skip navigation
Riders during the 2019 FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz 3 day mountain bike event stage 3 from Oak Valley to Onrus. Image by Nick Muzik [FNB Wines2Whales]

Who To Watch: FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz

By FNB Wines2Whales, 11/02/21, 4:30PM HST

Share

Riders during the 2019 FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz 3 day mountain bike event stage 3 from Oak Valley to Onrus. Image by Nick Muzik

Riders during the 2019 FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz 3 day mountain bike event stage 3 from Oak Valley to Onrus. Image by Nick Muzik

The FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz event will see South Africa’s best male mountain bikers contesting for a R250 000 prize purse. With R100 000 up for grabs for the winning men’s team fortune is sure to favour the bold.

Being able to watch the Chardonnay and Pinotage events unfold on the new Switchback route, from Onrus to Lourensford, will give the Elite men a taste of what to expect when the starter’s gun fires on Friday, 12 November. With no portage, up Gantouw Pass, to disrupt their rhythm, the opening stage could play out very differently from those of recent years. Yet the main protagonists are likely to be the same, as the double defending champions return to do battle against the biggest names in South African mountain biking.

The 191-kilometre route – from the Curro School, in Onrus, to Lourensford Wine Estate, in Somerset West – takes in 4 450 metres of climbing. At 66 kilometres long with 1 600 metres of elevation gain the opening stage is likely to be the toughest of the race. Though the punchy Stage 2 and the Gantouw Pass on Stage 3 are not without their potential pitfalls.

Matt Beers and Wessel Botha know just what it takes to win a traditional FNB Wines2Whales. If that translates to Switchback success, for the type{DEV} NanoTime team, remains to be seen however. Especially as Botha is currently nursing his wounds after a dramatic race-ending crash just a few weeks ago.

Two bikers heading down a meadow

In order to seal a historic three-peat of victories the pair will have to best their perennial rivals PYGA Euro Steel, as well as Imbuko Giant, Insect Science and Valley Electrical Titan Racing. They will however have the support of Nico Bell and Stuart Marais (type{DEV}NanoTime 2) to call upon. Uniquely four of the squads in the 2021 FNB W2W Shiraz race will be represented by two teams.

Four bikers heading the curve of W2W

Given Matthys Beukes’ lingering back issues it is understandable that the stage race specialists are only sending the PYGA Euro Steel combination of Philip Buys and Gert Heyns. Imbuko Giant, however, are less reticent to pin their colours to the mast and have named teams of Marco Joubert and Tristan Nortje, as well as Tristan de Lange and Rudi Koen.

The team which usually races as Valley Electrical Titan Racing will line up with four riders. Team principle Rossouw Bekker will tackle the FNB W2W alongside Matthew Miller, while Marc Fourie and and Zack Swart will don their usual Valley Electrical Titan Racing colours. It is relatively safe to assume that Robert Hobson will feature in the mix too.

Three bikers heading down a grassy area
Two bikers in a forest path possibly Toit and Bontekoning

Arno du Toit was a member of the runner up team, the last time FNB W2W was held. In 2021 he partners Keagan Bontekoning for Insect Science Pro Cycling. The pair have superb technical skills and the singletrack packed Stage 2 should suit them in particular.

Mountain biking fans can tune in to the FNB Wines2Whales action from Friday, 5 November, when the elite women get the racing underway in the Chardonnay event. The women’s race is followed by the more relaxed mid-week Pinotage event, which also hosts the Exxaro category, and the elite men’s Shiraz race. Daily news features, highlights videos and photo galleries can be found at www.wines2whales.com throughout the three-event series of races.