De Villiers wins again

OUDTSHOORN NEWS - Multiple Namibian national champions, Drikus Coetzee, bounced back over the weekend from his 2021 36ONE MTB Challenge disappointment to shatter the previous solo course record. The race got underway at 15:00 last Friday at Kleinpaas resort.

The 361-kilometre circumnavigation of the Klein Karoo takes in features like the Rooiberg Pass in its 5 000 metres of climbing.

In the woman's solo division, last year's winner and the local queen of endurance mountain biking, Yolande de Villiers, emerged victorious while the 180-kilometre half distance course record was broken by CP van Wyk on his way to victory.

Despite the near-perfect conditions, De Villiers never appeared in contention to challenge the course record. Coetzee however, was on course to break the record from early on.

He ensured the pace remained high throughout.

"From about 15 kilometres out I knew I was inside the record. But I wanted to empty the tank. Last year I came close but made a mistake in the last 100 metres which put me out of contention in the sprint with the eventual winner Konny Looser and Christiaan Janse Van Rensburg. I knew from last year that I could break the record and the conditions were perfect for it today. We only had a short section of headwind, approaching Checkpoint 1 at Louvain. It was a nearly perfect ride," Coetzee said after the race.

Yolande de Villiers rode to a dominant victory.

36ONE Solo Men

Drikus Coetzee (13:17:50)
Dusty Day (14:29:00)
Freddie Visser (14:31:51)

36ONE Solo Women

Yolande de Villiers (16:18:10)
Alma Colyn (18:41:08)
Bianca Cooper (19:03:21)

36ONE Relay Teams

RDX Powerbar: David Garret, Johann Trotzky, Theuns van Bank & Andreas Studer (13:17:51)
JD Elliot Cycle: Daniel Steenkamp, Walter Taylor, Andrew Elliott & Kenneth Elliott (13:54:55)
Cycle4Diabetes: Louis Visser, Marchal Hendriks, Grant Lindeque & Pierre Terblanche (14:45:28)

36ONE Men's Teams