{"id":15985,"date":"2018-05-07T04:40:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T03:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2018\/05\/07\/rising-mtb-stars-hobson-and-rebello-shine-at-gravel-amp-grape-r7299\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T05:58:57","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T05:58:57","slug":"rising-mtb-stars-hobson-and-rebello-shine-at-gravel-amp-grape-r7299","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/rising-mtb-stars-hobson-and-rebello-shine-at-gravel-amp-grape-r7299\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising MTB stars Hobson and Rebello shine at Gravel & Grape"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rob Hobson and Dylan Rebello (Imbuko Momsen) have won the fourth annual Gravel & Grape weekend of MTB in the Breedekloof Wine Valley. The event took place from 4-6 May. The rising stars pipped Jurgens Uys and Nicol Carstens (Giant RSA) to the overall post by almost 10 minutes after three days of tough riding.<\/p>\n

Hobson and Rebello only came together a week before the event after losing their regular riding partners to injury.<\/p>\n

As predicted, the main contenders for the Gravel & Grape Extreme – Hobson and Rebello (Team Imbuko Momsen) and Nicol Carstens and Jurgens Uys (Team Giant RSA) – provided the fireworks for the weekend.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-72297000-1525668075.jpg\"<\/a>Dylan Rebello. Images: Chris Hitchcock\/Gravel & Grape<\/span><\/p>\n

Rebello has been in sparkling form this year, riding an impressive 2018 Cape Epic to finish 18th overall in a world class field and winning the solo category of the Knysna Bull event.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always nice to win,\u201d said Rebello. \u201cI enjoyed the Epic – it was just very tough – and felt like I rode really well, so coming into the Gravel & Grape I was quite confident in my ability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebello and Hobson revelled in the technical terrain that the event has become known for. \u201cThe Gravel & Grape takes you over quite a few trails you do in the Epic, so it\u2019s not for the faint of heart. But I really enjoyed the ride. Its technical, but fun. The entire race was a really great experience,” said Rebello.<\/p>\n

Hobson agreed that the riding was tough but enjoyable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI rode this event last year, so it was nice to have the route experience. I remember it being very tough in 2017. Having some knowledge of the trails definitely made it more fun this year. I think the organisers did a great job with the trails, and really improved on some sections from last year too,\u201d said Hobson.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-25360800-1525668072.jpg\"<\/a>Images: Chris Hitchcock\/Gravel & Grape.<\/span><\/p>\n

A long year of racing lies ahead for the pair, but first they have to conquer another challenge – their exams. Later this week, they\u2019ll both be returning to university.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually brought my books this weekend to study in the evening,\u201d said Rebello.<\/p>\n

In the ladies 3-day Gravel & Grape Extreme race, Katie Lennard and Ila Stow were victorious, while in the 2-day Gravel & Grape Extreme Johann Trotzky and Rossouw Bekker (ASG Factory Racing) claimed the title.<\/p>\n

In the Gravel & Grape Adventure 2-day, WG van der Walt and Heine Beukes (Mohein) took the honours.<\/p>\n

While the racing at the sharp end was fast and furious, the bulk of the field enjoyed a challenging ride over technical terrain.<\/p>\n

Rocks, river crossings and testing switchbacks meant that the field had to stay wide awake over the three days. Also in attendance was Jan Braai, who enjoyed the demanding trails.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-99584800-1525668065.jpg\"<\/a>Jan Braai. Images: Chris Hitchcock\/Gravel & Grape<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe rode through here in the Epic, but I can say this was much more fun! The guys put on a great event, and the hospitality was brilliant – especially the braai on day 2.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Gravel & Grape Mountain Bike Events are the ideal windows into the world of the Breedekloof Wine Valley. Stunning views, bountiful wine farms, green valleys and abundant nature were the rewards for riding.<\/p>\n

The Gravel & Grape route was crafted to reflect the rugged nature of the valley, but also to show its gentler side. Stunning views, unique scenery, and three days of pure mountain biking left riders tired, but appreciative of the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe we\u2019ve put together an incredible route for the Gravel & Grape this year,\u201d says Melody Botha, CEO of Breedekloof Wine and Tourism. \u201cRiders were tested, but they also enjoyed all the highlights of our valley, including the local support and hospitality. As a community and an event, we are always pleased to host visitors, and I\u2019m sure more will start to come and experience what we\u2019ve always known to be a special place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nGravel & Grape Extreme MTB overall results<\/strong><\/p>\n

Men<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Robert Hobson and Dylan Rebello (Imbuko Momsen) – 7:26:28
2 Jurgens Uys and Nicol Carstens (Giants RSA) – 7:35:08
3 Aaron Borrill and Gys Malan (LungBusters) – 8:22: 59<\/p>\n

Women<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Katie Lennard and Ila Stow (Nine.Nine) – 8:42:06
2 Marleen Lourens and Lehane Oosthuizen (Breedenet 1) – 9:42:48
3 Helene Rabie and Jeannie de Villiers (Citricom Girls) – 10:24:58\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rob Hobson and Dylan Rebello (Imbuko Momsen) have won the fourth annual Gravel & Grape weekend of MTB in the Breedekloof Wine Valley. The event took place from 4-6 May. The rising stars pipped Jurgens Uys and Nicol Carstens (Giant RSA) to the overall post by almost 10 minutes after three days of tough riding. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":31329,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[129,293],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-15985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-gravel-grape","tag-gravel-and-grape"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15985","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=15985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15985"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=15985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}