This year the Hilton Dirt Fest marathon formed part of the MTN marathon series.
The fact that it was also the penultimate event of the series made for very competitive racing. Everyone was trying to collect the remaining points available in order to secure their spot or move up in the overall series standing.
The event was hosted at Hilton College just outside Hilton, KZN on the 24th of September.
The route and venue was spectacular to say the least. The 80km distance took us through Hilton’s surrounding forest and also provided us with breathtaking views over the Albert Falls Dam and the Umgeni Valley. Added to that, the course also had plenty of singletrack to enjoy!
The women’s race was a double bill as victory on the day and series honours were on the line. Yolande Speedy (MTN/Qhubeka) and Ischen Stopforth (Team bizhub) were both in the running to secure the overall MTN series title and therefore set out to gain as much points as possible to cement their positions.
On the start line Speedy was the wearer of the pink leader’s jersey with a narrow lead of 105 points over Stopforth.
In the first quarter of the event Speedy and Stopforth took to the lead while Candice Neethling (Team bizhub) and I were set to chase in 3rd and 4th place respectively.
Conrad Venter who was with the team for 5 years during the teams ‘Konica Minolta’ era has rejoined the team. He was waiting for us at the waterpoints located along the route with an ice cold waterbottle in one hand and energy gels in the other. I am sure I speak for everyone in the team when I say that he saved our lives a few times during the race. It’s great to have him back onboard.
Candice and my position stayed the same all the way to the finish while Speedy managed to open a small gap on Stopforth in the final kilometres to take the victory at the MTN Hilton MTB Dirt festival.
Final results:
1st Yolande Speedy
2nd Ischen Stopforth
3rd Candice Neethling
4th Yolandi du Toit
Our other teammate Nicci Grobler also had a great ride to finish 3nd in the senior ladies category.
This coming weekend Nicci and I will be teaming up for the Ride the Rhino 3day MTB event in the Western Cape.
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