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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cI feel like Matt and I pretty much controlled the race from the start,\u201d he said, explaining how they had studied the profile the previous evening and targeted the big climb at 28 kilometres.<\/p>\n
A group of six riders got away from the start, which included previous champion Howard Grotts as well as Daniel Geismayr (Centurion Vaude). \u201cWe kept our heads down until that climb and then worked to split the group,\u201d Hatherly said.<\/p>\n
They managed to get away, with only Geismayr and Andreassen staying in touch. \u201cWe knew that if we sat up the guys behind might recover and get back on. There were quite a few little kickers after that and also a lot of little devil thorns on the route.\u201d<\/p>\n
Geismayr suffered a bad puncture with around 20 kilometres to go leaving Beers and Hatherly to fight it out at the front, with Andreassen chasing solo. \u201cI think a lot of guys were struggling with slow leaks, including myself,\u201d Hatherly said. \u201cI was on the rim and had to put a CO2 bomb in it and pray the sealant was going to hold and that I could hang on to Matt.\u201d<\/p>\n Aside from the thorns, Hatherly was more than complimentary of the route. \u201cKudos to Meurant (Botha) or producing beautiful trails,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Women\u2019s champion Candice Lill (Summit) \u2013 also winning in her first ever outing at the event \u00ad\u2013 echoed Hatherly\u2019s sentiments, \u201cIt was an awesome route,\u201d she said, explaining how 60-kilometres is not a distance she normally races. \u201cIt is either a shorter cross-country style event or longer like at the Absa Cape Epic, so I knew I had to pace myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n