Words: Kyle Gilham | Photo: Anthony Grote
Eston – The 2014 60km Illovo Marathon, the feature race of the Illovo Eston MTB Challenge, ended in a dramatic three-way sprint finish for the second year running which defending champ Rourke Croeser clinched again while a brave effort by a sick yet determined Jeannie Dreyer saw her retain her women’s title as well.
In 2013 Croeser narrowly edged out Trek South Africa’s James Reid and Brendon Davids and while may not have been quite as tight as last year’s dice, it came down to the final few hundred meters for the Kargo Pro MTB Team rider once more as he again pipped Davids and FedGroup ITEC’s Max Knox to the post.
“It was great to come here and win again,” said Croeser. “As a team came here looking for a win for the team and not necessarily the individual so the fact that we were able to do that and then I was able to retain my title at the same time is really awesome!”
Hot, dry and dusty conditions greeted the riders on Sunday morning and the writing was on the wall from as early as the first four kilometers as Davids and Croeser went head to head for the King of the Mountains hotspot prize, Croeser eventually clinching the early accolades by a matter of centimeters.
“Eston always brings a really good field. Brendon (Davids) rode well, Max (Knox) rode well and a couple of the youngsters also really rode well so it was a really tough race all the way through,” said Croeser.
“Myself and Brendon took the race up to the King of the Mountains and we got a little gap which ultimately caused the field to split.
“It soon became a group of five of us at the front and then it was a three horse race.
“Brendon and I threw a couple of attacks at Max which gave us a slight gap at one stage but he managed to ride himself back up to us and so it was then all about getting the end sprint right which I’m stoked to have been able to do,” he added.
After Davids lead proceedings into the final few hundred meters before making a crucial mistake which saw him finish third last year, the under-23 athlete was pleased with his effort this time around.
“One place better than last year and while it is still a little disappointing having not won, it’s still nice to have got a really good result,” said Davids.
“Rourke and I took the bull by the horns and made racing as hard as possible right from the King of the Mountains and then I knew that if it came down to a sprint I’d have to try take it from a long way out so I went with about two kilometers to go but Rourke managed to ride back onto me with about five hundred meters to go and hats off to him on taking the win.”
Knox rounded out the podium ahead of TIB Insurance’s Andrew Hill before Travis Walker and Stuart Marias finished fifth and sixth respectively to make it three out of the top six for the Kargo outfit.
The women’s race was one of attrition for Dreyer who almost didn’t make it to Sunday’s start line after having been struck down by a nasty stomach bug however the USN/Hi-TEC rider dug deep and bravely fought her way to a rare back-to-back Illovo Eston title.
“It really is a very special win for me today!” said a drained Dreyer afterwards. “I have had a bit of an upset tummy and nearly didn’t race but when I heard there were almost 3000 entries, I thought ‘Flip, it would be so good to be the best girl on the day here!’ and it’s great to have done just that!”
“I wasn’t sure if any of the girls were on my tail at any stage of the race so I just put my head down and tried to stick with the guys coming past me and keep my momentum going which really seemed to help me and pulled me to the finish!
“It really is such a phenomenal event with a phenomenal route. The course is opposite to what we did last year so there were parts I did recognize as well as some great new sections of single track and it was just a phenomenal day to be riding here,” she added.
It soon became apparent that her own demons would be her biggest obstacle on the day with Dryer eventually crossing the line ten minutes ahead of second place finisher, Coffeeberry/VELOlife’s Natalie Bergstrom, while Time Freight VELOlife’s junior rider Frankie du Toit finished third to claim a memorable senior podium.
The day’s festivities also included the action of the 40km aQuellé Half Marathon where Joshua Nelson and Julieann Hampson walked away with the men’s and women’s spoils respectively while Jett Bradshaw and Tiffany Keep were the fastest male and female riders home in the hugely popular 18km Tala/aQuellé Family Ride through Tala Game Reserve.
Scores of young cycling enthusiasts also tackled the 10km STIHL Kids Ride and it was all smiles as exciting adventure came to an end for the participants at Eston Club.
More info can be found at www.illovoeston.co.za
SUMMARY OF RESULTS – ILLOVO ESTON MTB CHALLENGE
60km Illovo Marathon
Men
1.Rourke Croeser 2:24.01
2.Brendon Davids 2:24.03
3.Max Knox 2:24.17
4.Andrew Hill 2:28.39
5.Travis Walker 2:30.03
6.Stuart Marais 2:30.04
7.Derrin Smith 2:36.09
8.Ryan Piercey 2:36.23
9.John Ntuli 2:37.54
10.James Burne 2:38.04
Women
1.Jeannie Dreyer 2:51.02
2.Natalie Bergstrom 3:01.30
3.Frankie du Toit 3:05.22
4.Desiree Verwey 3:07.36
5.Isabel Moolman 3:10.13
Junior Men
1.Alan Hatherly 2:46.04
2.Murray Church 2:53.20
3.Kelvin Green 2:54.20
Junior Women
1.Frankie du Toit 3:05.22
40km aQuellé Half Marathon
Men
1.Joshua Nelson 1:36.32
2.Phillip Marais 1:43.12
3.Gareth Cook 1:43.21
Women
1.Julieann Hampson 1:58.02
2.Catherine Pellow-Jarman 2:00.29
3.Tanya Ortlepp 2:02.56
18km Tala/aQuellé Family Ride
Men
1.Jett Bradshaw 47.10
2.Torin Mecklenborg 48.48
3.Mark Fourie 50.29
Women
1.Tiffany Keep 48.42
2.Megan Bircher 53.16
3.Sabine Thies 53.55
