According to Neethling rider safety will always be the main concern. “The heavy rain experienced in the area would have compromised medical crew response en route. Rider safety on route itself could also not be guaranteed. We tried to change the course as much as possible to ensure rider safety, however cancelling stage three still remained the best decision on the day. We realise that it’s a mountain bike race, but it’s also not an extreme challenge and our main concern remains to get our riders home safely. The decision was taken in consultation with the route directors, disaster management, and the medical and rescue teams appointed for the event”, says Neethling. Neethling and Durrant were appointed as Commissaires by Cycling SA’s mountain biking division.
After two days of racing, covering a combined distance of 135km (70km on Stage One and 65km on Stage Two), Dominic Calitz and Matthys Beukes of Team MTBDestination.com secured the title of 2011 Contego Wines2Whales Champions in the men’s team category. According to Calitz winning the race is a wonderful feeling. “Of course stage three being cancelled is a bit of a letdown, as winning this stage would have been the cherry on the cake for me. All in all I am very happy with our achievement and we had an awesome race. Although our partnership was a last minute decision, it was great riding with Matthys. He’s really strong, I found myself having to hold on. The Wines2Whales is definitely one of the best stage races in South Africa, it is true mountain biking. We look forward to returning next year”, says Calitz. Team MTBDestination.com completed the two stages in a combined time of 05hours59minutes32seconds. Team Blend Elite’s Christiaan Kriek and David Morison placed 2nd, while Team Contego Giant’s Louis-Bresler Knipe and Adriaan Louw secured an overall 3rd place position.
Ischen Stopforth and Catherine Williamson of Team Bizhub rode off with the title of 2011 Contego Wines2Whales MTB Champions in the women’s team category after completing the two stages in a combined time of 07hours07minutes50seconds. According to Stopforth the Wines2Whales Route was fantastic. “I really enjoyed racing with Catherine again. Stage Two was great with the Contego Girls giving us a go. We’re really happy to take the win especially with it being my last race of the year. We look forward to coming back in 2012”, says Stopforth. Team Contego Girls’ Ariane Kleinhans and Mariske Strauss placed 2nd, while Team Fair Cape Ladies’ Desiree Loubser and Marleen Lourens secured an overall 3rd place position.
Yolande De Villiers and Johan Labuschagne of Team Cycle Lab KTM managed to successfully defend their Mixed Team title at the 2011 Contego Wines2Whales MTB Race after completing the two stages in a combined time of 06hous55minutes29seconds. “It’s sad about stage three having to be cancelled, but I am sure that all the riders realise that it was the right decision”, says De Villiers. “The 2011 Wines2Whales route was awesome. The single track is by far the best in South Africa. It was fantastic to win. We’re looking forward to returning next year”. Candice Neethling and James Reid of Team BMC MrPrice Bizhub placed 2nd, while Hanlie Booyens and Russel De Jager of Team Robert Daniel Mixed secured an overall 3rd place position.
Stage Information: Stage three would have seen riders take on a 85km route from Grabouw Country Club to Onrus Caravan Park near Hermanus.
