It was a triple victory for the Fairtree Imperial Cannondale MTB racing team following the completion of this past weekend’s Shiraz race of the FNB Wines2Whales event from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 October.
The Stellenbosch mountain-biking team, which comprised 16 riders making up eight teams, delivered excellent results in the various categories and stages. They claimed two leaders’ jerseys, including the amateur men’s title by Damon Terblanche and Kusaselihle “Lihle” Ngidi over the three days of racing.
The pair dominated the Exxaro Jersey races throughout the race, with their biggest challenge coming in the battle for the Amateur Jerseys, which they also won. The pair now get the choice of a bursary for an online tertiary education course from STADIO, or a Grade 0 to Grade 12 scholarship to a Curro school.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, but that’s why I came to race FNB Wines2Whales,” Terblanche said. “I’m here to change my life and I’m so happy to take the Exxaro and Amateur Jerseys back to Knysna.”
According to the team’s Chris Norton, Terblanche’s inclusion in the team has brought on a remarkable change for the local riding team. “The inclusion of Damon Terblanche to the team has made a dramatic difference with Lihle and himself having a phenomenal ride and result,” he pointed out. “This team will compete in the 2024 Absa Cape Epic and we are extremely excited about their prospects of winning the Exarro CAT again.
“Our other Exxaro category teams of Ongiziwe ‘Ongs’ Tyapa and Atlehang Motsokotsi are growing from strength to strength, and we are extremely excited about what they can do at the Cape Epic next year. Ongs has only recently transitioned from the road bike to MTB, and has made incredible progress in a very short space of time. He was extremely disappointed that he could not get the team a podium position in this category, which shows his determination and will to succeed.”
Furthermore, the Fairtree Imperial Cannondale team was able to enter a competitive women’s team for the first time in this weekend’s race, and they managed to secure a podium finish in their class. The women’s riding pair of Yomelela Mfazwe and Ongezo Mini claimed second place in their Excarro CAT category.
“Ongezo and Yomelela showed incredible determination and courage to persevere in difficult conditions,” Norton said, “and we are extremely proud of their achievement. They managed to finish second in the Exarro CAT and they will be racing the Cape Epic together next year. To get a competitive women’s team together was always a priority for us, so this marks the start of something special for the team.”
As the competitive MTB season draws to a close Norton thanked all the team’s sponsors – DP World, Fairtree Capital and Cannondale – for their continued support over the racing season. “The team has grown dramatically over a year due to this support and shows no signs of slowing down,” he said.
“We are extremely excited by the progress made by many of the riders and look forward to some great results in 2024. The appointment of CP van Wyk as full-time coach has definitely made a significant impact on the results of the team, and we plan to focus on individual MTB skills (single-track and technical prowess) now as well as greater team cohesion and strategy, in stage events.”
Norton further thanked all the team’s supporters throughout the year as well as Marc Erasmus and team at the Absa Cape Epic for providing the team with entries for next year’s race. “We could not provide these opportunities without your assistance,” he concluded.
