Inov-8 athletes Pieter van der Mescht and Carla van Huyssteen stormed to their third successive victories in the Sasol Cross Triathlon at Emerald Resort and Casino on Sunday, en route to the African championships in three weeks’ time.
The Pretoria-based duo once again dominated in the off-road sprint event with Van der Mescht taking the men’s race in 1:21:41 and national XTERRA champion Van Huyssteen leading the women in 1:26:18.
In doing so, they have thrown down the gauntlet ahead of the ATU African Cross Triathlon Continental Championships on April 15.
Van der Mescht said he was still regaining his best form following an injury in February but was looking forward to the fourth and final event at Hartbeespoort.
“Another two weeks of training and I’ll be feeling even stronger than I did today.
“These three wins have given me confidence but I’d like to lift my game even further for the African champs. I’m expecting a lot more competition there.”
The 22-year-old, who placed sixth overall in last year’s BSG Energade triathlon series, was first out of the water in the 600m river swim, but an error in the transition zone nearly cost him his one-minute lead.
“I’m so used to doing road triathlons where you already have your bike shoes on the pedal. In off-road, you put your shoes on in the transition zone, so I had to go back and do that, and lost about 30 seconds.”
Van der Mescht managed to hold onto his lead and opened up the gap on the 20km mountain bike section. “I wasn’t sure who was closing in on me so I just went at my own pace and did my own race.”
The winner said some very narrow single track on the 5.5km trail run had made it hard going. “But I felt good on the run today – I really surprised myself.”
He finished more than four minutes ahead of nearest rivals Handré van Niekerk (1:25:28) and Jeffrey Neethling (1:25:38).
Van der Mescht said facing the likes of ITU cross triathlon world champion Conrad Stoltz at the next event would force him to work on his technical skills. “I’m definitely going to have to up my game on the bike and then just see what I can do on the run.
“But I’m still going to go for the win.”
In the women’s race, Van Huyssteen had strong competition from adventure racer Susan Sloane (1:31:57) and Sylvia van Tromp (1:37:17), who placed second and third respectively.
Van Tromp exited the water first with Van Huyssteen hot on her heels and Sloane just under two minutes off.
Van Huyssteen passed the leader in the transition zone and opened a gap on the mountain bike section, where a puncture put Van Tromp out of contention.
Van Huyssteen then used the single track to consolidate her lead and held onto it on the trail run. “Getting out first was good because there weren’t many people to overtake, whereas Susan encountered a bit of traffic.
“She had a very good race and was just a few minutes behind me throughout.”
The 27-year-old said the race had been excellent preparation for the African championships and she expected Van Tromp and Sloane to be her main challengers for the title. “I always have to race very strongly when I compete against them.
“If it comes down to a sprint, I think I could outrun them but if I want to make my run as comfortable as possible, I’ll need a good lead on the bike and a solid swim.”
Entries for the ATU African Cross Triathlon Continental Championships close on April 13 and participants can enter online (www.cyclelab.com).
