Team RE:CM's Erik Kleinhans (RSA) and Waylon Woolcock (RSA) secured the men's title, while Team RE:CM Davinci's Ariane Kleinhans (SUI) and Annika Langvad (DEN) claimed the women's crown at the seven-day international mountain bike stage race.
It is also the first time that a married couple, Erik and Ariane Kleinhans, were crowned champions in the same event.
Erik is the son of Jannie and Ida Kleinhans of George and received his high school training at Oakdale in Riversdale. He married the Swiss MTB star Ariane and lives in Stellenbosch from where they travel the world to participate in the toughest MTB challenges.
Woolcock and Kleinhans finished fourth, 54 seconds behind the winners in the final stage, but with their overall lead firmly secure. They ended up beating runners-up Buys and Beukes by 9:48 with FedGroup Itec's Brandon Stewart (RSA) and Konny Looser (SUI) completing the final podium.
In the women's race, Langvad, the Danish marathon champion, and Kleinhans, the Swiss marathon champion, confirmed their complete dominance of the event when they claimed their seventh stage win. They beat Wheeler BMC's Esther Suss (SUI) and Jane Nuessli (GBR) by 01:35:15 in the General Classification, with defending champions, Klein Karoo Chicks' Yolande Speedy (RSA) and Yolande de Villiers (RSA), taking third place overall.
"We knew some teams were going to go hard for the stage win and that Philip and Matthys wanted to attack our overall lead, so we really had to make sure we kept them in our sights and kept our risk of crashing or mechanicals as low as possible," said Erik Kleinhans.
"This was probably the toughest week of my bike racing life. The tougher stages were on the four good weather days and the easier stages were made tough by the rain and mud! It's a great feeling to win here again. We had some really strong competition, which makes the win even more special," added Kleinhans, who won the inaugural edition with Jonny Kritzinger in 2009 and the mixed division with his wife, Ariane, in 2011.
"It's a great feeling to win what has been a really tough race. Annika was an amazing partner and so strong throughout. I must thank our manager, Kandice Buys, and our mechanic, Magnus Gouws, who are so experienced and so professional and they make it easier for us to focus on racing; and of course our sponsors for all their support." said Ariane Kleinhans.
"The women's field was stronger than ever before this year and we never once were able to let our guard down. It's great to see this women's category growing in depth and I'm sure this growth will continue in the future," added Kleinhans.
The exhausted but happy new lady champions Ariane Kleinhans (left) and Annika Langvad, after the race. Picture: Zoon Cronje.
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