{"id":953,"date":"2011-05-07T18:03:40","date_gmt":"2011-05-07T16:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/?p=953"},"modified":"2011-05-07T18:03:40","modified_gmt":"2011-05-07T16:03:40","slug":"memorable-joberg2c-win-for-recm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/memorable-joberg2c-win-for-recm\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorable joBerg2c win for RE:CM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neil MacDonald<\/a> and Waylon Woolcock capped a memorable nine days with overall victory in the second Fairbairn Capital\/Old Mutual joBerg2c that finished on the beach in Scottburgh, KwaZulu-Natal<\/a>, on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The RE:CM duo won six of the nine stages on the 911-kilometre trek from Heidelberg<\/a> in Johannesburg to record a total time of 34:20:18.<\/p>\n

They beat off early leaders Brandon Stewart and Darren Lill of FedGroup Berg and Bush, who had an aggregate time of 34:46:08.<\/p>\n

Pre-race favourites Max Knox and Rwandan partner Adrien Niyonshuti of MTN-DoItNow completed the podium in 35:12:08.<\/p>\n

After surrendering the race lead yesterday, Stewart and Lill bounced back to win the 85-kilometre final stage from Jolivet in the Highflats region in 2:27:26.<\/p>\n

Knox and Niyonshuti came home second in 2:27:31, with David Morison and Stuart Marais of Blend Properties taking their fifth third on the trot in the same time.<\/p>\n

MacDonald and Woolcock wrested the overall lead from the FedGroup pair on the penultimate day from Mackenzie Club at Ixopo<\/a> to Jolivet when multiple rear-wheel punctures forced Stewart to complete the stage on the rim.<\/p>\n

“It seems like the first stage was a month ago,” said a beaming MacDonald, who attributed his classy performance to his wife Cathy’s support. “Heading into the tour, we said we wanted to take a conservative approach.<\/p>\n

“Our aim was to be as consistent as possible throughout and I think that approach stood us in good stead.”<\/p>\n

MacDonald said victory in stage two gave them hopes of a high overall place for the first time. “Then, when we only lost a minute-and-a-half on the technical Queen stage<\/a> (stage four) to Brandon and Darren, we knew we were in the running.”<\/p>\n

Woolcock, who dedicated the victory to his girlfriend Christelle and employer Lange Sports, admitted it had not been plain sailing all the way. “We had a few technical issues and falls, but nothing like what happened to FedGroup.”<\/p>\n

On the second stage, they were forced to come from behind to record a tenacious victory after technical problems and falls threatened to ruin their day – and tour.<\/p>\n

Woolcock rated stage four as their worst, saying he was not feeling great on the climbs, and day eight as their best.<\/p>\n

“Yesterday could’ve been very different though. Neil crashed on the tar with four kilometres to go and, on another day, it could’ve been the end for us.”<\/p>\n

MacDonald believed that their role as super domestiques for the Bonitas road team helped them in the race, which he described as being “special”.<\/p>\n

“As workhorses, we ride close to our limits all the time. It’s very similar to the effort required in a race like the joBerg2c.”<\/p>\n

He said their hearts went out to the former leaders. “They’ve been tough opposition and pushed us all the way.”<\/p>\n

Stewart said it was “important” for them to win the final stage after the previous day’s deflating experience.<\/p>\n

“We wanted to show that we were strong. It’s also nice going out on a high note.”<\/p>\n

He said their sponsors were at the finish and they wanted to repay them for their support.<\/p>\n

Apart from one mishap, Ischen Stopforth and her British team-mate Catherine Williamson made a clean-sweep of the stages in the women’s category for Team bizhub en route to the overall win in 40:45:34.<\/p>\n

“It is different to anything else I’ve ever done. It’s more an experience, a journey, than a race,” said Stopforth.<\/p>\n

In the mixed, Erik and Ariane Kleinhans of Fairbairn Capital remained unbeaten throughout for an overall time of 38:41:50.<\/p>\n

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

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Waylon Woolcock (left) and Neil MacDonald won the second Fairbairn Capital\/Old Mutual joBerg2c that finished in Scottburgh, KwaZulu-Natal, on Saturday after nine days and 911 kilometres of racing. Photo: Kelvin Trautman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Taking the top three steps of the podium at the second Fairbairn Capital\/Old Mutual joBerg2c were, from left, Brandon Stewart and Darren Lill from FedGroup Berg and Bush (second), Waylon Woolcock and Neil MacDonald from RE:CM (first) and Adrien Niyonshuti and Max Knox from MTN-DoItNow. Photo: Full Stop Communications<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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