Alan Gordon bags gold at Sabie Experience
The 27-year-old Alan Gordon, who finished in second place for the past two years, finally managed to bag a well-deserved win.
The three stages of the Sabie Experience once again challenged riders’ fitness, strength, and technical ability in and around these legendary mountain trails this past weekend.
Intermediate and junior riders tackled the team-lite option, while the advanced and pro riders enjoyed the steep climbs and technicalities of the longer solo challenge for the money.
The solo challenge is designed to test even the most experienced riders, who compete against one another over steep topography, rough terrain, and technically difficult single tracks for a spot on the podium.
These routes took riders from 1 000 to 2 200 metres above sea level with some brutal climbs up to Serengeti-type open grasslands on Hartebeesvlakte.
The 27-year-old Alan Gordon, who finished in second place for the past two years, finally managed to bag a well-deserved win. Gordon kept an eye on last year’s winner, Heine Engelbrecht.
Stage one saw Engelbrecht struggling to keep up, and Gordon started the multi-day stage race with a winning time of 02:54,41 – almost three minutes ahead of his opponent.
As the stage’s distance increased on day two, so did the gap between the two. Gordon got the upper hand over Engelbrecht, who finished in 04:06,37 – a full 15 minutes slower than the King of the Mountain of the series, Gordon.
The final stage, a time trial, was hotly contested as Engelbrecht paced himself well. Though Gordon struggled to catch up, he managed to do so near the end, beating Engelbrecht by a minute and taking the overall win.
Samantha Sanders, who led the pack from the word go, convincingly secured the overall title with a total time of 09:17,39 after the three stages.
In total, she finished more than two hours faster than Kirsten Gillespie, the runner-up.
The three-day Sabie Experience is considered one of the toughest and most beautiful races of Mpumalanga. It is, however, very “manageable” for average mountain bikers tackling their first race.
The team-lite option is designed for riders with intermediate riding/racing ability over manageable half-marathon distances and climbs.
Results:
Solo challenge
• Alan Gordon
Day 1 – 02:54,41
Day 2 – 03:51,26
Day 3 – 01:39,31
• Heine Engelbrecht
Day 1 – 02:57,33
Day 2 – 04:06,37
Day 3 – 01:40,36
• Nohan van Tonder
Day 1 – 03:34,42
Day 2 – 04:16,21
Day 3 – 01:48,54.
Team lite
• Winners – Valencia 1 – Emile Fourie and Mike Odendaal
Day 1 – 02:07,26
Day 2 – 02:08,29
Day 3 – 01:48,32
• Runners-up – TrainingPoint – Johan Moller and Daniel Griesel
Day 1 – 02:08,36
Day 2 – 02:08,27
Day 3 – 01:51,26.
