Eben Hartslief ruled supreme as he claimed a superb sprint finish victory at the Daily Dispatch Mountain Bike Challenge at Wings Park yesterday morning.
Hartslief is one of East London's brightest emerging talents and had been expected to do well in the race, but it came as a surprise when he pipped pre-race favourite Jason Meaton on the line in a very exciting finish.
“It was amazing, I have been prepping for this race for the last five weeks and I am just delighted to get the win,” said an out of breath Hartslief.
“I wasn't expecting the win, I was cramping up so bad and was just telling myself, ‘don't think about it and to just push,’ and I just got it by about a millimetre.
“I don't have words to explain what I am feeling, but I am a home town boy so I will definitely be back again next year.”
The finish was so tight that Grahamstown mountain biker Meaton, who managed to win the King of the Mountains category after being the first over, was awarded the same time as Hartslief, 2:33:23 with East London’s Donovan O’Reilly taking third just under a minute later.
“During the race I eyed the guys out by pulling them out in the climbs, so when I got to just over halfway I could see that the guys that we were riding with were going to stick together till the last four kms,” explained Meaton.
“I knew that the youngster I was riding with had a good turn of legs and it would probably come down to a sprint finish. I was hoping to drop him in the last 500 metres but he stuck with me and got me on the line and all hats off to him, he's got a really bright future ahead of him,” Meaton added.
“I was very happy with the race, it was a very nice and fast course, well marked with more than enough water points and I will definitely be back next year.”
In the women's race it was Port Elizabeth's star cyclist Anriette Schoeman who conquered all as she powered her way to a superb win in a time of 2:49:16.
Schoeman has won the last five Daily Dispatch road races and this year she decided to try the mountain bike event and promptly added it to her glittering victories, claiming also the Queen of the Mountains award.
“It is the first time that I have done this race, so I was thrilled to get the win,” admitted Schoeman.
“I just went hard from the start and didn't really look back, I was hoping that no one would pass me and basically I just closed my eyes and hoped for the best.”
East London favourite and defending champion Lara-Anne Everts-Van de Venter had to settle for second this year in a time of 3:02:30, four minutes and 37 seconds ahead of Shannon Kirkhoff.
In all 468 mountain bikers took part in this year’s event.
Other than the main 66km race, distances of 42km, 18km, 10km and 5km were all enjoyed by the entrants. In the 42km race Zachary Swart came out on top, beating out the challenge of Ryno Owen in second and Clarence Randall in third.
Ashleigh Mayhead was the women’s winner ahead of Anine Koch and Lee-Ann Beard in second and third respectively.
In the 18km race Keegan Lottering was the first male home, while rising talent Madison Mann was the first female over the line.
The 10km ride saw Boebie Schutte and Anel Odendaal as the first male and female respectively, while Unako Mbete and Kara Batting were the first boy and girl home in the 5km.
lFull results published later this week
Nailbiting race finish
Hartslief is one of East London's brightest emerging talents and had been expected to do well in the race, but it came as a surprise when he pipped pre-race favourite Jason Meaton on the line in a very exciting finish.
“It was amazing, I have been prepping for this race for the last five weeks and I am just delighted to get the win,” said an out of breath Hartslief.
“I wasn't expecting the win, I was cramping up so bad and was just telling myself, ‘don't think about it and to just push,’ and I just got it by about a millimetre.
“I don't have words to explain what I am feeling, but I am a home town boy so I will definitely be back again next year.”
The finish was so tight that Grahamstown mountain biker Meaton, who managed to win the King of the Mountains category after being the first over, was awarded the same time as Hartslief, 2:33:23 with East London’s Donovan O’Reilly taking third just under a minute later.
“During the race I eyed the guys out by pulling them out in the climbs, so when I got to just over halfway I could see that the guys that we were riding with were going to stick together till the last four kms,” explained Meaton.
“I knew that the youngster I was riding with had a good turn of legs and it would probably come down to a sprint finish. I was hoping to drop him in the last 500 metres but he stuck with me and got me on the line and all hats off to him, he's got a really bright future ahead of him,” Meaton added.
“I was very happy with the race, it was a very nice and fast course, well marked with more than enough water points and I will definitely be back next year.”
In the women's race it was Port Elizabeth's star cyclist Anriette Schoeman who conquered all as she powered her way to a superb win in a time of 2:49:16.
Schoeman has won the last five Daily Dispatch road races and this year she decided to try the mountain bike event and promptly added it to her glittering victories, claiming also the Queen of the Mountains award.
“It is the first time that I have done this race, so I was thrilled to get the win,” admitted Schoeman.
“I just went hard from the start and didn't really look back, I was hoping that no one would pass me and basically I just closed my eyes and hoped for the best.”
East London favourite and defending champion Lara-Anne Everts-Van de Venter had to settle for second this year in a time of 3:02:30, four minutes and 37 seconds ahead of Shannon Kirkhoff.
In all 468 mountain bikers took part in this year’s event.
Other than the main 66km race, distances of 42km, 18km, 10km and 5km were all enjoyed by the entrants. In the 42km race Zachary Swart came out on top, beating out the challenge of Ryno Owen in second and Clarence Randall in third.
Ashleigh Mayhead was the women’s winner ahead of Anine Koch and Lee-Ann Beard in second and third respectively.
In the 18km race Keegan Lottering was the first male home, while rising talent Madison Mann was the first female over the line.
The 10km ride saw Boebie Schutte and Anel Odendaal as the first male and female respectively, while Unako Mbete and Kara Batting were the first boy and girl home in the 5km.
lFull results published later this week
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