{"id":20293,"date":"2013-06-09T21:50:45","date_gmt":"2013-06-09T19:50:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/woolcock-and-luus-take-muddy-knysna-win\/"},"modified":"2013-06-09T21:50:45","modified_gmt":"2013-06-09T19:50:45","slug":"woolcock-and-luus-take-muddy-knysna-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/woolcock-and-luus-take-muddy-knysna-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Woolcock and Luus take muddy Knysna win"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A wet and muddy Lourens Luus (left) and Waylon Woolcock celebrate the stage and overall victory at the RE:CM Knysna<\/a> 200 on Sunday.
Photo: Coetzee Gouws\/Full Stop Communications<\/p>\n

Seasoned pro Waylon Woolcock and rising star Lourens Luus ended an electrifying game of one-upmanship to emerge as the mud-splattered overall winners of the three-day RE:CM Knysna 200 mountain bike race on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The Stellenbosch-based RE:CM duo hung on to their split-second overnight lead, and their brakes, on the wet and slippery 58km final stage to seal victory over their FedGroup-Itec rivals Kevin Evans and Brandon Stewart.<\/p>\n

\u2018It was quite a big goal for us to win and we\u2019re happy that we could pull it off,\u201d said national marathon series champion Luus.<\/p>\n

He and Woolcock crossed the finish line at Thesen Harbour Town in 2:14:32 to secure the overall honours in 7:44:56.<\/p>\n

Stage two winners Evans and Stewart overcame fading brakes to take third on the stage in 2:21:28 and the overall runner-up spot in 7:51:53.<\/p>\n

Former German Xterra rider Nico Pfitzenmaier and his young Bridge team-mate Timo Cooper finished second on the day in 2:17:15 to round out the overall podium in 8:00:09.<\/p>\n

After a cold and cautious start at the Harkerville Forest Station, the main contenders separated themselves from the rest of the field as they quickly rose high above the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n

At the well-known lookout point at Kranshoek, some 15km into the stage, the four top teams \u2013 including RE:CM Rowers Matthew Brittain and Rob Dormehl \u2013 were at the head of affairs.<\/p>\n

But, by the first waterpoint at the 23km mark, the London Olympic gold medallist and his partner had dropped out of contention and were more than a minute and a half behind.<\/p>\n

The remaining three teams raced conservatively through the wet and technical Harkerville trails and were still together at the Brackenhill waterfall spectator point near Noetzie.<\/p>\n

Woolcock and Luus started asserting themselves as the conditions worsened and pulled 20 seconds clear of the two chasing pairs as they approached the Kruisfontein waterpoint at 40km.<\/p>\n

\u2018We didn\u2019t start off too hard because we knew there were a couple of big climbs coming towards the end,\u201d said Woolcock.<\/p>\n

\u2018With about 20km to go, we started pacing on the climbs and the guys started dropping off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, like Evans and Stewart, they also ran out of brake pads due to the grinding mud.<\/p>\n

\u2018We were riding the last 15km without brakes, so we preferred to be out on our own,\u201d said Luus.<\/p>\n

They maintained a safe distance from their pursuers, with the gap widening to more than two minutes in the closing kilometres.<\/p>\n

\u2018We knew we just had to keep the bikes together to get to the finish,\u201d said Luus.<\/p>\n

The FedGroup-Itec duo were not so lucky however, with Hilton-based Stewart forced to run the last two downhills.<\/p>\n

\u2018We couldn\u2019t take any risks, it just wasn\u2019t worth it,\u201d said a visibly disappointed Evans, who hails from the Harkerville area near Plettenberg Bay. \u2018But we did enough to keep second overall, so we\u2019re happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The women\u2019s race was dominated from start to finish by Howard Chamberlain\u2019s Heletje van Staden and her bizhub partner Nicci Grobler. They took their third stage win in 2:54:33 for a combined time of 10:18:23.<\/p>\n

In the mixed category, Annari and Philip Jordaan sealed an uncontested victory in 2:59:46 for an overall time of 10:39:32.<\/p>\n

In a change of roles, Cape Epic mixed winner Erik Kleinhans took victory in the men\u2019s solo category with reigning Argus champion Anri\u00ebtte Schoeman doing the same in the women\u2019s.<\/p>\n

For updates, go to @gardenroutelive, Facebook or www.recmknysna200.co.za.<\/p>\n

RESULTS<\/p>\n

Stage 3<\/p>\n

Men: 1. Waylon Woolcock Lourens Luus (RE:CM) 2:14:32; 2. Timo Cooper Nico Pfitzenmaier (Bridge) 2:17:15; 3. Kevin Evans Brandon Stewart (FedGroup-Itec) 2:21:28; 4. Martin Epstein Andrew Davies (Epstein Davies) 2:35:27; 5. Johan Badenhorst Schalk Boonzaaier (S-Works Katte) 2:39:05<\/p>\n

Women: 1. Heletje van Staden Nicci Grobler (Howard-Chamberlain) 2:54:33; 2. Theresa Horn Miriam Stronkhorst (First Ascent) 3:12:58; 3. Judith Scheepers Lindsey Chicken (Bikeplus) 3:19:27; 4. Desiree Strydom Arlien Mattheus (Dynamite Chicks) 3:46:31; 5. Franci Joubert Marianne du Plessis (Twosome) 4:12:52<\/p>\n

Mixed: 1. Philip Jordaan Annari Jordaan (Mixed Emotions) 2:59:46; 2. Pieter Oelofse Yzette Oelofse (Boys and Bikes) 3:12:31; 3. Ico Schutte Jessi Stensland (Ultimate Cycling) 3:13:17; 4. Berend Maarsingh Bernike Beukes (Boet en Sus) 3:22:40; 5. Alan Mills Caren Mills (Rust Never Sleeps) 3:24:33<\/p>\n

Overall<\/p>\n

Men: 1. Waylon Woolcock Lourens Luus (RE:CM) 7:44:56; 2. Kevin Evans Brandon Stewart (FedGroup-Itec) 7:51:53; 3. Timo Cooper Nico Pfitzenmaier (Bridge) 8:00:09; 4. Martin Epstein Andrew Davies (Epstein Davies) 8:51:23; 5. Craig Stone Derrin Smith (Jowetts-Jeep) 9:17:41<\/p>\n

Women: 1. Heletje van Staden Nicci Grobler (Howard-Chamberlain) 10:18:23; 2. Theresa Horn Miriam Stronkhorst (First Ascent) 11:17:55; 3. Judith Scheepers Lindsey Chicken (Bikeplus) 11:33:33; 4. Desiree Strydom Arlien Mattheus (Dynamite Chicks) 12:19:49; 5. Franci Joubert Marianne du Plessis (Twosome) 14:39:16<\/p>\n

Mixed: 1. Philip Jordaan Annari Jordaan (Mixed Emotions) 10:39:32; 2. Pieter Oelofse Yzette Oelofse (Boys and Bikes) 11:25:40; 3. Diana Carolin John Tennent (Tennent\u2019s Laager) 11:27:00; 4. Ico Schutte Jessi Stensland (Ultimate Cycling) 11:40:59; 5. Berend Maarsingh Bernike Beukes (Boet en Sus) 11:57:05<\/p>\n

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