Recap from the Wines2Whales Shiraz
Lining the start of the FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz were 20 top teams, all primed and ready to rally for the R100 000 purse. Here’s a recap of the racing.
Day One: Lourensford to Oak Valley
Marc Pritzen and Konny Looser force the gap
As it had done in the past two events, the portage played a pivotal role in the racing as Honeycomb Pro Cycling summited first with Pyga Euro Steel hot on their heels, and Toyota Specialized a matter of seconds back in third. By the final kilometres it was a one-horse race as Pritzen and Looser made the most of the gap they’d forced over Pyga Euro Steel to secure the stage win.
“At the portage it all shattered. Everyone seemed to struggle a bit with some cramping; after the portage it was just about spinning out the legs and sorting it all out. Then it was on again and right near the finish, the last climb was about two minutes of effort too long for me and Konny and Marc got the gap.” – Phil Buys
The overnight GC standings were Honeycomb Pro Cycling – Konny Looser & Marc Pritzen in the leader’s jerseys on 02:47:51. Pyga Euro Steel – Gert Heyns & Philip Buys 39 seconds back in 2nd. The powerhouse Toyota Specialized squad of Matt Beers & Tristan Nortje 3min30 back in 3rd.
Day Two: Oak Valley to Oak Valley
Wessel Botha & Pieter Du Toit take the sprint finish
It was a day of full gas racing with little opportunity to look up and enjoy the views that stretch as far as the eye could see. Matt Beers suffered a mechanical and had to chase back. First across the line was Botha followed by Pritzen, then Du Toit and finally Looser, resulting in Imbuko {Type}DEV claiming the stage win and Honeycomb Pro Cycling retaining the yellow jerseys going into the final stage.
“Today was more in the others’ hands and they came out swinging,” stated Pritzen. “We had to make sure that the other teams couldn’t get together and put us under any extra pressure, especially in the trails. But overall, it was a perfect day, even though I could see Phil and Gert were enjoying it a lot more due to their incredible skills on the bike.”
The overnight GC standings were Honeycomb Pro Cycling – Konny Looser & Marc Pritzen in the leader’s jerseys on 05:21:45. Pyga Euro Steel – Gert Heyns & Philip Buys 40 seconds back in 2nd. The powerhouse Toyota Specialized squad of Matt Beers & Tristan Nortje 3min31 back in 3rd.
Day Three: Oak Valley to Hermanus
Konny Looser and Marc Pritzen, of Honeycomb Pro Cycling take the overall
“This is big for me!” smiled Pritzen. “Earlier this year I remember standing at Epic and watching the big names get called up and I said to myself that one day I’ll be called up with the theme song… and now having that happen and winning the race is just awesome. I have learned so much from Konny over the past few days and he was the perfect partner to race the FNB Wines2Whales with – it’s such a different vibe and this race is so special.”
“Winning for the third time was one of my biggest goals for the season,” said Looser. “I knew that with Marc [Pritzen] as a partner, it was possible. This is just amazing!”
Final Overall Standings
| 1st. Honeycomb Pro Cycling: Konny Looser & Marc Pritzen | 07:42:48 |
| 2nd. Pyga Euro Steel: Philip Buys & Gert Heyns | 07:43:22.6 (+00:00:34.5) |
| 3rd. Toyota Specialized: Matthew Beers & Tristan Nortje | 07:45:59.1 (+00:03:11) |
More: FNB Wines2Whales.com