Four riders of the Stellenbosch based Fairtree DP World Cannondale mountain-biking team were in action in the popular KAP sani2c stage race from Thursday 8 to Sunday 11 May.
The riders, making up two teams representing the local MTB team, were Ziandro Jordaan and Ethan Michaels as well as Kusaselhile Ngidi and Luyanda Tobigunya. Once again they achieved excellent results in the general classification (GC), with Jordaan and Michaels finishing 12th overall, and Ngidi and Tobigunya crossing the line in 14th place.
The KAP sani2c is a three-day, 270-kilometre MTB stage race, which takes place in KwaZulu-Natal over four days.
In the prologue on day 1 Ngidi and Tobigunya clocked a time of 47:19 to finish 12th in the GC. Jordaan and Michaels recorded a time of 51:12 to claim the 14th place.
On day 2 the riders embarked on the first stage, with Ngidi and Tobigunya finishing the stage in a time of 3:25:33 (10th in GC) and Jordaan and Michaels registering a time of 3:31:04 (13th in GC). Stage 2 saw the two local teams finish mere seconds apart, with Ngidi and Tobigunya finishing with a time of 4:02:44 (13th in GC), closely followed by Jordaan and Michaels with 4:03:05 (14th in GC).
On the final day (Stage 3) Ngidi and Tobigunya delivered an excellent ride to record a time of 3:01:23 (ninth in GC), while Jordaan and Michaels crossed the line in 3:47:39 (16th in GC).
“After team members gained valuable experience riding the sani2c Adventure last year we returned for the race this year,” said team manager Chris Norton.
“This was one of the strongest pro fields to attend the sani2c in years, and the guys showed incredible grit and determination to both finish in the top 20. Luyanda also showed his experience and skill finishing fourth overall in the sub-vet category.”
Norton further thanked Glen Haw and Tamika Gandar, who sponsored the teams’ entries, and for giving the Stellenbosch MTB team the opportunity to participate in one of South Africa’s premier stage races. “Thanks also to our incredible sponsors, for without your support this would not have been possible.”
