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Fun in the Sun on Stage 1 of the FNB W2W Pinotage

Sponsored by FNB

At the sharp end, the racing E-Bikers went full gas from Benguela Cove to Oak Valley Wine Estate, but further back, the mood was more relaxed on the opening day of the FNB Wines2Whales Pinotage. The mid-week race blends fast with fun, allowing those who want to race to race flat out and those who want to pedal at a more relaxed speed with reasons to stop at every water point.

Stage 1 of the Pinotage race at FNB Wines2Whales was ridden in bright sunshine, which brought out the smiles – big time. Everyone knows, a bad day on the bike is better than a good day in the office. So, a good day on the bike… well, that is pretty incredible, especially when it’s a Monday…

The trails across the Overberg were in pristine conditions, too. Teams started on the banks of the Botrivier Estuary in Benguela Cove, up the Afdaks River into Escape Wines, climbing still to Gaf se Bos, before descending back to the Botrivier and flowing it through Genevieve MCC and Wildekrans to Baumont Wines and the town of Bot River. From the town, the Kat Pas climb, where the E-Bikers had a significant advantage, took teams up to the Elgin plateau. Those who used too much battery on the pass, the day got a little less than perfect on the run into Oak Valley, but those energy mismanagers were few and far between. Once in Elgin, singletrack followed singletrack, from the Houw Hoek Hotel to Lebanon, Paul Clüver Wine Estate, and the finish line on Oak Valley Wine Estate.

In the racing categories, Matthew Lombardi and Jason Boulle were the fastest through the 61-kilometre-long stage. The Unbound Uncles were just 16 seconds faster than brother Pieter Malan and Matt Venn. The Mixed category stage winners, 2024 Women’s E-MTB World Champion Sofia Wiedenroth and 2023 Men’s E-MTB World Champion Joris Ryf, posted the third fastest time of the day. What made the Specialized Factory Racing team’s time more impressive is that they had to contend with traffic from the A-Batch teams after starting alongside the other Mixed category teams in B-Batch. The German/Swiss combination was just 2 minutes and 6 seconds off the stage winners and will be starting alongside the men’s teams on Stage 2.

“To be honest, I’m pretty sure they’re faster than us,” Lombardi confessed. “We’ve raced Joris [Ryf] here at the FNB Wines2Whales Pinotage for the last two years and know how quick he is. Sofia [Wiedenroth] is so light that she will fly up the steep climbs of Stage 2, and she’s obviously got the technical skills to back that up in the trails. We’ll have our work cut out for us tomorrow.”

Not everyone is competitive on the same level, however. Henriko Prinsloo claimed to be the World Champion of Pretoria North, or Berglaan, Florauna Road, and the surrounding area’s World Champion. His teammate, Frederick van Breda, had to ensure that they did not become the World Champions of water point faffing; however, as Prinsloo had lots of stories to tell.

Jan Braai also had stories to tell after the stage. He had bike trouble the night before the race, and that theme continued during the stage. It did not dampen his spirits, though. Riding water point to water point, and wine tasting to wine tasting, Jan Braai stopped at Genevieve for bubbles and then at the Houw Hoek Hotel, where the Blaauwklippen Wines pop-up tasting room marked the end of his riding journey for the day. Later, he sampled Oak Valley’s wines too, in the race village, explaining that “FNB Wines2Whales is meant to be fun. Riding on an E-Bike should be doubly so. There’s no point in letting mechanicals ruin a good time. I’ll get the bike fixed this afternoon and ride again tomorrow.”

Tomorrow is Play Day for the Pinotage riders. The E-Bikers will love the Switchback trails, calving their way through Oak Valley and Paul Clüver. Electric assistance will make light work of the 1 350 metres of climbing, but everyone will enjoy the downhill delights of Rhys’s Rollercoaster, the day’s Toyota Cruise segment, Sound of Silence, Rietvlei Magic, Pofadder, Tierkop, Cherry Bypass, Harrier Hawk, and Wave Runner. In total, there will be 67 singletrack-packed kilometres on the cards for Stage 2.

To share in the action from the trails, follow @wines_2_whales on Instagram or like the Wines2Whales Facebook page. Professional mountain biker and social media star, Pieter du Toit, is covering the E-Bike racing on the event’s Instagram and Facebook stories; so, mountain biking fans are encouraged to join the show there. Later mountain biking fans can tune in to the Epic Series YouTube channel for daily highlights. For more information, please visit www.epic-series.com/races/wines2whales.