NAD Pro’s Bell secures Barberton XCM title
The local golden boys of Team NAD Pro, Nico Bell and Gawie Combrinck, finished first and second respectively in this year's 22nd annual Barberton XCM MTB Challenge.
It was rumoured that Bell stood a good chance of taking the win this year, and he did not disappoint by finishing in a time of 4:35:50, improving last year’s winning time set by Henry Uys by more than 10 minutes. Uys did not compete this year, due to personal reasons.
Yzette Oelofse competing in her first race wearing the Team Bestmed colours, took gold in the women’s feature race in a time of 5:50:29. Oelofse opened up and maintained a substantial lead of just over an hour over her competitors, Nadine Visagie and Chantell Joubert who finished second and third respectively.
Racing in the 77-kilometre category, Armand du Randt, who finished in a time of 3:19:24, managed to maintain a convincing lead over Franco Pelser, who came in second closely followed by Pierre Smith.
Nicolette Griffioen took the first place in the women’s race, in a time of 3:53:07, with Lizle Rosenstein hot on her heels, with only a minute to spare. Kirsten Louw placed third.
Race organiser, Marina Coetzee said she was pleased with how the event unfolded.
“The race has the ability to bring people together from all walks of life. The camaraderie during the race is next level.”
