Stuart Marais and Carla Van Huyssteen were the warriors to beat crossing the finish line in impressive times of 1 hour 42 minutes 3 seconds and 2 hours and 2 seconds respectively.
According to Marais, he was feeling broken after the hard week of racing. “The Big Five is killing me. The plan was to kill it on the first run and then just survive on the bike. Kevin Evans caught me about 5km into the mountain bike leg. Coming into the second transition, he had about a 3-minute lead on me. I felt good and managed to catch him on the last single track section. Winning today is fantastic,” said Marais, who promised to be back in 2014 for his hat-trick win. Kevin Evans came in second, while Kent Horner finished third.
“With sore legs you can only push so hard,” laughed Van Huyssteen, who also tackled her first Big Five Challenge this year. “My breathing was really good on the day, but my legs just didn’t want to respond. I ran really hard on the first run. I was really impressed with Candice Neetling, she did really well. On the bike my plan was just to remain constant. Candice caught me on the 14km mark on the mountain bike leg and entered transition with at least a 3-minute lead on me.
"I in turn managed to catch her on the 5km mark of the second run. I pushed as hard as possible as I didn’t want her to surprise me later in the run. I am really relieved with the win. The Totalsports Xterra Pezula is definitely just as tough as the other Xterras, if not tougher.” Candice Neetling came in second, while Gail Willimott finished third.
Dylan Rebello was unstoppable in the men’s Totalsports Xterra Lite, completing the course in a deserving time of 1 hour 3 minutes 27 seconds. Michael Lord finished second and Philip Jordaan third.
Jessica Alcock was the lady to beat in the Totalsports Xterra Lite, completing the course in 1 hour 22 minutes. Famke Allan followed and Gayle Momsen finished third.
And they're off for the Totalsports Xterra Pezula presented by Rehidrat® Sport.
(Photos: Elle Photography.)
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