South African Erik Kleinhans and his Czech teammate, Frantisek Rabon (RE:CM Specialized) won the final stage of the three-day DUTOIT Tankwa Trek mountain bike stage race on Sunday, but it was the young South African pair of James Reid and Brendon Davids (Trek Racing) that claimed an impressive overall victory on a dramatic final day.
Overnight leaders, Tim Bohme and Simon Stiebjahn (Team Bulls) failed to make the start line after Stiebjahn was felled by gastro bug and was too ill to ride. That effectively handed the lead to second-placed Trek Racing’s Reid and Davids, but the young pair of cross-country specialists still had to complete the 63km final leg against a strong international field.
And they completed it convincingly, making Kleinhans and Rabon fight hard for the stage win, which they secured in a sprint finish against Reid and Davids in a time of 02 hours 09 minutes 05 seconds. It was the third consecutive stage runners-up placing for Reid and Davids.Images Zoon Cron
