Aggressive Buys extends Mountain Bike series lead
Two local riders from Pretoria have dominated the podium places in last weekend’s sixth round of the National MTB Series.
Pretoria’s Philip Buys extended his lead in the 2017 National MTB Series when he played the perfect hand on Sunday’s second stage and toppled overnight leader, Gert Heyns in a decisive battle at Dullstroom.
After finishing third on Stage 1 on Saturday, Buys from the Pyga Eurosteel team started Sunday’s leg 22 seconds back and in aggressive mood, setting the pace from the start with his teammate, Matthys Beukes and putting Heyns under constant pressure.
But Buys and Beukes were simply too strong and they completed the perfect double with Beukes claiming the stage win and Buys grabbing second place and the overall title. It was the appropriate reprieve for Beukes who suffered a broken wheel while battling upfront during Stage 1 and was forced to withdraw from the stage.
On Saturday, Heyns outsmarted his rivals to grab the stage win in the 70.5km leg and secure the overnight lead. He was followed by Nico Bell from Team NAD Pro and Buys respectively. But the Pretoria pair was just too strong on Sunday’s 62.4km route, claiming the top two spots.
Bell finished third on Sunday to secure second overall for the two-day event, with Heyns in fourth and Gawie Combrinck rounding out the top five respectively on the second day. In the overall though, Heyns finished third, Combrinck fourth and Dylan Rebello fifth.
“It was quite a good day for us obviously. I almost feel bad. Yesterday I only did half the race, so I was a lot fresher than the other guys. You could clearly see that today. Those are the rules and we can play that,” explained Beukes
The National MTB Series rules for its two-day event permit a rider to compete on day two even if they don’t finish day one. Series points are allocated for each day’s performance as well as for the combined result for the two-days.
“On Saturday our tactic didn’t really work out as planned, but on the last day it worked out perfectly. Glad to take the overall win and a great stage win for Matthys. This was another good event. It’s tough racing at altitude. The climbing is good here and add in the wind and you have a proper challenge when racing here,” added Buys.
The seventh and final round of the National MTB Series 2017 will take place on 14 and 15 October. The venue is Kaapsehoop, near Nelspruit.
For more information or to enter, visit www.nationalmtbseries.com
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