MTB cycling: Seven days, 553 kilometers and 11370 meters in altitude – Sabine Spitz and her team partner Robyn de Groot were able to win no fewer than five times in the MTB stage race Cape Pioneer Trek 2017 – and yet in the end it was “only” enough for second place overall. The Swiss Ariane Lüthi and Amy McDougall from South Africa won.
The MTB stage race Cape Pioneer Trek 2017 started anything but well for the duo Spitz/de Groot. Due to poor health, South African Robyn de Groot was unable to keep up with the eventual overall winners Ariane Lüthi (Switzerland) and Amy McDougall (South Africa) on the first two stages. After two days out of a total of seven, the German/South African team was down by more than five minutes. A deficit that seemed almost impossible to catch given the strong performance of Ariane Lüthi and Amy McDougall.
For the last five days, Sabine Spitz and her team partner Robyn de Groot went on the offensive - and won the stage day after day. The lead dwindled more and more, but in the end it wasn't enough. Ariane Lüthi and Amy McDougall secured overall victory with a lead of 1:40 minutes. Sabine Spitz sums it up: “It was a great adventure to compete in a region of South Africa that I hadn't known before. Of course it's a pity that it wasn't quite enough in the end. But we were able to prove that we are a strong team on the last five stages, even though we were no longer able to compensate for the first two weak days.”
Cape Pioneer Trek 2017: Ladies Appreciation
- Team Spur/Valencia, Ariane Lüthi / Amy McDougall (24:25:36)
- Team Ascendis Health, Sabine Spitz / Robyn de Groot (24:27:17 | +01:40)
- Team Cape Brewing Company, Ila Stow / Marianne Bergli (29:34:16 | +5:08:40)
- Team Bicycling, Jenna Borrill / Tandy Kitching (31:21:37 | +6:56:00)
- Anderson Transport, Louise Bezuidenhout / Anneke Viljoen (32:09:03 | +7:43:27)
Cape Pioneer Trek 2017: Men's Appreciation
- Team Spur/RedE, Alan Hatherly/Matthew Beers (21:52:57)
- NAD Pro MTB, Nico Bell / Gawie Combrinck (21:54:39 | +01:42)
- KMC Fruit to Go, Bram Rood / Gerben Mos (22:17:03 | +24:06)
- Kelly's Bikeranch Team, Jiri Krivanek / Marek Rauchfuss (22:36:14 | +43:17)
- SPOT Africa, Derrin Smith / Timothy Hammond (22:51:43 | +58:45)
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