MTN Ultra Marathon, #1, Barberton

Photos by: Zoon Cronje

Kevin Evans MTN Ultra Marathon, Barberton, 120km, 2800m

Nice change to race Barberton in the sun and heat, although the rains in the area definitely took its toll on the route, which was now perfect for our Spark RC’s. The Ultra Marathon route basically consists of two loops, a 75km loop including the first big climb of around 10km, followed by a 45km loop, again including a leg busting lung burning climb of about 8km. The last 25km of both loops are identical, but very rocky and rough jeep track interspersed with 14river crossings, tests you and your machine to the limit. Swen Lauer our new full time mechanic made sure the bikes were singing for the race, and they ran as smooth as could be.

Usually from my past experiences with this race, if you don’t make the front split on the first big climb, potentially your race is over, as you won’t see the leaders again. I had a hard time up the first climb following the pace that was being set by a few riders, Adrien Niyonshuti and Jacques Rossouw mostly. But I managed to hang in for over an hour and went over the top of the climb with a small group of six riders. However soon after, the group sat up and before we entered the reserve, it had swelled to about 12-14riders. Not a comfortable situation racing through the rough jeep tracks and river crossings. The second loop was fast approaching and a natural thinning out of the bunch was immanent.

Within a matter of minutes up the climb, which was now also scorching hot, I found myself struggling behind the four guys in front of me, with Rossouw setting a hard pace that only Van Rensburg, Knox and Lill could follow. I decided knowing that the climb was very long, to ride my own tempo, some sound advise from teammate Dave who was just a bit further behind me. As the climb progressed, I started clawing my way back into the race after some mind games and ‘pep’ talks with myself. First I caught and passed Lill, then Knox, and right on the top finally Van Rensburg. The two of us rode well together but once we were into the rough jeep tracks, the Scott Spark was in a league of its own and combined with some freshmotivation, I was soon chasing Rossouw alone in second place. I had no idea of time gaps, but I rode a hard pace to finish 2nd, but also to finish off an intense two week block of training with the team. Dave finished in 13th, but after flu during the training camp, it was kind of what he expected. It was also quite cool to think that our ‘junior’ rider James was racing in Pretoria flying the flag for the team in the first XC race for the season at the same time. We are now officially running two programs!

Its also amazing for me to see the progress from Advendurance as they continue to roll out world class events and I don’t think it will be long before we see a marathon world champion or championship coming out of South Africa!

Provisional Results: 1st Jacques Rossouw (FedgroupItecConnect) 5hrs 2nd Kevin Evans (Nedbank 360Life) 3rd Jacques Janse van Rensburg (MTN/Qhubeka) 4th Max Knox (Decca/Ghost) 5th Darren Lill (Bonitas)

Next race, the team will travel down to Port Elizabeth for the Herald Cycle tour, where we will have two days of racing, the Herald Mountain bike race in Addo, and the road race on Sunday. Till then, cheers.

Kevin Evans

KZN Road Championships, 2012

Photo by Swen Lauer: Kevin Evans

Elite Road Championships, Westville 127km, 1500m

Nedbank 360lfe decided to kick off our racing season with the Kwazulu-Natal Road champs held on a circuit at Westville. As the team has been on a 10day training camp based in Pietermaritzburg, we thought the race could fit nicely into our training program, and with some quality riders taking part; the workout was well worth it.

The circuit around Westville was completely closed off, and the cyclists would have the whole M13 to themselves, a great route of around 13km per lap, allowing for some great spectating, a tough circuit, and completely safe racing.

There was not a whole lot of action early on in the race, as the course was fairly tough and riders were saving themselves for the latter stages of the race. Our newly recruited youngster was eager to turn the screws in early, and threw a few attacks, but was always marked by some of his fellow cross country mountain biker competitors. Dave who was recovering from a hard week of training and still slightly under the weather from a cold, was content to watch what was happening and offer his vast experience for when it mattered.

I had decided to wait until the last two laps to try something, but Burry Stander was looking eager and up for a challenge.

It was on lap 8, with two laps remaining that I saw a spontaneous moment in the race to hit the bunch hard when they least expected it, and once I had turned the corner, it was only Burry who had bridged the gap across to me. So here I was again, Burry and I, and a lap and half to go. Behind us, Dave and James had ridden clear of the bunch, and being only 45seconds behind us, I was able to sit on Burry’s wheel and start strategizing the best way to beat him.

Unfortunately, with the climb being too short and shallow, I had one last effort near the top to test him, but he was too good and held on, as I then had to lead the sprint out.

Not my best option to try and win in hindsight, but after a hard week of training, I was pleasantly surprised with myself, and James and Dave too who rolled in shortly after us!

So far all good, everything has been really smooth for us moving into the new year, from our new Life Policies (360life of course), to equipment from Scott and kit by Craft, we are looking forward to a great season with the best possible support behind us.

Time to ‘Make things happen’.

Provisional Results:

1^st Burry Stander (Specialized) 3hrs30

2^nd Kevin Evans (Nedbank 360Life) same time

3^rd James Reid (Nedbank 360life)

4^th Dave George (Nedbank 360life)

5^th Rourke Croeser (Cannondale-Monkey)

Next race, the season opener and start of the MTN Ultra Marathon series, taking place in Barberton. Should be a great and competitive start to the marathon year!

Till then, cheers.

Kevin Evans

DCM Cape Pioneer Trek

Photo by Zoon Cronje: Kevin Evans

6Day Mountain Bike Stage Race, 659km, 13500m

Stage1, Oudtshoorn-Calitzdorp, 107km, 2161m

The first stage of a tour is always the most nervous and potentially most important in the race. You also never sure what the legs will do and how the body will react. The route for the day was fairly easy to begin with, besides the rough Karoo jeep tracks with many thorns to get through.

The racing began in earnest after the first water point when we headed into the ‘Red Stone Hills’ and old Cape Epic trails of past. Dave and I turned up the pace, the temperature turned itself up, and soon the splits had formed. Up the long steep climb before the final climb, we had our gap, and put in a big effort to capitalize on our lead and make the most of what we could.

We came in around 5min ahead of Melt Swanepoel and Nico Bell, Adrien Niyonshuti and Jacques Janse van Rensburg finished in third place. Sauser and Knox had a series of errors, to cut a long story short, which cost them 30minutes plus, a one-hour penalty.

Stage2, Calitzdorp-Riversdale, 128km, 2756m

This stage was reminiscent of the old Epic stage from 2008, and started with the infamous Rooiberg Pass climb. The Contego King of the Mountain prizes each day really spiced up the racing and made the big climbs of the day that little extra harder as riders raced for the R2500 up for grabs. Once over the climb, the front group, consisting of the four main teams, rolled through until we hit some more rough and tough ‘Katot’ jeep track through one of the beautiful reserves. It was in this section, trying to show the boys how to ride a river crossing, that I got stuck in a really deep section, couldn’t unclip, and completely submerged myself to the point of near drowning.

Past the last water point, altogether and aiming for a gentle final 40km to this long stage, we were thrown a major curve ball where we hit the roughest 4x4track of the race. Forced to run and scramble, Sauser and Knox got a gap as Dave and I gave chase to no avail, but we did manage to distance ourselves from our rival teams of the previous day. After some sense of humor loss, we eventually rolled down the Garcia pass and finished second, but put in some really big time gaps to Melt/Bell and MTN/Quhbeka. RE:CM not too far behind having a really tough day out there, learning some real Karoo mountain bike lessons at its best. (respect!)

Stage3, Riversdale-Albertinia, 106km, 2379m

Today’s stage, the weather decided to up the game a bit for all the riders out there. Gusts of wind at 90km/hr were blowing, fortunately Westerly though, meaning tailwind, however, ‘Katot’ managed to wind the route that in some way, we had block headwinds and mean gutter sections. Just as the race was splitting up going into the mountain reserve, we had to stop to fix a flat rear wheel on Dave’s bike. Unfortunately the front guys continued to race on, leaving us with around a 60km chase to the finish. Melt/Bell were trying to catch Sauser/Knox, around a 1minute gap, we were trying to catch Melt/Bell, another 1minute gap, but for 60km, the gaps stayed the same and all of us made a meal out of this stage, with no real gains other than Sauser/Knox taking the stage in torrential rain. Not a pleasant day out on the bike, and even harder for the back markers, coming into a non-existent race village due to the weather. The school would host the riders in the classrooms, and plan B turned out to work well for the organizers and tired riders..

Stage4, Albertinia-Mossel Bay, 98km, 1579m

Riders set off in much better weather, and with the winds on our backs, we were off on a beautiful days racing through to Mossel Bay. The highlight for the day, well there was two, was one: crossing the ‘Island’ in the Gouritz river. This section had the most thorns I’ve ever seen besides the first day of the Grape Escape. This took Sauser/Knox out of the days racing, and gave Dave and I a few problems ourselves, but nothing that we weren’t able to solve on the go. We had to chase a few times to catch up to the same front teams, we were pretty much all content to roll through to the end, and let the other teams battle out a stage win. Highlight two was going through Gondwana Reserve, with its 7Kalahari wild lions. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we never saw any, but they did do a compulsory roll call through this section!

The most scenic section was the final 15km along the coast at Pinnacle Point, and I must say the Golf Course was looking in great nick! But the racing was on as RE:CM had put the hammer down with Melt/Bell in pursuit. We were following wheels, MTN/Qhubeka just off the pace, and for a change, the front two teams, or should I say, Dave spotted a tricky left/right sign board, and we actually went the right way, so before we knew it, with no intentions of winning the stage, we had. Unfortunately for the other guys, they did a small detour, but made their way to the finish although somewhat disappointed. Don’t worry; we know the feeling, well.

Stage5, Mossel Bay-George, 127km, 3046m

10km on Dias beach to start the queen stage of the tour, I seem to remember last year being low tide, and high tide this year really took its toll on the legs, not to mention what the poor riders at the back would be going through!

Again the racing split, but the pace was really turned up after the KOM where Sauser decided he would like to try win another stage. This time Dave and I followed and from here on, the racing was fairly flat-out. On numerous occasions they tried to drop us, but we were determined to take this stage and not disappoint our supporters at the finish.

After 120km of tough riding, we were still neck and neck, and we knew that a sprint finish would have to decide the outcome of a five and half hour day!

Knowing Dave’s sprinting ability, or lack thereof (joke), I told him to attack with 5km to go. As he did, Max followed and Sauser and I watched them ride ahead. Its always easier sprinting one on one, and it’s the second rider over the line that counts for the stage win, so I left myself up the ‘creek’ to sprint against the World Champion, but for the record, he beat me by half a tire! (damn)

Stage6, George- Oudtshoorn, 93km, 1594m

The last day will never be an easy day in the Pioneer, from my experience, and starting with the Montagu Pass, I’m sure the back riders were thrilled: a 12% 7km climb, before ‘Katot’ sent us into some more ruthless jeep tracks with the final 30km going through the rough Chandelier reserve. Again Sauser/Knox decided to try for another stage win, but the rest of us, RE:CM, Melt/Bell and ourselves were content to just roll trough to the end of a tough tour.

All was going well for me, not the best legs on the day, but up one of the rocky climbs, the camera man (BigShot Media) was trying to get me to ride up an almost impossible section, when I came to a stop, couldn’t unclip, fell over on the high side (yes its all on camera) and just about broke three ribs. I won’t lie, I didn’t have a fun ride for the remaining 50km, and I wasn’t getting much sympathy from my teammate either.

But the race was in the bag, and we had turned our stage race luck around to win the 2011 Cape Pioneer Trek.

Henco and Carel, plus all the crew, too many to mention, put on another amazing event, and really kept the riders interests first. Dryland is fast becoming a world-class events company, and Nedbank 360Life are proud to have been invited to their race and hope to be back to defend our title next year.

And to all the ‘die hard’ riders who make up the field, you have our utmost respect for completing this grueling event. I suppose it’s the toughness that makes you guys come back, however I’m amazed at how well prepared you all are! Best of luck with the recovery!

Provisional Results:

1^st Evans/George (Nedbank 360Life) 26hrs53min

2^nd Melt-Swanepoel/Bell (Specialized/Bell Cycles) 27hrs25min

3^rd Nyionshuti/Jvan Rensburg (MTN/Qhubeka) 27hrs51min

4^th Woolcock/Macdonald (RE:CM) 27hrs57

5^th Sauser/Knox (Songo36one) 29hrs23min

Next race, that’s a wrap folks, season 2011 done for Team Nedbank 360Life. In the end of a dreadful start, what a finish, and with the support and like-mindedness of our sponsors, all we can say is, ‘roll on 2012’!

Thank you and proudly Nedbank ambassadors!

Till then, cheers.

Kevin Evans

Ladismith Cheese Seweweekspoort Challenge

Ladismith Cheese Seweweeksport MTB Challenge, 80km

One of my ‘local’ events (I call any event within a hundred and fifty kilometer radius of home a local event), and also one of favorite rides in the beautiful area of the Karoo. The Seweweekspoort challenge is an absolute must do ride as it’s suitable for all levels of riders, and the route is absolutely magnificent. It basically winds its way right through the Seweweekspoort, an old dirt road that connects the small and great Karoo via the Cape folded mountains.

Although this year, Dave had decided to use this race as final hard training for next weeks Pioneer Trek, and went flying out the blocks. I managed to ride across to him, where we shared the work going up, and it is up, through the ‘Poort’, so I didn’t have a lot of time to look around at the stunning area. Once through the ‘Poort’, I was sure we would have a good gap with which we could manage for the next 60km, but to my surprise, a group of 4riders had worked equally as hard and managed to catch us through the rough jeep track loop around the dam at the top of the Poort.

Ruan Du Toit (Novo Nordisk), Ben Melt Swanepoel (Specialized), Stuat Marais and Dave Morison (Blend Properties) had joined us for the really fun and fast sweeping gravel descend back down the Poort, where speeds of close to 70km/hr are achievable. Once out of the Poort, the final 35km is through Winelands and farms, and becomes a bit rougher, and tougher, with the wind usually playing a small role too. And then of course the final two climbs with ten kilometers to go are usually hard enough to decide the outcome of the race. Knowing this race really well, and having won it a few times before, I was content to wait for the last ten kilometers.

However, Dave clearly had other ides, and through one of the rough sections, used his power and Spark29er to ride alone off the front of our group. Hard way to try and win the race, but perfect team tactics, as I could sit in the group whilst the rest had to try chase him (aka the block). Its difficult to chase when you know you have a another rider just waiting to pounce should it all come back together. Dave’s gap was steadily increasing, and by the final 10kilometers, he had nearly 2minutes on us.

I then made my effort count on the final two climbs, and must say I was impressed with how the young rider, Ruan du Toit from George stuck with me. Only on the last climb around 2kilometers from the finish did he finally let go and I was able to complete the ‘one-two’ for Nedbank 360life, finishing just behind Dave.

Its always great being a part of this event, and thanks to Dryland Events and local rider Pieter Blignaut for inviting us and accommodating our families for a great weekend away in the Karoo. Hope to be back next year!

Provisional Results:

1^st Dave George (Nedbank 360life) 2hrs45min

2^nd Kevin Evans (Nedbank 360life) +25sec

3^rd Ruan Du Toit (Novo Nordisk) +30sec

4^th Ben Melt Swanepoel (Specialized)

5^th Dave Morison (Blend Properties)

Next race, starts this Monday in Oudtshoorn, six days of The Cape Pioneer Trek, 700km and 14000m of climbing, team event and our final equipment fine-tuning for next years Epic.

Till then, cheers.

Kevin Evans

MTN Ultra Marathon #8, Crater Cruise

MTN Ultra Marathon #8, Crater Cruise, Parys, 107km

Having spent the better part of about 6years trying to figure this monster ‘dash for cash’ race out, its safe to say we have a formulae! We were fortunate enough being able to come into this race today with two solid cards we could throw down on the table. The one card was for overall series, which Dave had the lead of going into this final event. The other card was my knowledge of the race, tactics, and the fact that if I could win, then Dave would win the overall series, then we all win!

So with our combined strengths on race day and the preparations that we’ve made whilst being away from our family for nearly a month in ensuring we can focus 110% on the job at hand and do it professionally will prove the outcome.

The race rolled out of the town and once we crossed the river heading out on the 10km tar section to begin with, the roadies would force an early break-away, aiming for the hotspots and King of the mountain competitions. Mannie Heymans (Garmin/Adidas), Jock Green (Ghost/Do it Now) and Pieter Seyfert (Team Matlosana) were the best riders in the break with the most experience and it looked good that something may happen from this.

But back to our race, all according to plan until we hit the new section of farm roads halfway up the usual KOM hill. It bottle necked here but I remained calm then had to work my way around all the riders who were coming out the back. I managed to work my way through to Dave, in perfect position just as we hit the big technical climb for the day. I immediately went into the climb first with Dave tight on my rear wheel, as we smashed it up the climb as quickly as possible. The race was splitting into pieces and once through this 8km section, we could take stock on the wider open gravel road of the damage done, who was there who was not etc.

The racing was on and all the riders, including the early breakaway guys we had caught, were with us, and all doing their bit in contributing to setting the pace.

So we had about 8 or 10 riders, but Adrien Nyionshuti (MTN/Qhubeka) was chasing from around a minute back the whole time alone. This was playing out perfectly for us as I drove the break hard to ensure we stayed away. Adrien needed to win today for Dave not to have a chance of overall victory in the national series. All the other riders seemed focused on Dave, and through the riverside singletrack, Brandon Stewart attacked alone and caused a bit of a stir as a small group chased him for around 7km. Once he was brought back, his teammate attacked, Jacques Rossouw but I immediately followed him and all it took was for the group to look around at each other for a few seconds, and we had our gap. This would become the race deciding moment. Ears pinned back we rolled hard and fast working together to establish our lead.

I’ve raced plenty with JR and like his style, so when we went, we went hard. At the water table, he stopped to fill a bottle and I put some air into my tire, which had lost pressure through some of the many rock sections. Back on the bikes and it was ‘full gas’ with our lead increasing all the time. 12km to go, I put in an effort under the culvert and up the rough grass climb, but for some reason near the top, my wheel got stuck in a rut and down I went. I jumped back on, and at the last water point JR had to stop to inflate his front tire. By this stage I had 30seconds, and that was all I needed. I know the final 10km only too well.

Hooking along at top speeds on the Scott Spark 29er Rc (Ruby) I was stomping through the rough sections when my front wheel hit a rock and flung me over the bars in a complete mess. I thought that was the end, as I picked myself up and jumped back on, everything working, seat skew and bar-end pointing to the sky. I Looked back, still had a fair gap, gave myself a pep talk, took a look at my Ruby sign, pulled myself together and off I went, now no stopping me to the finish line where I really savored and enjoyed every moment of winning my hat-trick of Craters!

My victory would mean that Dave would be crowned the new Overall Marathon Champion for 2011, but he still attacked his group and took 3^rd place, nearly catching JR for second!

Dave and I can’t thank Nedbank 360life enough for the support they have given us this year. This was but a very small way of saying thank you, and for myself personally, it was affirmation that my string of ‘ducks’ is over!

Thanks to everyone who has supported us along the way, without all of you, none of this is possible.

Lastly thank you to Advendurance, for giving us exceptional World Class events and making it possible to attract the sponsors we have into this fantastic sport of ours. You guys set the benchmark, and you set it high.

Provisional Results:

1^st Kevin Evans (Nedbank Team360life) 3hrs27min

2^nd Jacques Rossouw (Itec Connect-Kathea)

3^rd Dave George (Nedbank Team360lfe)

4^th Brandon Stewart (Itec Connect-Kathea)

5^th Ben Melt Swanepoel (Specialized)

Next race, will see us heading down for a week into the Klein Karoo and Garden Route for the Seweweekspoort and then the team 6day stage race, The Cape Pioneer Trek. We will use this tough race to fine-tune our equipment for the following years Epic.

Till then, cheers.

Kevin Evans

MTN Ultra Marathon #7, Hilton College

Pics by Zoon Cronje

MTN Ultra Marathon #7, Hilton College, 105km, 3000m

The MTN Ultra Marathon series moved to Hilton for the seventh leg, and the race would be hugely important in deciding the overall winner for the 2011 series. At the start of the race, the series could go possibly four or five ways, but after a very tough race, by my calculations, it looks set to be a two-man race for the overall title in two weeks time at the final.

This was the first time I was taking part in this event, and the Hilton/KZN courses are always incredible. Loads of fun flowing singletrack, hard climbs, and a real sting in the tail was the order of the day for this particular race. Local legend Brandon Stewart (Itec Connect) was the early instigator and set a really hard and fast tempo. The race quickly split into pieces, and there was a fairly select group of all the top contenders out in front. Unfortunately for him, he broke his seat clamp, so had to do some repairs costing him a possible great result.

The rest of us continued with various riders setting the tempo, and I guess everyone was waiting for the first ‘major’ climb of the day up to the 70km mark. This climb would be decisive in the overall outcome of the race. The climb was not actually that bad, however the speed the guys raced up it was incredible. Over the top, three riders had a small gap, Burry Stander (Specialized), Adrien Nyionshuti (MTN/Qhubeka) and Dave George (Nedbank 360life). A couple seconds back alone, Darren Lill (Bonitas), followed closely by Max Knox (Ghost/Doitnow), Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (MTN/Qhubeka) and myself. It was this section though, from around the 70km to the 80km feed zone that I really had a horrible encounter with ‘the man with hammer’ and I was paying large dividends for some heroic early efforts. I was soon on my own, but fortunately a handful of gels, USN spike shots and an energy bar, and I was able to pick myself up and pull myself together, although too little too late.

The race then headed down a very technical hiking trail and finished with an eight kilometer climb to the finish. At the front, Burry had opened a gap on Adrien, and was able to ride alone to another win. Adrien took second, whilst Max got the better of Dave toward the end of the climb, taking third and fourth respectively. Darren Lill came in alone in fifth place, whilst I had to settle for sixth position on the day.

All was not lost though, as Dave will become the new overall series leader with one race remaining. But its going to be a close race come the final, so expect some super exciting stuff and the closest finish in the series in the past couple of years!

Provisional Results:

1^st Burry Stander (Specialized) 4hrs18

2^nd Adrien Niyonshuti (MTN/Qhubeka) 4hrs20

3^rd Max Knox (Ghost/Doitnow) 4hrs22

4^th Dave George (Nedbank 360life) 4hrs24

5^th Darren Lill (Bonitas) 4hrs24

Next race, Team Nedbank 360life will be heading up to Klerksdorp to take part in a new mountain bike race, and should be good final preparation before we head to Crater Cruise.

Till then, cheers.

Kevin Evans

Hill2Hill

Sunday Tribune Hill2Hill, 105km

After a five-year break from doing the inaugural Hill2Hill race, Dave and I were back to have a crack at trying to win this super tough race. In 2006 I finished 2^nd, and last year, Dave managed 2^nd. Seems we would have to come back next year and have another dig though!

The race starts up at Worlds View in Pietermaritzburg, and it’s always a sprint start to try and get into the technical singletrack in the lead as it winds its way down and through the city center. The wind was blowing hard for the early 6am start, but the heat was going to play a big role later in the day.

Same as the first year I raced here, the group comes back together after the technical start, and the climbs start coming thick and fast from around 30km onwards. The temperature also started to rise rapidly, and with a strong tailwind, the body had to adapt from the colder weather we’ve had down in the Cape recently.

The main group after the climbs consisted of Marc Bass, Mannie Heymans, Phil Buys (all Garmin/Adidas), Brandon Stewart (Itec Connect), Burry Stander (Specialized) and Dave George and myself (Team Nedbank 360life).

I guess with around 30km left to race, we had a steep climb before a long piece of rocky singletrack. Just before the climb I had a slow puncture on the front wheel, which I stopped to inflate. I then rode hard to get back to the leaders, which was now down to only Brandon, Burry and Dave. I just got onto the lead trio when Burry put the hammer down through this technical section. I have to say though that our new Spark 29ers were really impressive, not only through this section, but for the whole day, however we simply couldn’t match the speed of our top cross country rider, and soon it was three of us chasing Burry.

I had to stop again to pump my wheel, and that managed to get me to the final tech zone where I was able to change it. I had to ride my own tempo from there on, and in the last 10km Mannie and Phillip caught me. Mannie was having a really good ride, as he pulled us the last 5km into a strong headwind, and on a day where I didn’t have the best legs, I had to settle for 5^th as Mannie outsprinted me to take 4^th.

Meanwhile at the front, Burry had stayed away to win his 4^th Hill2Hill challenge, Dave taking 2^nd and Brandon 3^rd.

It was a super tough day, and I quickly remembered how hard this event was. The organizers do a fantastic job of piecing together some great trails on land that must be very hard to get access into. And being a point to point race, it definitely requires more effort and there is no lack of that from their side. I’m sure Team Nedbank 360life will be on the start line next year again! Thanks to all involved.

Provisional Results:

1^st Burry Stander (Specialized)

2^nd Davie George (Team Nedbank 360life)

3^rd Brandon Stewart (Itec Connect)

4^th Mannie Heymans (Garmin/Adidas)

5^th Kevin Evans (Team Nedbank 360Life)

Next race, the MTN Ultra Marathon 50Miler in Hilton. It will be an important race in the hunt for the series. Dave and I will be staying the next week up there in preparation for the race.

Till then, cheers.

Kevin Evans