Hill climbs to Sharks Trail victory

THE 2013 Stihl Sharks Trail Adventure proved to be another memorable day in the countryside for hundreds of outdoor adventurists, local community members and The Sharks squad with Andrew Hill (TIB Insurance) narrowly edging out good friend and regular training partner Tyron Bird (X10siv/Sound Mechanix) to claim victory in the day’s feature event, the 40km MTB race, whilst another sprint finish saw Andrew Erasmus hold off Owen Bengu in the 18km trail run.

As the year winds down and everyone readies themselves for the festive season, the packed family-orientated programme attracted hordes to Summerveld Estate in Shongweni for a final dose of adventure with Hill giving the event an unqualified thumbs up.

“The Stihl Sharks Trail Adventure is a really great event and this year things have improved even more. It’s a brilliant day at the end of the year and really ends the year off perfectly,” said Hill.

“he Shongweni Farmer’s Market, the mountain biking and the trail running taking place at the same event, the music, it all creates a really awesome atmosphere and everyone really does get festive,” he added.

Hill and Bird enjoyed a close, hard-fought battle up front throughout the 40km clash as they capped off a tough week of training and brought the curtain down on their seasons in perfect fashion. “Tyron, David (Low) and I managed to get away from the rest of the field early on and then Tyron and I kept the tempo high which gave us a bit of a gap on David,” said Hill.

“We’ve done quite a bit of riding these past few days so Tyron and I could both feel it in the legs quite a bit, especially on the climbs, so we went at a pace a little quicker than marathon pace but slower than the normal Classic sort of pace.

“We both kind of knew it would come down to a bit of a sprint at the end and it was nice to be able to get the win.”

Despite having narrowly missed out on victory, Bird was satisfied with how the day unfolded and his effort overall. “I felt pretty stable on the climbs and Andrew and I were quite evenly matched on the day so we kept things pretty steady throughout,” said Bird. “It was great to come up (from Kokstad) and take part in the event for the first time. I’ve ridden the area quite a bit before so it was nice to see how they linked up all the trails. “I’m happy and stoked to have gotten a close second to Andrew,” he added.

The women’s race was dominated by Tamryn Taylor who claimed the win over Linda Potts whilst Gage Hansson and Sabine Thies were the first male and female competitors across the finish line in the 19km MTB event. Earlier in the day Erasmus and Bengu destroyed the muddy but hugely popular and well received 18km trail run course as they overcame last year’s winner Gareth Harrington (Team Jeep).

As many took to the Shongweni trails others enjoyed wandering through the notably Christmas flavoured stalls of the market, posed for a rare picture with the Absa Currie Cup and interacted with The Sharks players and everyone’s favourite mascot – Sharkie. “The Stihl Sharks Trail Adventure is a great event that gets the whole family outdoors and active,” said The Sharks captain Keagan Daniel.

“The chance for our supporters to pose with the Currie Cup and mix with The Sharks players is fantastic but it is also great for us, the players, to be here because it gives us an opportunity to give something back to our fans who mean so much to us,” he added.

More info can be found at www.sharkstrailadventure.coza

From left to right: The Sharks newcomer Tim Swiel, third placed David Low, winner Andrew Hill (TIB Insurance), second placed Tyron Bird (X10siv/Sound Mechanix) and The Sharks lock Anton Bresler enjoy the Stihl Sharks Trail Adventure at Summerveld Estate in Shongweni on Sunday.