![\"ccs-62657-0-97291400-1431699386.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-97291400-1431699386.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nEAI Wheeler’s Konny Looser (left) and Johann Rabie (right) charge along Fisherman’s Trail en route to victory in Friday’s second stage of the 2015 Nedbank sani2c Race. \/\/ Photo credit: Anthony Grote\/ Gameplan Media.<\/span><\/p>\n Friday\u2019s testing 99km King Stage from Mackenzie Club near Ixopo to Jolivet Farm near Highflats was always going to be a leaderboard shaker as the grueling 1900 meters of climbing pushed competitors to the limit.<\/p>\n After a placid descent into the spectacular Umkomaas Valley, Max Knox and Kevin Evans of Biogen-Volcan then set a hot early pace however with 15km to go the race was down to just two.<\/p>\n An unlikely district road puncture for Lill cost the Blend pair dearly as EAI Wheeler took full advantage of the gap they had been hoping for, just as Looser was starting to get past the jetlag that had hampered him on day one as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI was feeling much better today than I was yesterday when I was just tired from all the traveling,\u201d explained Switzerland\u2019s Looser. \u201cAt the beginning of the climb out the valley I suffered bit but the further it went on, the better I felt; hopefully my legs are even better tomorrow!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTomorrow is a really fast stage so it\u2019s going to be difficult to make up those twenty odd seconds but we\u2019re definitely going to try!\u201d added Rabie.<\/p>\n Desperate to keep both their title and long term sponsorship hopes alive, Woolcock and Lill dug deep to limit the damage and preserve as much of their two minute overnight lead as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cWaylon and I had been sitting pretty comfortably up until I punctured and so the last 15km were a bit of a scramble,\u201d explained Lill. \u201cWe\u2019re happy to at least still be holding onto some sort of lead going into tomorrow though and it leaves the racing still up to the competition; hopefully we have a smooth run down to the coast.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA two minute buffer going into tomorrow would have been great so losing much of that definitely isn\u2019t ideal,\u201d added Woolcock. \u201cToday\u2019s racing is definitely going to make for an interesting day tomorrow, that\u2019s for sure!\u201d<\/p>\n The Biogen-Volcan pair managed to overcome their mid-stage struggles and crossed the line third to move them up to fourth overall ahead of The Gear Change\u2019s David George and Justin Tuck but still three and a half minutes behind RECM\u2019s Nico Bell and Erik Kleinhans who occupy the race\u2019s bottom step of the podium.<\/p>\n Despite day filled with mishaps, TIB Insurance\u2019s Andrew Hill and Chris Wolhuter still lead the charge in the bottom half of the top ten as they crossed the line together with close friends Adriaan Louw and Luke Evans of Contego Pro MTB while Jowetts\/ROAG\u2019s Warren Price and Matthew Wilkinson were one of the day\u2019s big movers, launching themselves into ninth overall behind IXU Scott\u2019s Guylin van den Berg and Hendrik Kruger and ahead of Complete Cyclist Subvets\u2019 Mike Hewan and Franco Ferreira.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a valve issue coming down into the Umko so we bombed it at the bottom and chased back onto the lead group,\u201d explained Hill. \u201cGoing through the first water point the tyre was going down again though so we stopped, took the valve core out, put a new one in and bombed it up again but it went down again!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe pumped it up at each of the water points after that and carried on but it was one of those days,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n RECM Women’s Cherise Stander is followed by team mate Ariane Kleinhans as the pair charge to their second consecutive stage victory of the 2015 Nedbank sani2c Race. \/\/ Photo credit: Anthony Grote\/ Gameplan Media.<\/span><\/p>\n RECM\u2019s women\u2019s race overnight leaders Ariane Kleinhans and Cherise Stander flew out the blocks as they looked to get ahead of the traffic before the Umkomaas Valley drop.<\/p>\n The ploy worked perfectly as they opened up a sizeable gap on their nearest rivals Yolande de Villiers and Catherine Williamson of Sasol Racing before a slower mid-section saw the chasers close in on the lead duo once more.<\/p>\n A burst towards the end by RECM however saw them reaffirm their control of the race, earning them nineteenth place on the general classification and handing them a five and a half minute lead going into Saturday\u2019s final leg down to Scottburgh Main Beach.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a brilliant start and were right in the front going down into the Umkomaas Valley,\u201d said Kleinhans. \u201cWe tapped off a little bit after that \u2013 a little bit too much maybe \u2013 and we saw them just behind us.<\/p>\n \u201cLuckily we had something left in the tank though and could keep the gap open and take the stage win,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t quite so simple for Stander though. \u201cI really suffered today! I\u2019m not sure if I can put into words what agony I was in today but luckily I was riding with Superwoman and she pulled me through; I definitely wouldn\u2019t have made it without Ariane today!\u201d<\/p>\n While De Villiers and Williamson will take heart from the second stage performance, it will require a monumental final leg\u2019s effort to the coast if they are to whip the rug out from under RECM\u2019s feet.<\/p>\n \u201cToday suited both of us really well and we just clicked really nicely again,\u201d said De Villiers.<\/p>\n A batch depart Mackenzie Club against a spectacular backdrop at the start of Friday’s second stage of the 2015 Nedbank sani2c Race. \/\/ Photo credit: Anthony Grote\/ Gameplan Media.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe hadn\u2019t seen RECM all day and then near the big climb near the end we saw them and started reeling them in a little bit,\u201d added Briton Williamson \u201cWe gave it a good chase and Yolande was as strong as ever driving it towards the end there; we were so pleased just to finish that close to them and hopefully we can still give them a bit of a run for their money.\u201d<\/p>\n While in firm control of the women\u2019s title challenge, Kleinhans hopes her and Stander\u2019s clean run continues on Saturday. \u201cTomorrow is such a fast stage that you can\u2019t afford to sit up at any stage, you\u2019ve just got to keep going and concentrate the whole way.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very happy with how things have gone so far, hopefully we can have another clean day again tomorrow and take the win home!\u201d<\/p>\n In the mixed race RMB Change a Life husband and wife combination Jeannie and Martin Dreyer narrowly edged out Sasol Racing\u2019s Johan Labuschagne and Yolandi du Toit for the second stage victory however the day\u2019s three second deficit will hardly impact on the near four minute advantage Sasol Racing earned on day one.<\/p>\n Friday also saw the conclusion of the 2015 Adventure at the Nedbank sani2c at Scottburgh Main Beach and even with two days of racing under their belts, the pace was rather frenetic as the Advendurance pair of Daniel Newman and Fritz Pienaar blitzed the 84km final stage to claim their third stage victory of the race and the overall spoils in the Adventure.<\/p>\n The Adventure has been laden with celebrities and the Cell C SA Rugby Legends have been out in force throughout the race and the impressive pair of former World Cup winner Joel Stranksy and Sharks and Munster flyer Shaun Payne were the most impressive former rugby stars as they proved that they have lost very little of their competitive edge.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was my first sani2c in a while but I absolutely love this race!\u201d a dusty Stansky said at the finish line. \u201cThe atmosphere that surrounds the Adventure is something that you don\u2019t get in any other race and the camaraderie between the riders is incredible!\u201d<\/p>\n Taking on his fellow rugby legends, Stransky explains the fellowship that the riders build up over the three days and even though him and Payne were the strongest of the squad, there was still a strong sense of competition going into the race between some of them.<\/p>\n It was a first outing for the two as a combination and Stranksy was complimentary of his partner when they reached the end on the South Coast.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a lot of banter that goes around at the overnight stops between us and it just makes the race that much more enjoyable. We were a bit faster than the other guys but it was still a great spending time with the guys this week.<\/p>\n \u201cShaun and I had never ridden together before this week and let me tell you he is an absolute machine! We combined really nicely through the week which makes the race that much more enjoyable,\u201d a smiling Stransky added.<\/p>\n Former Proteas speedster Makhaya Ntini had a second stage that he wanted to forget but the cricketing hero brushed himself off and started the third and final stage and was his jovial self when he rode over the line in Scottburgh.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>RMB Change a Life MTB Academy’s Sipho Kupiso (front) and Ndumiso Dontso put in another strong showing during Friday’s second stage of the 2015 Nedbank sani2c Race that sees them go into Saturday’s third and final stage inside the top fifteen. \/\/ Photo credit: Anthony Grote\/ Gameplan Media<\/span>\n<\/div>\n