PCG Athlete Gawie Combrinck and Team NAD take 1st in 9 day Joberg2c race

The Joberg2C is a 910km ride from just outside Johannesburg to Scottburgh on the KZN South Coast over 9 days. Popular among the Pro MTB riders and the average Joe, the race attracts cyclists from all over the world. In 2018, for the first time ever, the race hosted the Mixed World Championship and a whopping R100 000 prize money for the winners

Nico and Gawie started Joberg2c on the 20^th of April. The first neutral stage was 116km's with 855 meters of vertical ascent and was the perfect opportunity for the guys to warm up. Riders are encouraged to enjoy the day and the hospitality of the various communities that man the water points. As usual, water points were packed with koeksisters, marshmallow eggs, boerewors and more. A barge and boat crossing was also a highlight of the day, with riders crossing the full Vaal River on a selection of boats

Stage 1:

Nico and Gawie had a great day taking photos and enjoying the trails.

Stage 2:

Stage 2 consisted of 93km with 1001 meters of vertical ascent.

"Today started off relatively slow, but about 20km's in there was a tough, bumpy section with a cross wind where we put the hammer down and only Matthys Beukes came with us who is competing in the solo category. From there we rode within ourselves when we realised we had a good time gap," explained Gawie.

A great way to start of the 2018 campaign and gain some momentum for the remainder of the race.

Results for the top 3 mens teams after stage 2:

1. Gawie Combrinck & Nico Bell (NAD Pro) 3:01:25
2. Shaun-Nick Bester & Declan Sidey (Silverback-Best4Sports-Mad Macs) 3:04:15

3. Alan Gordon & Timothy Hammond (Insect Science) 3:06:51

Stage 3:

Stage 3 consisted of 122km with 1118 meters of vertical ascent – making it the longest stage of the race. Nico and Gawie made the decisive attack on the way to Mount Paul and left the competitors in their dust. The paring finished the stage in a time of 4:21:43, with Matthys Beukes the only rider able to stay in the company of Nico and Gawie.

Below are the results for the top 3 mens teams for Stage 3:

1. Gawie Combrinck & Nico Bell (NAD Pro) 4:21:43
2. Alan Gordon & Timothy Hammond (Insect Science) 4:25:31
3. Shaun-Nick Bester & Declan Sidey (Silverback-Best4Sports-Mad Macs) 4:25:52

Stage 4:

Stage 4 covered 93km with 1100 meters of vertical ascent. It was another brilliant ride by Nico & Gawie winning Stage 4 of the JoBerg2c. Nico & Gawie had a very consistent day, taking the stage win and increasing their lead on the general classification.

Below are the top 3 men's teams results after Stage 4:

1. Gawie Combrinck & Nico Bell (NAD Pro) 3:16:49
2. Alan Gordon & Timothy Hammond (Insect Science) 3:24:37
3. Shaun-Nick Bester & Declan Sidey (Silverback-Best4Sports-Mad Macs) 3:29:10

Stages 5 & 6 played out in a similar fashion to the first 4 stages with Nico and Gawie claiming the victory on both days.

Stage 7:

A brilliant day again for Nico & Gawie on stage 7 of JoBerg2c. The stage was 82km long which they completed in a time of 2:53:09, further increasing their lead on the general classification.

“Another fast start, luckily Nico got into the single track first so that he could choose the best possible lines and I could just follow him. The trails were slightly trickier than the previous days with plenty switchbacks. I did take a swim in a mud puddle in the forest but nothing too serious,” explained Gawie.

Nico also enjoyed the trails today: “A great day, with some new fast, fun, technical single tracks. We rode our own pace and kept it consistent to the finish. We look forward to the last two days of racing before we reach the coast!”

Below are the top 3 men’s team results for Stage 7:

1. Gawie Combrinck & Nico Bell (NAD Pro) 2:53:09
2. Alan Gordon & Timothy Hammond (Insect Science) 2:58:31
3. Alex Pavlov and Jaco Cronje (Old Mutual Insure-Northcliff Cycles) 3:05:25

Stage 8:

The final day of racing and one last opportunity for the competition to make up some ground. It was another great effort by Nico and Gawie to take the final competitive stage without any major challenges.. The team enjoyed the 99km stage with 1700 meters of vertical ascent, further increasing their lead on the general classification.

"We had another great day today, the trails out here are always incredible. We look forward to the final stage down to the coast tomorrow," Nico explained.

While Nico and Gawie had a commanding lead, every day was a hard day out on the bike and the pairing used the opportunity to push themselves in a racing environment, testing their equipment, nutrition and recovery.

Below are the top 3 men’s teams results after stage 8:

1. Gawie Combrinck & Nico Bell (NAD Pro) 3:39:10
2. Alan Gordon & Timothy Hammond (Insect Science) 3:42:45
3. Shaun-Nick Bester & Declan Sidey (Silverback-Best4Sports-Mad Macs) 3:48:50

Stage 9:

The ninth Old Mutual joBerg2c finished at Scottburgh on the KZN South Coast on Saturday with riders dressing up to enjoy the ceremonial “Champagne” Stage from Highflats to the sea.

Reaching the finishline, Nico and Gawie were unbeaten over the 7 timed stages of racing and took a commanding victory. Completing the 900 odd KM in just over 33 hours of bike racing, Nico and Gawie were delighted with the effort on the trails and left as proud victors.

After nine days of racing, the general classification were as follows:

1. Gawie Combrinck & Nico Bell (NAD Pro) 33:06:02
2. Alan Gordon & Timothy Hammond (Insect Science) 33:40:11
3. Shaun-Nick Bester & Declan Sidey (Silverback-Best4Sports-Mad Macs) 34:11:25
4. Andrejus Dolgovas & Elijus Civilis (Top Team) 35:44:45
5. Marius Jurrius & Ruan Pretorius (Sprocketeers Team 2) 37:38:51

Gawie Combrinck is coached by PCG Master Coach Hunter Allen