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<\/a>Candice Lill and Adelheid Morath claimed Stage 1 of the 2019 FNB W2W. Photo Credit: Xavier Briel.<\/span><\/p>\nLill and Morath won the 2018 race in commanding fashion, claiming two stage victories on their way to the general classification crown by 9 minutes and 47 seconds. Their push for victory was founded on a strong start to the opening stage last year, and this year\u2019s race is off to a similar start. The pair attacked from the off, capitalising on the cold legs of their rivals; after the start had been delayed by the ceaseless rain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe plan was to push the pace on the first climb, like we did last year\u201d Lill explained, after crossing the finish line in Oak Valley. \u201cWe managed to get a little gap over the dormakaba team of Robyn de Groot and Amy McDougall, but they closed it again on the rolling section that followed. Then, on a little kicker before Water Point 1, Amy seemed to be struggling a bit, so we accelerated again. We got a gap and pretty much held it steady all the way to the finish\u201d.<\/p>\n
Adding colour to Lill\u2019s tale Morath said: \u201cThat was tough! Racing in the pouring rain from the start made it really difficult to see where we were going, especially following in the slippery and muddy singletracks.\u201d The Faces team\u2019s winning margin was 1 minute and 32.1 seconds over the second-placed dormakaba team.<\/p>\n \u201cWe rode nicely together\u201d McDougall reflected on her budding partnership with De Groot. In just their second stage race together, the pair worked well to keep Lill and Morath in sight for most of the stage. \u201cFrom what I can remember, the trails in Oak Valley and Paul Cluver get pretty slippery when they\u2019re wet. So, anything can happen tomorrow\u201d a muddy McDougall concluded.<\/p>\n Jennie Stenerhag and Nadine Rieder were third on the stage, crossing the line 10 minutes and 34.7 seconds after the stage winners. \u201cCandice and Adelheid got away on the first climb, Robyn and Amy followed them. Then it was us who summited third\u201d the Fairtree rider, in the Fairtree-Rotwild combination, clarified. \u201cAfter that, we were on our own for the rest of the stage. It was pretty lonely, to be honest. The temperature wasn\u2019t too bad at least, once we got going.\u201d Stenerhag reiterated the general theme reported by the stage finishers.<\/p>\n Behind the top three teams, Ariane L\u00fcthi and Samara Sheppard had fought back from a slow start to finish fourth. The Kross Spur team was just under 4 minutes faster than the fifth-placed Multitask Industries combination, of Alice Pirard and Sabine Spitz. Katie Lennard and Laura Stark were sixth, Sarah Hill and Danielle Strydom were seventh and the most social elite riders in the field, Barbara Benko and Mariske Strauss crossed the line in eighth.<\/p>\n The rain is predicted to fall until late on Friday evening, but it is looking positive for overcast skies but no further precipitation on Saturday. At 64 kilometres long, Stage 2, is the play day of the FNB Wines2Whales and the singletrack packed route could offer opportunities for the chasing teams to make up time on Lill and Morath, especially if the leaders can be forced into taking undue risks. Challenging conditions typically reward the strongest riders though, so, the 2019 Chardonnay race is sure to see worthy winners crowned in Onrus, on Sunday.<\/p>\n Stage 1<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Faces: Candice Lill & Adelheid Morath (03:03:11.8) For the full results from the FNB Wines2Whales Chardonnay race please visit wines2whales.com<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/a>Amy Beth McDougall leads Robyn de Groot during Stage 1 of the 2019 FNB W2W. Photo Credit: Xavier Briel.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>The Elite Women charged out into the elements. Photo Credit: Xavier Briel.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Mud baths were available at no extra charge during Stage 1 of the 2019 FNB W2W. Photo Credit: Xavier Briel.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Candice Lill and Adelheid Morath go into Stage 2 as the Race leaders. Photo Credit: Xavier Briel.<\/span><\/p>\n
2. dormakaba: Robyn de Groot & Amy McDougall (03:04:43.9)
3. Fairtree-Rotwild: Jennie Stenerhag & Nadine Rieder (03:13:46.5)
4. Kross Spur: Ariane L\u00fcthi & Samara Sheppard (03:24:17.8)
5. Multitask Industries: Alice Pirard & Sabine Spitz (03:28:11.3)<\/p>\n