Cometh The Hour, Cometh The Man

Race Report : Zoon Cronje

Cometh the hour, cometh the man On Saturday during the MTN National South African Championships – N3TC Dirty Harry Marathon Event, which will take place in Harrismith, the young Jacques Janse van Rensburg (DCM Chrome) might just be the man to end the rule of Kevin Evans (MTN-Energade) as the South African Marathon Champion.

Evans was the ruling South African Marathon Champion from 2006 to 2008. He has also won the overall MTN Marathon Series since 2005. The secret of Evans’s success is his consistency. So far this year, he has been 3rd in the MTN Barberton Classic and 3rd in the MTN Chandelier. He has also won the MTN Induna Adventure Race and, in the process, he has accumulated 10 963 points.

Marc Bassingtwaighte (Garmin adidas) who won the MTN Chandelier Race and was 2nd in the MTN Induna Adventure Race, has collected 10 506 points up to now.

Johnny Kritzinger (DCM Chrome) is third overall in the series, with 9 975 points. His best result so far was finishing 2nd in the MTN Chandelier Race.

Janse van Rensburg has only competed in one race of the MTN Series. It was in the Barberton race and he finished 2nd overall. Then, shortly afterwards, he won the Forest to Falls Race at Graskop. What makes these performances remarkable, is that Janse van Rensburg is only a part-time mountain biker.

He has been racing internationally for the Marco Polo road team during the past three months and has now switched back to mountain biking. What counts in Janse van Rensburg’s favour, is his ‘never-say-die’ attitude and his ability to out-climb South Africa’s best riders. Having to race 120 kilometres will also not be a problem for him. When you race in Europe, you learn what the word ‘vasbyt’ is all about.

On Saturday Janse van Rensburg will have nothing to lose. There is also a possibility that the top riders from the other teams might not take him seriously. They could see him as ‘roadie’ trying his luck at being a mountain biker.

The one other rider who could cause a major upset in the series, is Max Knox (DCM Chrome). His current position is 6th overall with 7 329 points. Knox won the MTN Barberton Race and was 5th in the MTN Induna Adventure Race. He won the shorter version of Dirty Harry Race last year. However, Knox realises that Evans can never be underestimated. “Kevin is one of the true professionals of the sport. His strength lies in the fact that he is able not only to out-ride us, but also to out-think us. He will certainly be aiming for a podium position in the race.”

“But, having said that, I am really looking forward to the Dirty Harry Race. The route is quite challenging and takes place at a high altitude which suits me perfectly. I think the longer race will definitely be a factor as far as race strategies are concerned and having good team-mates will be extremely important.

“However, I don’t think that there will be any unfamiliar faces at the front. It will be the usual guys who will take the race seriously, and the winner will be decided by the one among us who plays his cards the best at the right time.” Knox predicts that the race might be decided early on during the rough technical sections. “I am sure that all the big favourites will be in there. The team that has the most riders left after the technical sections, will have the upper hand during the rest of the race. It will, in all probability, turn out to be a race of elimination because the riders will gradually start to drop off as they become tired. Hopefully, our team will have more than one rider left in front, so that we can work together to ensure that the strongest one of us wins.”