{"id":15714,"date":"2018-10-17T08:50:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T07:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2018\/10\/17\/fnb-wines2whales-shiraz-sparkles-with-spectacular-elite-line-up-r7579\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T05:39:43","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T05:39:43","slug":"fnb-wines2whales-shiraz-sparkles-with-spectacular-elite-line-up-r7579","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/fnb-wines2whales-shiraz-sparkles-with-spectacular-elite-line-up-r7579\/","title":{"rendered":"FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz sparkles with spectacular elite line-up"},"content":{"rendered":"

The elite men\u2019s field at the 2018 FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz event is one worthy of the celebratory atmosphere created by the race\u2019s tenth anniversary. Lining up alongside the cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of South African mountain biking are a number of international stars \u2013 all racing for their share of the R175 000 prize purse.<\/p>\n

With R100 000 up for grabs to the winning team the battle to be crowned champions in the rebranded Shiraz event, which takes place from the 2nd to the 4th of November, is sure to be fierce. Adding to the depth of the competition is the fact that all FNB Wines2Whales prize money, barring that paid to the Women\u2019s categories which are contested in the Chardonnay event, is awarded in the Shiraz event. Along with the elite men, the men\u2019s age group categories and the Mixed category prizes will be bestowed after the final weekend\u2019s racing.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-86019400-1539766248.jpg\"<\/a>Team PYGA EuroSteel.<\/span><\/p>\n

The stellar field is headlined by the defending champions, Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes of PYGA EuroSteel. The pair have not enjoyed the invincible year they did in 2017 however so their title defence is anything but assured. Taking up the challenge of defeating the PYGA EuroSteel combination are the NAD Pro MTB teams of Nico Bell and Matthew Beers, along with their support team; Gawie Combrink and Wessel Botha. The battle between Beukes, Buys, Bell and Beers is a familiar one to South African mountain biking fans; but there are a number of other combinations who will be looking to get in on the melee.<\/p>\n

The foremost of the other challengers are Nicol Carstens and Jurgens Uys, riding for Giant South Africa; SPOT Africa\u2019s Timothy Hammond and Arno du Toit; as well as Dylan Rebello and Marco Joubert of Imbuko Momsen. There are also two particularly exciting teams on the start list. The first is the all-star combination of South Africa\u2019s U23 World Champion Alan Hatherly and former Junior World Champion, Dane, Simon Andreasson. The second features Belgian marathon and stage race specialist Frans Claes and the Trek\u2013Segafredo classics specialist Jasper Stuyven.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-64875900-1539766250.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After an injury-disrupted season Buys of PYGA EuroSteel and his teammate Beukes are coming into ominous form leading into FNB Wines2Whales. \u201cThe last few races show that our form is quite solid\u201d Buys recounted after being crowned Berg and Bush champion alongside Beukes. \u201cWe are working to have it even better at FNB W2W\u201d he continued. \u201cFor me having been forced into some off time has me a bit fresher and eager to race hard at the moment, so I might be running a bit more on motivation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adding his opinion, to that of Buys, Beukes said: \u201cI believe our form is good, it seems that we get better and better with every race and we still have Cape Pioneer Trek between now and then. So I am hopeful that come FNB Wines2Whales we will be at a similar level or even better than at last year\u2019s race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buys and Beukes not only have the title to defend they will also be keenly marked by their rivals. \u201cPYGA\u201d responded Claes simply when asked who he thought his primary rivals would be. The Belgian then elaborated: \u201cThey were the winners of last year and know exactly how to win this race. For sure also the Spur-Specialized guys, Alan (Hatherly) and Simon (Andreasson) [are a team to watch]. They know every single metre in Oak Valley and are technically way stronger then we are. With all their experience NAD is the third team to watch out for. But we have some special road tactics ready to increase our chances for a good result.\u201d<\/p>\n

NAD Pro MTB\u2019s Bell and Beers are motivated to conclude their season with a victory at FNB Wines2Whales. \u201cW2W is an important race for us and our sponsors so we will be out to try and win it\u201d Bell stated. \u201cWe have a lot of races leading up to it so hopefully we get some wins in the bag, so the pressure is less to perform, but we always try and win for our sponsors,\u201d the rider from Nelspruit said downplaying the pressure. Picking up where his teammate left off Beers continued: \u201cYou have to treat everyone as a threat\u201d. Elaborating on who he predicted the main contenders for victory to be the Stellenbosch resident confided: \u201cthis late in the season you never know how your body will react. We also do not know the form of some of the other guys; who might not have raced as much throughout the year. But I think we know the answer to the question… Alan (Hatherly) and Simon (Andreasson) will be dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-37990300-1539766252.jpg\"<\/a>Team Spur’s Alan Hatherly.<\/span><\/p>\n

An indication of what mountain biking fans could expect from Hatherly and Andreasson should be provided by the Cape Pioneer Trek, during which they will be racing not only Buys and Beukes, but also Bell and Beers. The seven-day stage race concludes less than two weeks before the FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz gets underway. After a busy cross-country season, the pair might not have the mental freshness of some of their rivals, or they could see the switch to stage racing as a chance to reset their goals and race without pressure \u2013 only time will tell.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Claes\u2019 partner Stuyven is switching disciplines for FNB Wines2Whales. The Belgian\u2019s change is even more remarkable however as he will be swapping his Trek\u2013Segafredo road bike for a knobbly tyred mountain bike. \u201cWe are both from the same city in Belgium, Leuven, and if it fits in the training or busy racing schedule we go for a ride together\u201d Claes recounted as to how he and Stuyven teamed up. \u201cIn his off season Jasper (Stuyven) likes to ride his mountain bike and I must say he has some technical skills. In wintertime, when the cyclo-cross season is fully on, we go for a ride in the forest and enjoy ourselves in the wet and muddy conditions\u201d the former Belgian Marathon champion concluded.<\/p>\n

The pair are probably among the few riders hoping for rain during FNB Wines2Whales then. Most of the field, professional and amateur riders alike, are wishing for sunshine and wind-still days during which to enjoy the spectacular trails. \u201cThis is my first W2W\u2019s so I am super excited to ride some new trails\u201d SPOT Africa\u2019s Hammond enthused. \u201cSeeing everyone before we hit the fat season is also what makes stage races special\u201d he finished, echoing the sentiments of many ahead of the famously festive event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The elite men\u2019s field at the 2018 FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz event is one worthy of the celebratory atmosphere created by the race\u2019s tenth anniversary. Lining up alongside the cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of South African mountain biking are a number of international stars \u2013 all racing for their share of the R175 000 prize purse. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":29257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[15],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-15714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-wines2whales"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15714","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=15714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15714"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=15714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}