{"id":705,"date":"2011-05-03T08:28:58","date_gmt":"2011-05-03T06:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/?p=705"},"modified":"2011-05-03T08:28:58","modified_gmt":"2011-05-03T06:28:58","slug":"stewart-and-lill-take-charge-at-joberg2c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/stewart-and-lill-take-charge-at-joberg2c\/","title":{"rendered":"Stewart and Lill Take Charge at joBerg2c"},"content":{"rendered":"

FedGroup Berg and Bush’s Brandon Stewart and Darren Lill took full advantage of the first technical stage of this year’s Fairbairn Capital\/Old Mutual joBerg2c to claim the win and the overall lead.<\/p>\n

They stopped the clock on 5:05:48 in the fourth stage that took them over 125 ruggedly beautiful kilometres between Sterkfontein Dam<\/a> in the Free State<\/a> and Winterton Country Club in the Central Drakensberg.<\/p>\n

Even though they surrendered their tiny overnight lead, Team RE:CM’s Neil MacDonald<\/a> and Waylon Woolcock put in another impressive performance to finish runners-up in 5:07:13 – falling to second in the general classification.<\/p>\n

MTN-DoItNow’s Max Knox and Rwandan partner Adrien Niyonshuti<\/a> – tipped by experts as the pre-race favourites – were third in 5:12:21, dropping to third in the standings.<\/p>\n

“This has been one of the best days of mountain biking I’ve ever done,” said Stewart, who praised Lill – the national road champion – for his handling of the technical sections.<\/p>\n

“After three hard days in a row, the pressure’s off us right now. Tomorrow we’ll be able to sit in.”<\/p>\n

The race split up early on after a fast start, leaving the top three teams to battle it out over the final three-quarters of the stage.<\/p>\n

Stewart and Lill took charge at Solly’s Folly – a technical stretch that forms part of the extreme drop down the escarpment into KwaZulu-Natal<\/a> – and led to the first waterpoint at the 44km mark.<\/p>\n

This forced the other main contenders to play catch-up and expend a lot of energy. The leading three teams reached the second waterpoint together.<\/p>\n

The climb up Spioenkop and its technical descent around the 80km mark played a pivotal role in the day’s outcome.<\/p>\n

Stewart and Lill, in the company of Knox and Niyonshuti, were able to inch ahead and draw clear of MacDonald and Woolcock on the steep incline.<\/p>\n

Down the other side, a fall by Niyonshuti on a rocky section put him and Knox on the back foot for the remainder of day, handing the initiative to the eventual winners.<\/p>\n

With 26km to go, they had pulled a minute clear of MacDonald and Woolcock, with Knox and Niyonshuti a further 50 seconds back. At the 105km mark, they had extended their lead to 1:10.<\/p>\n

This margin enabled them to manage their effort over the closing stages, which included the climb up Puffadder Pass.<\/p>\n

Team bizhub’s Ischen Stopforth – a former MTN Series champion – and British team-mate Catherine Williamson were able to fight back from multiple punctures to continue their winning streak in 6:21:55 and extend their lead in the women’s race.<\/p>\n

The overall leaders in the mixed section, Fairbairn Capital’s Erik and Ariane Kleinhans, completed the stage in 5:44:14 to claim eighth on the day.<\/p>\n

Tuesday’s fifth stage will take riders on a 102km journey from Winterton to Kamberg. The 900km race finishes in Scottburgh on the KwaZulu-Natal coast on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Visit www.joberg2c.co.za, follow joberg2c_journo on Twitter or join the Facebook page.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Brandon Stewart (left) and Darren Lill of FedGroup Berg and Bush cross the line to win the fourth stage of the 900km Fairbairn Capital\/Old Mutual joBerg2c between Sterkfontein Dam and Winterton on Monday. Photo: Full Stop Communications<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Related articles<\/h6>\n