Cape MTB stars Darren Lill and Waylon Woolcock have added their names to the aQuellé Tour Durban presented by Sunday Tribune cyclocross entry, dramatically reshaping the race for the 55km title.
With the last two defending champions Andrew Hill and Rourke Croeser missing from the line-up through commitments abroad or to the Old Mutual Joberg2c, MTB fans were speculating about who the contenders and pacesetters for the unusual MTB race, which consists of 45km of road and 10km of MTB single track, might be.
But the inclusion of the class of Lill and Woolcock, who finished seventh overall in the recent ABSA Cape Epic and third South African team home, has entrenched them as the hot favourites for the title.
Darren Lill (pictured) and Waylon Woolcock have added their names to the start list for the aQuellé Tour Durban presented by Sunday Tribune cyclo-cross race, and will be the favourites for the 55km road and MTB race. // Anthony Grote/ Gameplan Media.
The pair are heading for a month in KwaZulu-Natal that will also include the Sappi Karkloof Classic and the Nedbank sani2c, as well as the UCI-points bearing road races that make up the new Autumn Series put together by Cycling South Africa for the week after the aQuellé Tour Durban.
“We have decided to do something different and will race the road races in KZN after the Tour Durban,” said Lill. “We were going to do the full 105km race but it is a little flat for guys like us.
“Then we found out about the cyclocross race, which we honestly don’t know much about at all, but it sounds like fun, so we entered!”
While Woolcock has managed to maintain form after recovering from the strains of the Epic, Lill has been forced to hang up his cleats for a few weeks recovering from illness and a post-Epic recovery break.
“All things being equal Waylon should ride away from me,” said Lill. “Either way it will be a fun opener the day before UCI races and something different.”
The pair are in the process of securing a replacement sponsor to fill the gap left by the departure of their last backer, while at the same time maintaining for the major events that jam the Autumn MTB calendar.
“The Cape weather can be iffy at this time of year so we are excited to be heading for KZN for the coming month leading up to the Nedbank sani2c,” added Lill.
Meanwhile the women’s cyclocross race looks set to be dominated by the evergreen veteran Nathalie Bergstrom (Jowett Cycles) who is gearing up for the UCI Masters Cross Country World Championships in Spain later in the year.
The 41 year old has come off a win in the Compendium Sugar Rush in her North Coast backyard on the weekend where the veteran showed a clean pair of cleats to the youngsters in the race.
“I am working towards the Masters Cross Country Worlds so it is tricky to balance my training between Cross Country and Marathons,” said Bergstrom.
Bergstrom won the women’s aQuellé Tour Durban cyclocross title on debut last year, and returns hungry to retain that title, no mater who enters the race.
“I get onto the start line and plan to win, every time, even if I have to hang on for dear life,” said Bergstrom.
She says the mix of tar and off-road single track on the cyclocross layout was exhilarating, even if it doesn’t conform to the classic European cyclocross model.
“It is really fast! Some of the speeds we were getting in the race last year were unbelievable. Once you take that left turn off the tar road it is fun but not technically challenging at all,” says Bergstrom.
More information can be found at www.tourdurban.co.za.
not exactly a cyclocross race....