The 2022 M&G Investments PE Plett got underway from Nature’s Valley on Wednesday, 23 February. The 75-kilometre long opening stage took in 1 200 metres of climbing as it made its way north, to the Tsitsikamma Lodge.
In total, the event features 290 kilometres of racing and crosses the properties of 57 private landowners. Famed for its diverse route and billed as a memory maker the tenth edition attracted over 300 riders, including some of South Africa’s top mountain bikers.
The men’s race would be contested by the Valley Electrical Titan Racing, Insect Science Pro and Bester Performance/The Bike Shop teams. HB Kruger and Matthew Keyser were arguably the form team coming into the race, but Keagan Bontekoning and Alan Gordon were up for the fight. Shaun-Nick Bester and Rogan Smart had their work cut out for them.
The first climb of the day, and the race, was Stage 1’s King and Queen of the Mountain challenge. Valley Electrical Titan Racing’s HB Kruger led over the summit of the Grootrivier Pass, with Matthew Keyser and Shaun-Nick Bester in tow. This handed the prize to Kruger and Keyser.
Soon thereafter the Insect Science Pro pair of Keagan Bontekoning and Alan Gordon regained parity with the early pacesetters. While Bester dropped back to his teammate Rogan Smart.
The decisive moment of the day came when Keyser punctured near the halfway point of the stage. While the Valley Electrical Titan Racing team were able to get going, they haemorrhaged time throughout the rest of the stage.
This allowed Insect Science Pro’s Bontekoning and Gordon to time trial towards the Tsitsikamma Lodge; racing to build up as much of an advantage as possible.
While Bester Performance/The Bike Shop and Valley Electrical Titan Racing were chasing, separately, to limit their losses.
Bontekoning and Gordon raced home in a time of 2 hours, 40 minutes and 11 seconds to claim a vital 5-minute lead over Bester and Smart.
Kruger and Keyser’s damage limitation ride could only restrict their losses to 11 minutes, which leaves them with a lot to do in the coming three days.
In the women’s race the Young & Brave squad, of Tanja Schutte and Iliska Verwey, would be mixing it up with the Wintergreen Ciovita teams of Elrika Harmzen-Pretorius and Lehane Oosthuizen as well as Jane Fisher and Renata Bossi.
Wintergreen Ciovita’s Elrika Harmzen-Pretorius and Lehane Oosthuizen put the hammer down from the gun; summiting the Queen of the Mountain climb with the leading Mixed team, of Samantha Sanders and Conway Oliver.
From there on out Harmzen-Pretorius and Oosthuizen raced their rivals on the road rather than their direct women’s category competitors as they stormed to stage honours.
Tanja Schutte and Iliska Verwey came home second on the day, conceding over 27 minutes to the stage winners.
Jane Fisher and Renata Bossi completed the day’s podium, 7 minutes further adrift.
The Mixed category race though, was a far tighter affair, with Sanders and Oliver leading home a trio of mixed teams separated by just over 5 minutes. The fight between them, Yolandi and Ben-Melt Swanepoel, as well as Nicola Freitas and Grant Daly, could be the one to watch over the coming days.
The women’s general classification is probably Wintergreen Ciovita’s to lose at the M&G Investments PE Plett after a commanding opening stage. But Pitstop, Team Garmin and Granola are poised for a fierce showdown in the Mixed Category.
The M&G Investments PE Plett battle lines have been drawn. Can Valley Electrical Titan Racing work their way back into contention for the title? Only time will tell but Stage 2’s traverse of the Tsitsikamma Mountain Range and descent into the Langkloof provides them the opportunity to do so. 66 kilometres of pure mountain biking, with 1 200 metres of climbing, are on the cards for the race to the Assegaibos Hotel.
Be sure to follow the action, as it unfolds, on the M&G Investments PE Plett Instagram feed: at PE underscore Plett.
