{"id":18352,"date":"2016-04-14T09:25:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-14T08:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2016\/04\/14\/cyclocross-defending-champ-in-limbo-ahead-of-aquelle-tour-durban-r4568\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T08:24:54","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T08:24:54","slug":"cyclocross-defending-champ-in-limbo-ahead-of-aquelle-tour-durban-r4568","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/cyclocross-defending-champ-in-limbo-ahead-of-aquelle-tour-durban-r4568\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyclocross defending champ in limbo ahead of aQuell\u00e9 Tour Durban"},"content":{"rendered":"

aQuell\u00e9 Tour Durban 55km Cyclocross defending champion Darren Lill is keeping his cards close to his chest ahead of Sunday, 24 April\u2019s race as far as his participation in the popular hybrid road and mountain biking event goes.<\/p>\n

While the chance to defending his crown appeals to USN Purefit\u2019s Lill, a busy calendar and his Western Cape base are elements he has to consider as well.<\/p>\n

\"ccs-62657-0-40858700-1460626170.jpg\"<\/a>Darren Lill rode his road bike to a ground-breaking victory in the aQuell\u00e9 Tour Durban 55km Cyclocross event last year but the USN Purefit rider is unsure whether he will be on the start line to defend his title or what equipment he will use come this year’s race on Sunday, 24 April. Anthony Grote\/ Gameplan Media<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment I\u2019d say there is a 50\/50 chance that I\u2019ll take part in this year\u2019s Tour Durban cyclocross,\u201d explained Lill, who partnered team mate Waylon Woolcock to the title of first African pair at the ABSA Cape Epic earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got Marathon National Champs this weekend so I\u2019m focusing all my energies on that and haven\u2019t really looked too far beyond that at this stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy girlfriend has a cross country race up at Cascades in Pietermaritzburg the weekend after Tour Durban so if I\u2019m in the area then I may well do it, but I\u2019ll only make a final call next week sometime!\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

The 33 year-old stormed to a ground-breaking victory in 2015 when he overcame the mixed tar and trail route on his road bike while most others tackled the challenge on mountain bikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I do race this year then again there is a 50\/50 chance as to whether I\u2019ll use my road bike or my mountain bike.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsing a road bike is definitely risky and I\u2019d be curious to find out how many others have done it on a road bike and how many of those punctured.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will all come down to the route; if they\u2019ve shortened the off-road section at all then perhaps a road bike does remain an option,\u201d said the diminutive Lill.<\/p>\n

Familiar local mountain biking talent Andrew Hill is disappointed by his absence from this year\u2019s event, one he believes brings a unique flavor to the KZN cycling calendar.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately I won\u2019t be at this year\u2019s Tour Durban as Tyronne White and I will be taking part in the joBerg2c over the period,\u201d explained the TIB Insurance competitor.<\/p>\n

\u201cTour Durban\u2019s cyclocross is a great event that allows riders to mix things up a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is also great for cyclists to be afforded the opportunity to explore the main roads of Durban in the safety of full road closure before hoping onto the off-road stretch through Tongaat Hulett\u2019s land \u2013 trails we don\u2019t often get to ride as access is usually restricted,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The 105km road race, 45km fun race and 55km cyclocross race take place on Sunday 24 April 2016. Late entries will be taken at registration at Suncoast Casino & Entertainment World from 10h00-17h00 on Friday, 22 and Saturday, 23 April. More information can be found at www.tourdurban.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

aQuell\u00e9 Tour Durban 55km Cyclocross defending champion Darren Lill is keeping his cards close to his chest ahead of Sunday, 24 April\u2019s race as far as his participation in the popular hybrid road and mountain biking event goes. While the chance to defending his crown appeals to USN Purefit\u2019s Lill, a busy calendar and his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":43302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1440,2641,429],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-18352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-aquelle-tour-durban","tag-darren-lill","tag-tour-durban"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18352","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=18352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18352"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=18352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}