ProTouch win in record time
On the top of the climb a full-on sprint was on for the King of the Mountain (KOM) and was won by Brad.
It was all systems go for the Trans Elands 160km, 60km and 30km on 5 June. In 2020, due to Covid-19 restrictions the event organisers cancelled the 160km and 30km, but successfully staged the 60km.
In ProTouch Continental Cycling colours, Brad Gouveris seized the win in record time of 5:48:52 at the 2021 Trans Elands MTB Marathon.
The race started out pretty easy for the first 10km, before hitting the gravel sections.
Brad made a move on one of the steep kicks in the road, and a group of five riders went away consisting of Brad, HB Kruger, Robert Hobson and Rassouw Bekker.
The main climb of the day saw Robert set a fast pace, causing just a group of two, consisting of he and Brad, to go clear.
On the top of the climb a full-on sprint was on for the King of the Mountain (KOM) and was won by Brad.
At about 60km, Brad pushed clear and went solo, and from there it was all about focus and to make sure he didn’t run out of steam as he still had around 100km to go.
A long rocky descend followed the climbs, so it was key to stay focused and get to Patensie to quickly fuel up with new bottles.
From then it was a long, hard drag for the remainder of the race (55km in length) with some very gruelling sectors.
A big motivational booster when getting into Zuurbron with about 20km to go, Brad had a lead of over 10 minutes on the next riders, and it was all about keeping relaxed, pushing to the end and making sure there was no punctures or mechanicals.
He won the race in a time of five hours 48 minutes, breaking his and the course record by 30 minutes. Robert finished in second, and HB in third.
