![\"ccs-62657-0-26130600-1527438623.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-26130600-1527438623.jpg\")
<\/a>Andrew Hill (left) and Shaun-Nick Bester won the overall honours in the three-day PwC Great Zuurberg Trek mountain-bike race, which finished at Zuurberg Mountain Village at Addo, 70km outside Port Elizabeth, today. Picture: Full Stop Communications<\/span><\/p>\nAfter a sluggish start to the event, RSA Web\u2019s Stuart Marais and Renay Groustra placed second on today\u2019s 50km stage to rise to fourth in the general classification.<\/p>\n
Yesterday\u2019s winners, Aiden Connelly and Rogan Smart (Bike Shop-Scott-Strocam), placed third to keep their second place in the standings in 9:02:05.<\/p>\n
East London\u2019s Jason Peach and Jason Reed were fourth today to place third overall in 9:05:55.<\/p>\n
The women\u2019s race was won by Ascendis Health-Spur\u2019s Ariane Luthi and Robyn de Groot, who dominated the event from start to finish to relegate the experienced Theresa Ralph and Sarah Hill (Galileo Risk) into a distant second.<\/p>\n
It was the Durban-based Hill\u2019s third triumph in four years after back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016, while Bester, from Pretoria, was making his debut in the tough Eastern Cape race.<\/p>\n The outcome represented a remarkable comeback by Hill and Bester after a serious mechanical on Saturday saw them lose all but two seconds of their nine-minute advantage.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really was something of a miracle because we were able to secure the bolt we needed to fix Andrew\u2019s problem from another rider who had also suffered a mechanical,\u201d said Bester, who turned to mountain biking this season after a stint on the road in Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter that delay, we never thought we would keep our lead but we just went as hard as we could from then on.<\/p>\n \u201cSaturday\u2019s problem meant we were still stressing quite a bit for today\u2019s stage and hoping that we would not have any further problems.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the start, we decided just to ride as hard as possible to try to build up a lead in case anything went wrong.<\/p>\n \u201cWe went hard on the climbs and were much less conservative on the descents.\u201d<\/p>\n Bester said he had enjoyed his debut at the PwC Great Zuurberg Trek.<\/p>\n \u201cThe routes were great, with some excellent single-track sections and today the Hayterdale trails were really cool.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can see the race organisers have put a lot of hard work into the event and I would recommend this to anyone out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Luthi was also delighted with her maiden event, especially after she had doubts about entering because of her limited time in SA.<\/p>\n Although she lives in Stellenbosch, she races in Europe during their summer and returns tomorrow to continue her preparations for the UCI MTB World Marathon Championship in Italy in September.<\/p>\n \u201cI was only back for two weeks, but as it turns out this was a really worthwhile exercise and a true African experience.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was the most amazing single-track today and we were able to stay in front, keeping it steady and enjoying the stage\u2019s offering.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she had a really good connection with De Groot, a five-time national marathon champion.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always better to race with someone with whom you have so much in common. She\u2019s a champion and has so much experience of racing in South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>Robyn de Groot (left) and Ariane Luthi cross the line to win the women\u2019s category in the three-day PwC Great Zuurberg Trek mountain-bike race, which finished at Zuurberg Mountain Village at Addo, 70km outside Port Elizabeth, today. Picture: Shayne Minott<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Shaun-Nick Bester (front) and Andrew Hill negotiate a bridge on the 50km final stage of the three-day PwC Great Zuurberg Trek mountain-bike race, which finished at Zuurberg Mountain Village at Addo, 70km outside Port Elizabeth, today. Picture: Shayne Minott<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Robyn de Groot (left) and Ariane Luthi won the women\u2019s title in the three-day PwC Great Zuurberg Trek mountain-bike race, which finished at Zuurberg Mountain Village at Addo, 70km outside Port Elizabeth, today. Picture: Full Stop Communications<\/span><\/p>\n