Speedy, Stander win cross country

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Nothing was going to stop the pre-race favourites for the first South African MTN cross country event of the year. On Saturday, just outside of Alberton, Burry Stander (Specialized/MR Price) and Yolandé Speedy (MTN-Energade) dominated the national series race, just as they did one year ago.

Not even the fact that Stander suffered from a loss of concentration during the last lap, which caused him to crash twice into trees, or that the pedal of Speedy's bike came loose during the second lap, which caused her to lose nearly four minutes, could prevent them from winning their respective races by more than five minutes.

Stander's winning time for the six-lap (6.28km per lap) race was one hour, 57 minutes and 59 seconds. Philip Buys (Garmin adidas) finished second overall and won the under 23 category in a time of 2:03:17. Marc Bassingthwaighte (Garmin adidas) finished third in 2:03:45 and was second in the elite category.

Stander was full of praise for the course.

"Even though there were no big climbs or downhills, it was still one of the most challenging courses I have ever ridden. The route was so challenging that you had to stay focused all the time. If you read one line incorrectly, you paid the price.

"That was what happened to me during the last lap. On the last climb there was a choice of three lines. I don't know what induced me to make the decision, but I chose what I thought would be the easiest line. It was a mistake. Not knowing what to expect, I twice lost control of my bike and crashed into trees.

"Apparently this was the wake-up call that I needed because thereafter I was focused again."

According to Stander, the big difference between cross country racing and marathon racing is that during a marathon, tactics play an important part in the outcome of the race, while in cross country, every rider has to fend for himself. Usually the rider who can read the course best and makes the fewest mistakes wins.

Looking at Stander's lap times, he was "Mr Consistency". He finished his first lap in 19 minutes and 12 seconds and from then on, he managed to finish the next four laps all in under 20 minutes. During the last lap, his time was 20:04 which means that the time difference between his first and last laps was only 52 seconds.

"I am not surprised by my consistent lap times. I have been focusing on doing stamina work until now, therefore I have adequate endurance but no real speed," said Stander. "However, this will change during the next few weeks."

Bassingthwaighte was also consistent with his lap times. He finished his first lap in 20:23 and his last lap in 20:38. His slowest lap time was 20:44.

Buys surprised everybody when he decided to take the initiative from the moment the starter's gun went. He rode in front, setting the pace, with Stander right on his wheel. This meant that he shared the record for the fastest lap time with Stander.

A muddy Buys said that he surprised himself with the way he raced. "My race was just one big gamble and luckily it paid off."

Yolandé Speedy was quite satisfied with the way her race went.

Her winning time for the four-lap race was one hour, 36 minutes and 56 seconds.

Hungary's Eszter Erdelyi (Jeep), who became a South African citizen after falling in love with race promoter, Max Cluer, finished second in 1:41.12. Mariska Strauss (MTN-energade) was third in the elite category as well as the winner of the under 23 race in a time of 1:42.06.

Caitlin de Wet (Mr Price/Specialized) finished fourth overall and was the second under 23 rider to finish. Her time was 1:46.35.

After her mishap, Speedy said, "I can only blame myself for the fact that my pedal came loose during the second lap. Mistakes like this could cost you the race. I was lucky that they were able to help me in the technical zone. But I still lost four minutes in the process."

"The most important thing that I have learned is not to take things for granted. Next time, before I race, I will do a proper check on my bike. I had to race hard to catch Mariska again."

Asked what motivated her once she was in the lead again, Speedy said it was to set fast lap times. "After a race I like to compare my lap times with those of the men."

Speedy was also very consistent with a time of 23:04 for the first lap and 23:21 for the last lap.

The junior men's race was won by James Reid (Mr Price/Specialized) in 1:48:05 with Luke Roberts finishing second in 1:51:27 and Arno du Toit (Mr Price/Specialized) third in 1:52:41.

Candice Neethling (DCM) won the junior women's race in 1:19:36, and Simone Vosloo was second with a time of 1:21:25.

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