{"id":22170,"date":"2012-10-19T06:50:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-19T05:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/bell-and-combrinck-strike-at-cape-pioneer-trek-r325\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T12:36:02","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T12:36:02","slug":"bell-and-combrinck-strike-at-cape-pioneer-trek-r325","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/bell-and-combrinck-strike-at-cape-pioneer-trek-r325\/","title":{"rendered":"Bell and Combrinck strike at Cape Pioneer Trek"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overall leaders Kevin Evans and David George (Nedbank 360Life) safely saw off another stage of the seven-day Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek mountain bike stage race on Thursday, with another second place finish. Only this time, they were second to Gawie Combrinck and Nico Bell (Westvaal Columbia) who claimed their first stage win in an international stage race and moved to within striking distance of second place on the General Classification.<\/p>\n

At 63km, Stage 4 was short on distance, but high on difficulty, taking the riders up and down very steep, rocky terrain through the Kamanassie Mountains between the Karoo towns of De Rust and Herold, with a total of 1894 metres of vertical ascent.<\/p>\n

The battle for the women\u2019s title intensified as Yolande Speedy and Yolande de Villiers (Klein Karoo Chicks) claimed their second successive stage victory and narrowed the lead held by Ischen Stopforth and Catherine Williamson (Bridge bizhub Ladies) from 12 minutes to just over five minutes with two stages remaining.<\/p>\n

\u201cNico and I have wanted to win a stage in a major race for a while now. It\u2019s a good feeling to finally get it,\u201d grinned Combrinck. \u201cWe had some mechanical issues earlier in the tour and yesterday we had more hassles and really spent a lot of pennies to reduce the time gap from around four minutes to 30 seconds by the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stage 3 winners; Melt Swanepoel and Matthys Beukes finished third on Thursday, losing time and almost second place overall to Bell and Combrinck, who are now just 29 seconds back. Evans and George still hold a solid 13-minute lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a beautiful, but very tough route today. We were spinning out on many of the steep climbs and had to get off and walk. And the downhills were damn steep and scary in places! We came into this tour aiming for at least second place overall and now that\u2019s looking possible,\u201d added Combrinck.<\/p>\n

Swiss pair Kathrin Stirnemann and Sandro Soncin (BH \u2013 Halbike \u2013 Tigers) won the stage and extended their lead in the Mixed category over early leaders Max Fridrich and Nadine Rieder (Ergon 24H Racing Team) from Germany, while Barti Bucher and Ernst Engeli (Bix-Sherpa Tensing Pedalerie) secured a fifth consecutive stage win to increase their grip on the Master\u2019s division lead.<\/p>\n

The Veteran\u2019s category saw Germany\u2019s Nico Pfitzenmaier and his South African teammate, Robert Sim (Robert Daniel Momsen) capture stage honours and open up their lead from less than a minute to a slightly more comfortable 19 minutes over the Dutch pair of Micha de Vries and Willem van Heerdt (Cube Nutswerk 1).<\/p>\n

Pfitzenmaier and Sim have had to deal with mechanical challenges almost daily, but on Thursday were unhindered and secured an impressive third overall on the stage and moved into fifth in the overall rankings.<\/p>\n

In the Solo men\u2019s race, Austrian Heinz Zoerweb had a storming stage to claim the victory well ahead of category leader, Timo Cooper, who still holds a substantial overall lead, while Diana Carolin captured another stage win and closed the gap to Solo women\u2019s category leader Desiree Loubser to just over three minutes.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s Stage 5 is the penultimate leg of the race and takes the riders from Herold to George over a distance of 75km over the Outeniqua Mountains with a total of 1693 metres of ascent.<\/p>\n

Follow @BridgeCPT on twitter for regular updates. On Facebook, visit Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek 2012. See a full gallery of event images and more insight here: http:\/\/blog.capepioneer.co.za\/<\/a> For additional event information, visit www.capepioneer.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n

Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stage 4 \u2013 De Rust to Herold<\/strong><\/p>\n

63km; 1 894 metres ascent<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leading results<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

1 Nico Bell \u2013 RSA \/ Gawie Combrinck \u2013 RSA (Westvaal Columbia) 03:07:07<\/p>\n

2 Kevin Evans \u2013 RSA \/ David George \u2013 RSA (Nedbank 360Life) 03:07:21<\/p>\n

3 Matthys Beukes \u2013 RSA \/ Melt Swanepoel \u2013 RSA (Cango MTB.com) 03:19:01<\/p>\n

4 Mattijs Eversdijk \u2013 NED \/ Liwald Doornbos \u2013 NED (Cube Nutswerk 2) 03:31:43<\/p>\n

5 Chris Wolhuter \u2013 RSA \/ Oliver Munnik \u2013 RSA (Asrin Cycling) 03:33:04<\/p>\n

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

1 Yolande de Villiers \u2013 RSA \/ Yolande Speedy \u2013 RSA (Klein Karoo Chicks) 03:56:37<\/p>\n

2 Ischen Stopforth \u2013 RSA \/ Catherine Williamson \u2013 GBR (Bridge bizhub Ladies) 04:03:59<\/p>\n

3 Sarah van Heerden \u2013 RSA \/ Jackie Church \u2013 RSA (Wilde 2) 04:21:12<\/p>\n

Mixed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Kathrin Stirnemann \u2013 SUI \/ Sandro Soncin \u2013 SUI (BH \u2013 Halbike \u2013 Tigers) 03:42:09<\/p>\n

2 Max Fridrich \u2013 GER \/ Nadine Rieder \u2013 GER (Ergon 24H Racing Team) 03:51:45<\/p>\n

3 Craig Gerber \u2013 RSA \/ Jennie Stenerhag \u2013 SWE (Newlinesport) 04:02:13<\/p>\n

Veteran:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Robert Sim \u2013 RSA \/ Nico Pfitzenmaier \u2013 GER (Robert Daniel Momsen) 03:17:54<\/p>\n

2 Micha de Vries \u2013 NED \/Willem van Heerdt \u2013 NED (Cube Nutswerk 1) 03:36:26<\/p>\n

3 Stephan Kuhnel – SUI \/ Marcel Frel \u2013 SUI (Fahrrad\u2013Schmidt Bike-Tigers) 04:03:02<\/p>\n

Masters:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Barti Bucher \u2013 SUI \/ Ernst Engeli \u2013 SUI (Bix-Sherpa Tensing Pedalerie) 03:51:01<\/p>\n

2 Neville Ackermann \u2013 RSA \/ Charles Nienaber \u2013 RSA (Bridge Masters) 03:56:20<\/p>\n

3 Tony Conlon \u2013 RSA \/ Peter Stopforth \u2013 RSA (Marsilio Projects Masters) 04:14:38<\/p>\n

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

1 Heinz Zoerweb \u2013 AUT 03:17:54<\/p>\n

2 Timo Cooper \u2013 RSA 03:36:09<\/p>\n

3 Petrus Malherbe \u2013 RSA 03:41:58<\/p>\n

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

1 Diana Carolin \u2013 RSA 04:26:07<\/p>\n

2 Desiree Loubser \u2013 RSA 04:32:56<\/p>\n

3 Dianna Ineman \u2013 SUI 04:42:25<\/p>\n

General Classification after Stage 3<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

1 Kevin Evans \u2013 RSA \/ David George \u2013 RSA (Nedbank 360Life) 15hr 37min 55sec<\/p>\n

2 Matthys Beukes \u2013 RSA \/ Melt Swanepoel \u2013 RSA (Cango MTB.com) 16:00:27<\/p>\n

3 Nico Bell \u2013 RSA \/ Gawie Combrinck \u2013 RSA (Westvaal Columbia) 16:00:56<\/p>\n

4 Chris Wolhuter \u2013 RSA \/ Oliver Munnik \u2013 RSA (Asrin Cycling) 16:59:03<\/p>\n

5 Mattijs Eversdijk \u2013 NED \/ Liwald Doornbos \u2013 NED (Cube Nutswerk 2) 17:19:35<\/p>\n

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

1 Ischen Stopforth \u2013 RSA \/ Catherine Williamson \u2013 GBR (Bridge bizhub Ladies) 18:58:10<\/p>\n

2 Yolande de Villiers \u2013 RSA \/ Yolande Speedy \u2013 RSA (Klein Karoo Chicks) 19:03:13<\/p>\n

3 Sarah van Heerden \u2013 RSA \/ Jackie Church \u2013 RSA (Wilde 2) 20:46:37<\/p>\n

Mixed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Kathrin Stirnemann \u2013 SUI \/ Sandro Soncin \u2013 SUI (BH \u2013 Halbike \u2013 Tigers) 17:57:01<\/p>\n

2 Max Fridrich \u2013 GER \/ Nadine Rieder \u2013 GER (Ergon 24H Racing Team) 18:07:44<\/p>\n

3 Craig Gerber \u2013 RSA \/ Jennie Stenerhag \u2013 SWE (Newlinesport) 18:40:55<\/p>\n

Veteran:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Robert Sim \u2013 RSA \/ Nico Pfitzenmaier \u2013 GER (Robert Daniel Momsen) 17:17:18 <\/p>\n

2 Micha de Vries – NED \/Willem van Heerdt \u2013 NED (Cube Nutswerk 1) 17:36:59<\/p>\n

3 Stephan Kuhnel – SUI \/ Marcel Frel \u2013 SUI (Fahrrad\u2013Schmidt Bike-Tigers) 18:49:42<\/p>\n

Masters:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Barti Bucher \u2013 SUI \/ Ernst Engeli \u2013 SUI (Bix-Sherpa Tensing Pedalerie) 17:39:17<\/p>\n

2 Neville Ackermann \u2013 RSA \/ Charles Nienaber \u2013 RSA (Bridge Masters) 19:12:41<\/p>\n

3 Tony Conlon \u2013 RSA \/ Peter Stopforth \u2013 RSA (Marsilio Projects Masters) 20:21:27<\/p>\n

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

1 Timo Cooper \u2013 RSA 16:39:36<\/p>\n

2 Heinz Zoerweb \u2013 AUT 17:00:39<\/p>\n

3 Petrus Malherbe \u2013 RSA 17:14:09<\/p>\n

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

1 Desiree Loubser \u2013 RSA 21:33:13<\/p>\n

2 Diana Carolin \u2013 RSA 21:36:36<\/p>\n

3 Dianna Ineman \u2013 SUI 22:30:01<\/p>\n

For full results, visit www.capepioneer.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n

\"pioneer_s5_1.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A group of riders wind their way along a gravel road early on during Stage 4 of the Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek international mountain bike stage race on Thursday.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Photo credit: Karin Schermbrucker\/Slingshot Media <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"pioneer_s5_2.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Stage winners, Nico Bell (front) and Gawie Combinck (Westvaal Columbia) tackle a descent on Stage 4 of the 2012 Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek international mountain bike stage race on Thursday. <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Photo credit: Oakpics <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"pioneer_s5_3.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The leading riders approach the start of the climb over the Kamanassie Mountains during Stage 4 of the 2012 Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek international mountain bike stage race on Thursday.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Photo credit: Karin Schermbrucker\/Slingshot Media <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"pioneer_s5_4.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A rider negotiates a section of singletrack on Stage 4 of the 2012 Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek international mountain bike stage race on Thursday.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Photo credit: Karin Schermbrucker\/Slingshot Media<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"pioneer_s5_5.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yolande Speedy (front) and Yolande de Villiers captured their second successive stage win the women’s category on Stage 4 of the 2012 Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek international mountain bike stage race on Thursday.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Photo credit: Oakpics<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"pioneer_s5_6.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gawie Combrinck (front) and Nico Bell (Westvaal Columbia) push up a steep climb through the Kamanassie Mountains on their way to winning Stage 4 of the 2012 Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek international mountain bike stage race on Thursday.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Photo credit: Oakpics<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"pioneer_s5_7.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

One rider pedals while another carries his bike up a stoney climb through the Kamanassie Mountains on Stage 4 of the 2012 Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek international mountain bike stage race on Thursday.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Photo credit: Karin Schermbrucker\/Slingshot Media<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Overall leaders Kevin Evans and David George (Nedbank 360Life) safely saw off another stage of the seven-day Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek mountain bike stage race on Thursday, with another second place finish. Only this time, they were second to Gawie Combrinck and Nico Bell (Westvaal Columbia) who claimed their first stage win in an international […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":53516,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-22170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22170","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\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22170"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=22170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}