The forests of Karkloof put on a spectacular display for the third and final round of the 2016 KZNMTB Provincial Downhill Series – presented by Greg Minnaar Cycles on Sunday 22 May. As another remarkable series drew to a close, the KwaZulu-Natal sun began to set behind the podiums of the fastest overall man and woman on riders of the day, Jonathan Philogene and Sabine Thies.
The weather could not have been more welcoming of a Provincial Downhill Cup, which also doubled this weekend as the fourth round of the 2016 SA DHI Cup Series, with valuable national points on offer.
Elite and overall Men’s winner, Jonathan Philogene flew to the top of the podium at the third and final round of the 2016 KZNMTB Provincial Downhill Series – presented by Greg Minnaar Cycles on Sunday 22 May Photo credit: Andrew McFadden/BOOGS Photography
The Elite and overall Men’s winner, was 2Bros Racing’s Jonathan Philogene. The 19-year-old was ecstatic to take the title, as well as managing to pulling off two “clean” runs, which he feels is not very often the case. “The race went well, the regional and national result meant a lot to me, I needed to do well at this round to meet the criteria for world champs selection, which is my ultimate goal for the year. So finishing first really did mean a lot to me,” he said. Philogene was able to share the excitement with 17-year-old brother, Christopher, after he took the Junior Men’s title on the day.
Sub-Junior and overall Women’s winner, Sabine Thies, was over the moon at her double win at the weekend, having taken the overall women’s title in the Enduro on the Saturday as well. “I feel great. Its’ been a long time coming that I was going to win overall so I’m really happy,” she said.
Thies (riding for Greg Minnaar Cycles / Pizzology Craft Café / Foxhead South Africa) spoke about her experience of the series: “The series overall went well. I had a few bad races but held it together until the end, so I’m really glad to take the series win. This Karkloof track is definitely my favourite, but St. Ives definitely gave this one a bit of a run for its money as well.”
Sabine “Beani” Thies took the Sub Junior and the overall Women’s victory at the third and final round of the 2016 KZNMTB Provincial Downhill Series – presented by Greg Minnaar Cycles on Sunday 22 May Photo credit: Andrew McFadden/BOOGS Photography
Sub Veteran Men’s winner, Mark Millar, was excited to take the win on the day, as well as the overall series title ahead of good friend and opponent, Nigel Hicks. “The series has gone pretty well – it’s been up and down,” said Millar.
“Today went really well, to be honest. I came in this morning feeling a little bit nervous about the track. There are quite a few big jumps and I hadn’t ridden the track in quite a while so I was slightly nervous about hitting them. The first run down settled my nerves when I had a go,” he said.
When chatting about his race runs, Millar said: “The first race run was rubbish because I crashed in the final corner. The only reason I held it together in the second run was because a couple of friends halfway down the track were up to no good with their usual tricks. I was actually about to give up but then I saw all of my friends misbehaving and encouraging me on the side-lines and then I got psyched again and carried on pedalling to keep it up until the end, where I managed to come home just a few seconds ahead of Nige’s time.”
The next event is the once-off 2016 KZNMTB Provincial DOWNHILL Championships – presented by Greg Minnaar Cycles, and takes place at Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday 3 July. More information and entry details can be found here: http://www.roag.co.za/eventinfo.aspx?EventID=1730.
Summary of Results – KZNMTB Provincial DOWNHILL Series #3 – 22 May 2016
Full results are available at www.elitetiming.co.za
Overall Men
1. Jonathan Philogene 02:37.65
2. Tiaan Odendaal 02:38.65
3. Christopher Philogene 02:41.74
4. Timothy Bentlry 02:43.57
5. Adi van der Merwe 02:47.60
Overall Women
1. Sabine Thies 03:34.95
2. Kathryn Fourie 03:46.30
3. Kim Westbrook 03:50.90
4. Joanne Hicks 04:04.40
5. Tammy Sturrock 04:11.74
Elite Men
1.Jonathan Philogene 02:37.65
2.Tiaan Odendaal 02:38.65
3.Timothy Bentley 02:43.57
Elite Women
1.Kim Westbrook 03:50.90
2.Tammy Sturrock 04:11.74
3.Lauren Hoyer 04:20.74
Junior Men
1.Christopher Philogene 02:41.74
2.Cullen McMaster 02:50.02
3.Francois du Toit 02:52.19
Youth Men
1.Jason du Toit 02:57.10
2.Shaun Smale 02:57.65
3.Kayle Seaward 03:36.07
Sub Junior Men
1.Robert Jessop 03:41.46
2.Kyle Brand 03:45.55
3.Maximillian Wolfson 03:48.37
Sub Junior Women
1.Sabine Thies 03:34.95
2.Charlotte Wolfson 05:17.44
Nipper Boys
1.Caleb Archer 05:50.07
2.Benjamin Wolfson 06:43.13
3.Gabriel Archer 09:28.29
Sprog Boys
1.Liam Tyler Hall 03:53.61
2.Nate Tanner Hall 03:56.77
3.Keagan Brand 04:00.57
Sub Veteran Men
1.Mark Millar 03:02.68
2.Nigel Hicks 03:05.34
3.Cyril Spence 03:07.31
Sub Veteran Women
1.Kathryn Fourie 03:46.30
2.Joanne Hicks 04:04.40
3.Nikki Alvin 04:20.61
Veteran Men
1.Craig Seaward 03:14.68
2.Thane Archer 03:19.58
3.Grant Dekker 03:26.00
Master Men
1.Peter Hoyer 04:09.11
2.Mark Minter 04:38.91
