Events

Philogene trumps Cascades

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Christopher Philogene was the fastest man to descend the mountain at Cascades MTB Park during the third and final round of the 2017 KZNMTB PROVINCIAL DOWNHILL SERIES on Monday 1 May. The only rider to break the four minute 30 second mark, young Christopher touched on that time with a 4:30.24 in his first timed run and bettered that with a 4:27.99 on his second run, in a race where the best time of two runs counted.

Speaking in the short recess before his second timed run, Philogene said: “It’s a very tiring track and very physical and there is a lot more pedaling required in the new section they have added, which is part of the Enduro track. It makes it tiring on your legs, especially where you have to tuck down for more speed and hold the squat position. I’m feeling good and going to try and keep it smooth and consistent all the way down, but I am happy with how the first run went.”

Top contender Tiaan Odendaal suffered a crash on his first timed run, which ruled him out of contention, and Christopher’s brother Jonathan Philogene posted the second-fastest time on the first run, but came unstuck on his second run. His successful first run however secured him an overall second place.

ccs-62657-0-42381100-1493719683.jpgThe Overall Men’s Podium: 1.Christopher Philogene, 2.Jonathan Philogene, 3.Struan McMaster, 4.Timothy Bentley, 5.Sharjah Jonsson, at the 2017 KZNMTB Provincial Downhill Series at Cascades MTB Park on Monday 1 May Photo credit: Mylene Paynter.

Struan McMaster was the third fastest after both runs, bettering his first run by five seconds in another sibling rivalry battle as his younger brother, Cullen McMaster was in fifth place after the first timed runs.

“I started the morning getting my lines right and my first run was a little slow and I didn’t push it too much. My second run I pushed it a bit and hit all my lines properly and I’m happy with the result. The Cascades course is amazing, it’s very close to what they race overseas, which is what we are all aiming for,” said Struan McMaster.

When chatting about the brothers-in-arms in the top five, Struan quipped: “It’s not good when my brother beats me. It’s always good racing against the Philogenes though, they have some good racing over there.”

Timothy Bentley (Elite) and Sharjah Jonsson (Junior) rounded out the Overall Men’s podium, posting times of 04:36.36 and 04:43.04 respectively.

Youth woman Sabine Thies won the women’s race overall in a time of 05:45.84 on the technical track, with Sub veteran Kathryn Fourie claiming second place (06:16.63) and Veteran Dorette Crous rounding out the podium in 07:06.16.

Relative newbie to Downhill racing, Crous shared her views on the technical race track. “It’s very physical and very pedally and you need to be quite fit to race here. I’m still learning quite a lot as I’ve only been racing this discipline for four months. It’s good fun and I’m enjoying it a lot. Upper body strength is required. A lot of people think downhill is coasting down a mountain. But especially on this course, I was really tired at half way and that is where the pedaling section only started. Fitness counts in a big way.”

Overall Men’s winner in the Enduro race, which was the third and final round of the 2017 KZNMTB PROVINCIAL ENDURO SERIES on Sunday 30 April was Tiaan Odendaal, who managed to keep a rampant Sam Bull at bay after his recent return to Enduro racing after a serious knee injury. Odendaal claimed the victory by nine seconds.

“It was a tough hill climb to the top, the stages were pretty cool and the last stage was nice and long. The first two stages were short and technical and the third stage was not too hard, nice and flowy. It was lots of fun and I’m happy with the win,” said Odendaal.

Bull, who has been keeping spectators entertained with his commentary at previous Gravity events, chatted about his road from recovery and his second place overall. “At African Champs last year, I tore my ACL and MCL meniscus and had big knee surgery and a nine-month strict rehab programme to get back in action. That set me back. I just wanted to get back into riding again and had nothing to prove, so I’ve eased in gently this year. I wanted to make sure that my knee is fine and I’m enjoying being on the bike again. I love Cascades, the top two stages were proper Enduro stages and they required a lot of skill. Cascades is always fun – it’s a tough climb up but you’re always rewarded on the way down.”

Women’s overall winner Sabine Thies (Youth) posted the fastest time in her category of 16:06, with Kathryn Fourie (Sub Veteran) second (16:59) and Helen Squirrell third in 17:59.

“Since Thursday we have been training on the tracks – I’ve never trained this hard for an Enduro so it was great. Stage one and two were the hardest, especially the steepness in stage one. Stage four was my ultimate favourite and I know that section very well. One of my friends came down from Joburg, Chris Pearton, and he was sort of coaching me through the stages during our practice, which helped me a lot.”

KZNMTB extends gratitude to the series sponsors Dirt Merchant, Rush Sports and International Trade for their support in the Gravity Series.

The next race event for KwaZulu-Natal mountain bikers will also be held at Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg, and is the fourth round of the SA National Cup Series, which makes a turn past KwaZulu-Natal in June. The province’s riders will be out in force against their national peers.

Summary of Results – 2017 KZNMTB ENDURO Round 3 – Sunday 30 April 2017

Overall Men
1.Tiaan Odendaal (Senior) 12:29
2.Sam Bull (Senior) 12:38
3.Jonathan Philogene (Senior) 12:44
4.Keira Duncan (Junior) 12:52
5.Timothy Bentley (Senior) 12:53

Overall Women
1.Sabine Thies (Youth) 16:06
2.Kathryn Fourie (Sub Veteran) 16:59
3.Helen Squirrell (Veteran) 17:59
4.Sonja Engelbrecht (Veteran) 18:11
5.Louise Kotze (Sub Veteran) 18:15

Senior Men
1.Tiaan Odendaal 12:29
2.Sam Bull 12:38
3.Jonathan Philogene 12:44

Sub Veteran Men
1.Craig Paul 13:09
2.Christopher Pearton 13:59
3.Mark Millar 14:52

Sub Veteran Women
1.Kathryn Fourie 16:59
2.Louise Kotze 18:15
3.Elja van Urk 19:39

Veteran Men
1.Keith Diederichs 14:13
2.Rory Grobler 14:22
3.Craig Seaward 14:45

Veteran Women
1.Helen Sqirrell 17:59
2.Sonja Engelbrecht 18:11
3.Nicola Nairn 23:02

Master Men
1.Alastair Brand 16:06
2.Clint Hattingh 16:43
3.Desmond Purchase 17:42

Junior Men
1.Keira Duncan 12:52
2.Sharjah Jonsson 13:06
3.Liam Read 15:04

Youth Men
1.Connor Finnis 14:03
2.Kayle Seaward 15:01
3.Brodan Symons 15:54

Youth Women
1.Sabine Thies 16:06
2.Charne Dreyer 18:20
Sub Junior Boys
1.Jordan Anastasis 16:41

Sprog Boys
1.Liam Tyler Hall 16:04
2.Nate Tanner Hall 16:41
3.Ross Kew 16:46

Sprog Girls
1.Georgia Finnis

Nipper Boys
1.Vaughn Preston 19:31
2.Kade van Deventer 21:58
3.Cullum Finnis

Summary of Results – 2017 KZNMTB DOWNHILL Round 3 – Monday 1 May 2017

Overall Men
1.Christopher Philogene (Elite) 04:27.99
2.Jonathan Philogene (Elite) 04:32.19
3.Struan McMaster (Elite) 04:33.09
4.Timothy Bentley (Elite) 04:36.36
5.Sharjah Jonsson (Junior) 04:43.04

Overall Women
1.Sabine Thies (Youth) 05:45.84
2.Kathryn Fourie (Sub Veteran) 06:16.63
3.Dorette Crous (Veteran) 07:06.16

Elite Men
1.Christopher Philogene 04:27.99
2.Jonathan Philogene 04:32.19
3.Struan McMaster 04:33.09

Sub Veteran Men
1.Christopher Pearton 04:56.75
2.Shai Duke-Norris 05:09.22
3.Mark Millar 05:18.89

Sub Veteran Women
1.Kathryn Fourie 06:16.63

Veteran Men
1.Craig Seaward 05:16.54
2.Jason Hall 05:27.39
3.Tyrone Pinnoy 05:33.49

Veteran Women
1.Dorette Crous 07:06.16

Master Men
1.Alastair Brand 05:43.13
2.Desmond Purchase 06:19.93

Junior Men
1.Sharjah Jonsson 04:43.04
2.Cullen McMaster 04:46.05
3.Keira Duncan 04:54.20

Youth Men
1.Kayle Seaward 05:01.19
2.Connor Finnis 05:08.23
3.Jared Piek 05:45.84

Youth Women
1.Sabine Thies 05:45.84

Sub Junior Boys
1.Kyle Brand 05:55.06
2.Jordan Anastasis 06:16.86

Sprog Boys
1.Keagan Brand 05:42.94
2.Nate Tanner Hall 05:51.20
3.Liam Tyler Hall 05:55.48

Nipper Boys
1.Vaughn Preston 07:35.82
2.Cullum Finnis 08:55.10

Enduro Class
1.Brad Purchase 05:02.47
2.Andy Noble 05:40.41
3.Jacques Dreyer 05:43.49

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