Podium finishes for MTB riders, Stuart Marais and Hayley Smith
Results of the recent Sappi Scottburgh MTB and Trail Run.
South Coast local Hayley Smith, and Stuart Marais came out tops in the Sappi Scottburgh MTB and Trail Run in the women’s and men’s categories respectively, held last weekend.
Marais won the coveted 40km marathon title while Smith won the women’s race on Sunday.
Marais battled with his bearings which made his race more difficult, however, he showed his class to fight back and win the overall title by over a minute.
He said: “There were two of us that got away early and then we took a major wrong turn. The marshal told us to rejoin the course and when we got back on track we were miles behind. Eventually, we caught the rest of the guys and were with them for a while before I managed to get away for a bit, then I took another wrong turn so the
guys caught up with me.”
Marais added that on one of the last climbs he managed to get ahead and then it was just him into the finish.
Despite the mistakes along the route, Marais was full of praise for the trails that were prepared for this year’s event. He said that the route was awesome and the trails are amazing! “I should really come and ride here more often,” he commented after his win.
Young Omar Wilson finished in second place, while Keegan Tullis rounded out the podium positions.
The women’s race was very one-sided with Smith proving that she knows the conditions and the track better than anyone else to claim the women’s honours.
Smith was over five minutes quicker around the 40km track than second placed, Errin Mackridge while Jodi Mackinnon rounded out the podium places.
Echoing what Marais said, Smith was full of praise for the trail builders but also mentioned how her race plan panned out flawlessly.
“It was a really awesome day out and the trails were amazing. I pushed from the word go and got ahead and then just managed my pace the whole way through to the end. I just went as hard as I could so I didn’t see any of the other girls ,”she added.
Having ridden in the Scottburgh MTB event on a number of occasions, Smith knew that her local knowledge would prove crucial in the race.
“I have ridden these trails a lot and done this race a lot which helps me and it’s an event that I always look forward to. When I can get down here from Durban, I love to ride these trails and they were fantastic this year,” she concluded.
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