Evans The Man To Beat This Weekend

Press Release : Advendurance Media

The Clarens leg might be the toughest of the MTN National Mountain Bike Series, but this does not upset Kevin Evans (MTN-Energade) at all.

When told about the 15 kilometer climb with a gradient of 10 percent that awaits the riders who will compete in the 80 km or 110 km races on Saturday, Evans’s reaction was ‘So what?’

“During the World Marathon Championship we had to ride a 5 km climb with a gradient of 28 percent. The tougher it gets in Clarens, the better it will be for me personally, because then the route will sort out the competition. This will allow me to focus only on my own race.”

Evans predicts that the MTN Clarens race will in all probability end up being an elimination race. The riders who have not done enough hard work will have to pay the price in the end.

It is disappointing that many of the top riders won’t be competing.

Max Knox and Brandon Stewart (DCM) decided that it would not be worthwhile for them to compete in Clarence, because they could not gain anything by doing so.

“We can’t win the series overall anymore.  That is why we decided that we would rather compete in a four-day stage event in Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal,” Stewart said.

Burry Stander (Specialized) is off to France.

That basically leaves Ben-Melt Swanepoel (Specialized), Philip Buys, Francois Theron, Mannie Heymans and Marc Bassingthwaighte (Garmin adidas) to challenge Evans.

Evans says his main goal is just to make sure that he beats Bassingthwaighte.

“Marc is the only rider at this stage who could prevent me from winning the series overall.  If there is truth to the rumour that he is unfortunate enough to be sick again, it would make my job so much easier.

“Ben-Melt will be a tough opponent, especially when that diesel engine of his kicks in.

“You can write this, I don’t mind. My race tactics on Saturday will be to make sure that I stay with the leaders right from the beginning.  This will put the challenge on them to try and get rid of me.  I will bide my time and when I feel it is the right moment to attack, I will see who has the legs to stay with me.”

Swanepoel was second in the MTN Dirty Harry Race in Harrismith and 2nd in the MTN Blockhouse Race.

Theron and Buys might cause a surprise, especially Theron.  Earlier this year he proved that he has the ability to win ultra-marathons when he won the Attakwas Extreme Challenge outside Oudtshoorn.

The big question every time Theron races is with what set of legs he will arrive at the race.  Looking at his performances in the last two MTN races he can be expected to have a good result. He finished in the top five in Harrismith as well as in the Blockhouse races.

Everybody expects Buys to be a factor to reckon with during the first half of the race, but they also expect him to get tired after 80 km.  He might just surprise them all.

The women’s race over 80 km could be Saturday’s highlight. Yolandé de Villiers (Toyota Cyclelab) needs to beat Ischen Stopforth (Marsilio Projects) to still have a realistic chance of winning the series overall.

It will be interesting to see whether Yolandé Speedy (IMC) will be racing in Clarens on Saturday and, if she does, what distance she will decide to race.

Speedy, who usually outrides her rivals in most of the local races to win by minutes, has decided in Hazyview to compete in the Induna Ultra-marathon.

Yolandi du Toit (Konica-Minolta) is the other rider who will be in the running for a podium position.