tough on the final stage.<\/p>\n Roelofse and Hyslop had endured a difficult day on the muddy trails of Stage 2, but the pair enjoyed the drying conditions and more open roads of Stage 3. They pressed Webb and Tait all the way to the final 10 kilometres, after Pellow-Jarman and Kruger had dropped off the pace a little earlier. There was no stopping the UCT women, as Webb and Tait proved unbeatable.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was the most amazing experience ever\u201d Tait grinned after securing her third stage win of the race, alongside Webb. \u201cThe trails were amazing and everything was just great, especially my partner Courteney!\u201d \u201cGetting to the sea here in Onrus was special. It was such a stunning ending to a fantastic FNB Wines2Whales and Varsity MTB event\u201d Webb enthusiastically added.<\/p>\n Webb and Tait\u2019s winning time was 4 minutes and 43 seconds faster than the Madibaz pair\u2019s 3 hours, 35 minutes and 51 seconds. \u201cI raced the Varsity MTB in 2017 when it was a stand-alone stage race\u201d Hyslop remembered, choosing to focus on the race as a whole. \u201cIt being part of the FNB Wines2Whales Pinotage this year was so special. It was great to be part of a bigger event and to represent our universities on a big stage\u201d the Stage 3 runner-up said.<\/p>\n After finishing second for the first two days of the race, Pellow-Jarman and Kruger had to settle for third on the final stage. They did enough to remain second on the overall classification though, finishing 23 minutes and 14 seconds behind the race winners. Roelofse and Hyslop\u2019s storming race through Stage 3, was enough to leapfrog them up into the final general classification podium position.<\/p>\n Men\u2019s Stage 3 Results:<\/strong> Women Stage 3 Results:<\/strong> Men\u2019s General Classification after Stage 3:<\/strong> Women\u2019s General Classification after Stage 3:<\/strong><\/a>UCT’s men’s team wrapped up the Varsity MTB title through a solid performance. Photo credit: Xavier Briel.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Celebrations in style for Amy Tait and Courteney Webb from UCT as they claim the Varsity MTB title. Photo credit: Xavier Briel.<\/span><\/p>\n
1. UCT Men: Richard Simpson & Michael Lambrecht (02:53:11)
2. Tuks Manne: Andries Nigrini & Antonie Joubert (02:55:17 | +02:06)
3. Maties Men: Michael Sutton & Morn\u00e9 Hollander (03:14:37 | +21:26)<\/p>\n
1. UCT Women: Courteney Webb & Amy Tait (03:31:08)
2. Madibaz Ladies: Jean-Marie Roelofse & Stacey Hyslop (03:35:51 | +04:43)
3. Maties Ladies: Catherine Pellow-Jarman & Susan Kruger (03:37:15 | +06:07)<\/p>\n<\/a>The Varsity MTB men’s podium. Photo credit: Xavier Briel.<\/span><\/p>\n
1. UCT Men: Richard Simpson & Michael Lambrecht (08:37:45)
2. Tuks Manne: Andries Nigrini & Antonie Joubert (08:45:21 | +07:36)
3. Maties Men: Michael Sutton & Morn\u00e9 Hollander (09:51:00 | +01:12:15)<\/p>\n
1. UCT Women: Courteney Webb & Amy Tait (10:57:54)
2. Maties Ladies: Catherine Pellow-Jarman & Susan Kruger (11:21:08 | +23:14)
3. Madibaz Ladies: Jean-Marie Roelofse & Stacey Hyslop (11:54:19 | +56:25)<\/p>\n<\/a>The Varsity MTB women’s podium. Photo credit: Xavier Briel.<\/span><\/p>\n