South African National Cup Series #2 - 2

Mankele, Nelspruit, South Africa, February 7-8, 2009

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Race 2 - February 8: Downhill

Neethling cuts it fine for the win

Andrew Neethling was untouchable on his second run, securing his second consecutive victory
Photo ©: Gary Perkin

Andrew Neethling (Trek) clearly thrives on pressure, a fact he confirmed on Sunday when he secured a thrilling victory at the second round of the MTN National Cup downhill at Mankele in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa.

Riders each get two runs at South African downhill races, and their fastest of the two determines their final position. That was the format used on the technical 1.8km course through some rugged, lush bushveld terrain, which included rock gardens, bridges, jumps, berms and tight switchbacks.

Neethling, winner of round one in Stellenbosch last month and strong favourite to win round two on Sunday, clocked a time of 2:09.27sec for his first run, a performance which most felt was good enough to take the early lead and put his rivals under pressure for the second round of competition. But fellow Capetonian, Johann Potgieter (Cannondale), eclipsed Neethling with a time of 2:08.56, setting the scene for an exciting finale.

"I usually use the first run as a 'feeler' run, but felt that time was pretty good on such a tight, short course which leaves no room for error," said Neethling afterwards.

The 2007 South African national champion then showed his ability to perform under pressure when he set the course on fire with his second run, clocking a snappy 2:04.54 which Potgieter and the others were unable able to better.

"Johann really forced me to wake up for the second run. I'm pretty much expected to win when I race in South Africa and I try my very best to live up to those expectations. It feels really good to get a second win so early in the year. It gives me a confident start to the season and it is great exposure for my new team, Trek."

Vicky Phillips on her way to victory
Photo ©: MTN National Series

Neethling finished 11th overall in the 2008 UCI World Cup and began a new contract with the Trek international racing team last month. He's one of a crop of talented downhillers from Cape Town, four of whom secured the top four places overall on Sunday.

Potgieter's first run gave him second place with Gary Barnard (Fox Morewood) third, Jonty Neethling (Fox Morewood) fourth and 2008 South African national junior champion Hayden Brown (Mongoose) rounding out the top five.

Rika Olivier, women's winner of round one, sustained an injury in a practice session crash and had to sit out Sunday's action giving Vicky Phillips (Fox) a path of less resistance to capture the victory with a solid first run time of 3:10.75.

Round three of the MTN National Cup Series will take place in George on March 14-15, and it will double as the national championships.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Gary Perkin

Andrew Neethling was untouchable on his second run, securing his second consecutive victory in the MTN National Cup Series.
Timothy Bentley wins the junior men's title and finished sixth overall.

Images by MTN National Series

Vicky Phillips on her way to victory in the women's race.
The first five men overall were (from left): Jonty Neethling (fourth), Gary Barnard (third), Andrew Neethling (first), Johann Potgieter (second) and Hayden Brown (fifth).
Eventual runner-up, Johann Potgieter's fast first run caused a stir.

Results

Elite men

1 Andrew Neethling (Trek)           2.04.54
2 Johann Potgieter (Cannondale)     0.04.02
3 Gary Barnard (Fox Morewood)       0.05.64
4 Jonty Neethling (Fox Morewood)    0.07.10
5 Hayden Brown (Mongoose)           0.07.11
 
Elite women

1 Vicky Phillips (Fox)              3.10.75
 
Junior men

1 Timothy Bentley                   2.12.10
2 Pierre van der Merwe              0.02.00
3 Luke Davis                        0.09.00
 
Youth men

1 Tiaan Odendaal                    2.30.61
2 Matthew Wortmann                  0.01.17
3 Alasdair Frey                     0.03.33
 
Sub-junior boys

1 Alan Hatherly                     2.40.06
2 Christopher Rigby                 0.49.30
3 Luke Evans                        1.08.09
 
Sub-veteran Men

1 Patrick Morewood                  2.23.79
2 Mark Hopkins                      0.06.60
3 Tyrone van Rooyen                 0.08.53
 
Veteran Men

1 Chris Nixon                       2.23.84
2 Norman Hatherly                   0.43.22
3 Neil Evans                        0.56.63
 
Sport Men

1 Bradly Illingworth                2.48.04
2 Jon Sherwood                      0.35.96
3 Wilbur van Blommestein            1.02.47