News: Cycling

Mauritian-born Kim Le Court De Billot (Efficient Insure Infiniti) won her third Cape Town Cycle Tour, presented by Pick n Pay, on Sunday while 22-year-old Marc Pritzen (Honeycomb) took his first win in the elite men’s race on a day that started cold and windy. Le Court De Billot won the 78km women’s elite event, that started in Fish Hoek, in 2 hours 08 minutes 05 seconds ahead of Hout Bay local, and former SA road champion, Hayley Preen (Reach For Rainbows) and mountain biking star Candice Lill. 2021 SA road champion Pritzen won the men’s 109km event in 2:37.55 ahead of German cyclocross professional Sascha Weber (Mad Macs) and another mountain bike specialist, HB Kruger. The Cape Town Cycle Tour celebrated its 44th edition in 2022 with a Covid-restricted maximum field of 22 500. In 2021 the event was restricted to a field of 18 000. WOMEN’S RACE After the women’s event started 15 minutes late because of the gloomy weather, it was first Lill and then Le Court de Billot that opened up the race as they headed down through Ocean View and Masiphumelele. The two were eventually caught by the bunch on the lower slopes of Chapmans Peak but again split the group on the famous climb. By the time the women reached Hout Bay the lead group had swelled again but Preen attacked up Suikerbossie – as she did in 2021 – and took both Le Court De Billot and Lill with her. Lill then set a torrid pace to gap the rest of the field up the infamous climb. The three worked together until the final kilometre before Le Court De Billot’s superior sprinting saw her add to the titles she won in 2018 and 2021. “It was probably my most exciting Cycle Tour yet. I knew, coming into today, that the women’s field was really strong and this Cycle Tour was probably the best one to win,” Le Court De Billot said. “It was also great to win in front of my whole family as well.” MEN’S RACE The men’s race was equally as exciting as the race was frantic right from the start. A large group, including Pritzen, got clear early on along the fast M3 section but got whittled down as they ascended Chapman’s Peak and finally Suikerbossie. By the time they reached the top of Suikerbossie Pritzen, Weber, Kruger and early animator, Byron Munton, had got clear with the peloton already out of the running. It is rare that a pro breakaway succeeds on the relatively short Cycle Tour route. In the final kilometre Munton opened up a tactical sprint and it was the tall figure of Pritzen that managed to pull through for a superb win. “Winning this race is the dream,” Pritzen beamed. “I’ve won many races in South Africa but this is the biggest one. The weather suited me because I like it when it’s wet. So when I woke up this morning I knew that this was my best chance at winning.” GOOD TURNOUT “Despite the inclement conditions this morning just over 17 500 of the 22 500 entrants started,” Cycle Tour Director, David Bellairs said. “It just shows how committed our riders are to supporting the event no matter what the weather.” Cycle Tour Trust CEO Paula Barnard expressed her appreciation to all the sponsors, supporters and volunteers that make the Cycle Tour possible. “We are deeply grateful to all our sponsors for sticking by us over the last two years despite the challenges we faced dealing with the Covid pandemic,” Barnard said. “Without the support of these sponsors, our supporters, the City of Cape Town, the provincial government of the Western Cape and all our volunteers it would not be possible to give this opportunity to so many.” Results Men: 1 Marc Pritzen (Honeycomb) 2 hours 37 minutes 55 seconds 2 Sascha Weber (Mac Macs) same time 3 HB Kruger st Women 1 Kim Le Court De Billot 02:08:45 2 Hayley Preen st 3 Candice Lill st

Thousands of cyclists from around South Africa celebrated the return of limited mass participation sporting events with the 43rd running of the Cape Town Cycle Tour on Sunday. As part of the events’ Covid-19 mitigation plans the race was reduced in size to a maximum of 18 000 entries and various Covid-19 protocols, including a ‘flow’ start and smaller start batches, were put in place to ensure the safety of all participants. Blessed with near-perfect weather, the traditional circuit around the Peninsula was clear and virtually windless and participants were encouraged to enjoy the event rather than race for time. With only prizes up for grabs in the elite races, most of the starters chose to take it easier and coffee shops along the route were busy as many participants stopped for a break. The 2021 Cycle Tour, which attracted 18 000 entries, was postponed from its traditional early March date to October as a result of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. “Today was a celebration,” Cycle Tour Director, David Bellairs said. “We were privileged to be the first mass participation event to take place since the lockdown restrictions were imposed and all our participants got into the spirit of the day by participating rather than racing.” The race was restricted to 18 000 entries and various Covid-19 protocols, including a ‘flow’ start, were used to ensure the safety of riders and organisers. “This event could not have happened if we had not had the buy-in of the riders so we are extremely grateful that the majority of riders embraced our Covid-19 measures,” said Bellairs. HOFFMAN MAKES HISTORY IN THE MEN’S RACE Local hero Nolan Hoffman became the second most successful men’s rider in Cape Town Cycle Tour history when he won his fourth title in a tactical 2 hours, 37 minutes, 12 seconds. The 36-year-old ENZA team rider – who won in 2014, 2015 and 2018 – delivered the perfect sprint after surviving the climbs up Chapman’s Peak and Suikerbossie and winning by over a bike length ahead of Christiaan Janse van Rensburg and Craig Boyes. “This is definitely the title that means the most. It has been a tough time for my family over the last 18 months and we have lost family members to Covid. I am just blessed to be healthy and be able to win,” Hoffman said. “I put on a lot of weight during the lockdown but I have worked really hard at getting into shape once we heard that the Cycle Tour was happening.” Hoffman was able to save his energy for the big climbs when ENZA teammate David Maree got into the only significant break of the day. Maree got clear with Alwyn Steenkamp (TEG Procycling) and Keanan Roodt just after the climb up Wynberg Hill. Through Misty Cliffs the escapees stretched out the lead to 1:19 before they were eventually swallowed up by the charging bunch up Chapman’s Peak. As the lead bunch approached Suikerbossie, World Tour rider Nic Dlamini (Assos-Qhubeka) was the first to attack as he attempted to burn off the sprinters. But the lead group eventually reformed over the final 15km into the finish and Hoffman – helped by guest teammate and mountain biking legend Christoph Sauser – got himself into the perfect position to deliver his trademark sprint. “I just told myself to relax and believe in my sprint. It was just a perfect day,” Hoffman said. Only Willie Engelbrecht has won more titles than Hoffman in the men’s race with five to his name. LE COURT DE BILLOT WINS SECOND WOMEN’S TITLE 2018 winner Kim Le Court De Billot took the title in the women’s race after a thrilling race over 78km that started in Fish Hoek. She clocked 2 hour 13 minutes 37 seconds. Le Court De Billot was part of a select group of six riders that managed to pull clear of the bunch up Chapman’s Peak and included SA champion and Hout Bay local Hayley Preen, top mountain biker Candice Lill, UK triathlon star Emma Pallant, Kelsey van Schoor and S’annara Grove. Pallant was the early aggressor while Preen put down the hammer up Suikerbossie in an attempt to break up the lead group. But, in the end, the group entered the final kilometres intact and it was up to Le Court De Billot and Preen to contest the sprint. Behind them Pallant and the rest got tangled up and Pallant crashed heavily within sight of the finish line. “I felt confident on the climbs, felt I was in the right place and my legs were good,” Le Court de Billot. “I tried to save my legs for the sprint because I confidence in that. I’m just glad I could pull it off for my team.” Sunday marked the 43rd edition of the Cape Town Cycle Tour. Results: Men: 1 Nolan Hoffman (ENZA) 02:37:12 2 Christian Janse van Rensburg, same time 3 Craig Boyes, same time 4 Louis Visser, same time 5 Jaco Venter, same time Women: 1 Kim Le Court de Billot (Galileo Infinit SPOT), 02:13:17 2 Hayley Preen, same time 3 Candice Lill, same time 4 Kelsey van Schoor, same time (Customized Cycling Bioplus) 5 S’annara Grove, same time (Customized Cycling Bioplus)

Credit : Sarah Tzinieris Last Sunday, the Serengeti Marathon was held in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Here are the results. Marathon Results Top 10 Men 1 ABRAHAM TOO KEN 02:07:02 2 JULIUS KILIMO KEN 02:07:59 3 DUNCAN KWEMBOI KEN 02:08:34 4 ANDREW SAMBU TAN 02:08:57 5 GEORGE NYAMOTI KEN 02:11:49 6 STEPHEN NDEGE KEN 02:12:29 7 MWITA KAPILO TAN 02:15:25 8 NONDIN ALFRED KEN 02:15:27 9 DANIELKIPKEMEI KEN 02:19:33 10 GETURI GUMALI TAN 02:24:01 Top 10 Women 1 BEATRICE RUTTO KEN 02:40:07 2 LILIAN CHELIMO KEN 02:40:08 3 DORCAS CHESANG KEN 02:40:40 4 FABIOLA WILLIAM TAN 02:48:15 5 FAITH JEROTICH KEN 02:48:39 6 LEAH KITUYI KEN 03:40:00 7 BANUELIA BRITON TAN 03:48:15 8 SARAH MAIYO KEN 03:51:17 9 DORCAS KWAMBAI KEN 03:53:40 10 REBECA NAKUWA KEN 04:03:40 Half Marathon Results Top 10 Men 1 ALPHONCE FELIX TAN 01:00:40 2 MICAH WAMBULA KEN 01:00:58 3 DICKSON MARWA TAN 01:01:05 4 WILSON KIPROP KEN 01:01:20 5 ISACK KOECH KEN 01:01:44 6 JOSEPHAT JOSHUA KEN 01:02:03 7 VICENT OSOKO KEN 01:02:16 8 SILVESTA SIMON TAN 01:02:21 9 JOSEPH SALEE TAN 01:02:25 10 LAMECK MISIWA TAN 01:02:55 Top 10 Women 1 CATHLINE LANGE TAN 01:10:28 2 FAILUNA MATANGA TAN 01:12:46 3 MARY NAALI TAN 01:13:10 4 GLADIYS TANUI KEN 01:18:18 5 FURAHA SAMBEKI TAN 01:19:44 6 MAGDALENA CRISPIAN TAN 01:22:21 7 FAITH KIPTOO KEN 01:23:12 8 ADELINA AUDA TAN 01:27:32 9 ASMA RAJABU TAN 01:29:26 10 NEEMA MATHIAS TAN 01:33:21

§staticmap(8586,5,450,250) Hello, on October 12th 2013, you’ll be organizing the Great Barrier Island Wharf to Wharf Marathon. Can you tell us where it is located? Great Barrier Island is located approximately 90 km off the coast of Auckland City, New Zealand. Auckland is the main port of entry to New Zealand from overseas and travel to the Island is available via small aircraft or passenger/vehicle ferry from downtown Auckland. How old is the race and why was it created in the first place? The race, in it’s current form, was started 6 years ago by Barry Mouat, one of the local fathers of Kaitoke School pupils, as a fun day fundraiser event for primarily local competitors. The following year Barry walked the marathon himself with the assistance of one of his daughters whilst stricken with cancer & passed away not long after. It is now the Barry Mouat Memorial Wharf 2 Wharf Marathon and has grown every year with the majority of competitors now coming from mainland New Zealand and various overseas countries Credit : Penelope Andrews What kind of route have you set up for the runners? How would you describe it? The marathon course has been set up in 2 sections. The first section starts at the Port Fitzroy wharf and is along conservation tracks through beautiful & serene native New Zealand bush offering spectacular views from the Island out over the gulf towards Auckland and on the other side, out over the Pacific Ocean. At the half way point it transfers to a road course winding through the beaches and bays of the southern part of the Island to the Tryphena Wharf. It is a truly unique marathon course with a variety of terrain & breathtaking views culminating in a truly challenging course that would test even the more experienced marathon runners. Credit : Penelope Andrews How many runners do you expect on Saturday morning? What type of runners do you plan to attract? Due to our unique location and certain restrictions we have in facilitating larger numbers we expect a maximum of about 250 competitors and a number of those will be registered for our half marathon options as well. We attract all types of runners from the very experienced runners who are looking for the “adventure marathon” challenge, to those that wish to participate for personal satisfaction & enjoyment. We have events to fit all types of competitors. Do you organize other races during the Weekend? If so, on what distances? On the day we actually offer 18 different events due to the fact that we offer not only the full marathon course but also a half marathon on the conservation track as well as a half marathon on the road course. Not only that but we have a mix of walking & bike racing as well as running. Credit : Penelope Andrews At that time of the year, what kind of weather can we expect? Mid October is mid-Spring time in New Zealand and we are in transition from winter to summer. In the upper North Island of New Zealand (where we are located) we don’t experience extremes in weather so the temperatures could be ranging from about 10 degrees C to about 18 degrees C. Have you planned festivities around the marathon? The prizegiving for the event is an evening of food & entertainment provided by the local community in good spirit and is fun for all. On the island itself it is a tourist destination and therefore offers a wide variety of activities and entertainment. The race finished, what advice would you give a runner who has never been to Port FitzRoy before? A good restaurant, a fancy sightseeing? As mentioned the island is a tourist destination which is “a world of its own”. There is a local community that live “old style” New Zealand with a very natural and relaxed approach to life. This is mixed with a number of tourist services including small restaurants & bars as well as activities such as hiking, fishing, surfing, general sightseeing to some of the most spectacular beaches anywhere & not to forget…. Relaxation away from city life! In a single sentence, what would you tell the readers of ahotu Marathons to make them register for the Great Barrier Island Wharf to Wharf Marathon? The Great Barrier Island Wharf 2 Wharf marathon is very unique in its location and setting with great local hospitality as well as being one of the most exhilarating and challenging “adventure” marathons you will find anywhere in the world!! Information and registration at www.thebarrier.co.nz/wharf2wharf.htm Interview with Mike Brown, Race Director. Mike has been coming to Great Barrier Island for almost 35 years and has been living here with his two young children for the last 3 years following the passing away of their mother. He is on the Board of Trustees for Kaitoke School and has a background in organising various events, hence he took over running this event in 2012 to assist in the fundraising for the school.

Knut Arild Maråk is 31 years old. He lives in Geiranger and works as a researcher for the oil company Statoil. He likes running and cycling in his spare time, and loves hiking during summer and skiing during winter, spring and summer. Knut is a member of the organization committee in charge of the “Geiranger From Fjord To Summit”. §staticmap(7325,5)On June 12th 2011, you’ll be organizing the Dalsnibba Run21. Can you tell us where it is located? It is located in Geiranger, which is a small village in the heart of the fjord landscape in Norway. The village is located in the middle of a very spectacular landscape, a landscape that is listed on the World Heritage list. The race starts in warm summer by the fjord and ends on top of Mount Dalsnibba where there’s still a lot of snow, even in June. This will be the 18 edition of the race. Why was it created in the first place? It started in 1993 with a organized walk from the fjord up to mount Dalsnibba, which is 21 km. The feedback was that it would be fun to run the same track. The first half marathon was a great success in 1994. In 2000, we also added bicycling after request from our participants. It is now one of the bigger sport events in Norway. Credit : Geiranger HalvmaratonWhat kind of route have you set up for the runners? How would you describe it? The track starts down by the fjord at 5 meters above sea level where it’s summer, and ends in the snow at 1500 meters above the sea. So it’s both a half marathon and a mountain run. As the track is on a narrow asphalt road, the inclination is approx. 8-9% most of the time, with three small sections of slight descent. The last 5 km of the track is on gravel road and is even steeper, around 10% inclination. How many runners do you expect on Sunday morning? What type of runners do you plan to attract? We expect around 200 runners. As it is a rather hard half marathon with almost only uphill, you have to be fit to get to the finish line. In addition, we arrange a walk and a bicycle race in the same track on the same day, so we expect around 1000 people in total on the summit. Many of the best runner’s in Norway have participated, but most of our participants do it for fun. Do you organize other races during the Week-End? If so, on what distances? Yes, we have in total six races on the same day. Running, bicycling or walking, each with two distances: 5 km and 21 km. We refer to all of them as “Geiranger From Fjord To Summit”. Credit : Geiranger HalvmaratonAt that time of the year, what kind of weather can we expect? It’s mild at start (around 20°C) and colder at 1500 meters altitude – perhaps around 10°C. It can be winterly in the Norwegian mountains also in the middle of summer, but that’s part of the experience with our race. We remind our participants before start to send extra warm clothes up to the finish line – it can be two different worlds. Have you planned festivities around the half marathon? We invite our participants to the club at one of the Hotels afterwards for a big party! There are also a lot of other activities in Geiranger this weekend. The half marathon finished, what advice would you give a runner who has never been to Geiranger before? A good restaurant, a fancy sightseeing? Bring your touring skis, your hiking boots or your kayak. In Geiranger you can do it all in the middle of June, and there are plenty of mountains, waterfalls, glaciers and areas to explore. We organize a skiing tour both on the day before and after the race, this is also in Geiranger. In a single sentence, what would you tell the readers of ahotu Marathons to make them register for the Dalsnibba Run21? Run from summer to winter – we guarantee you an ascent to remember. Thank you Knut Credit : Geiranger Halvmaraton