Philip Buys (Garmin-adidas) got snookered by a cramp in the deciding moments of the Illovo Eston Marathon (60km) in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday (7 August).

As a result he finished second behind Brandon Stewart (Itec Connect). Burry Stander (Specialized) finished third.

Buys was not despondent because of the result.

“Brandon deserved to win. He was the most aggressive rider throughout the race and I had to play catch-up most of the time.

“I must admit that I was caught slightly off guard when I started to cramp, especially because it had not happened during any of my recent races.

“Luckily the cramping was not too bad.  I could continue racing after a few moments, albeit at a much slower pace,” Buys said.

Stewart enhanced his chances of winning the King of the Mountain prime by launching the first of his many attacks within the first two kilometers.

“Winning the King of the Mountain prime gave me great confidence for the remainder of the race.  After a few attacks Burry (Stander) and I got away and managed to open a gap on the rest of the field,” Stewart said.

“I felt really good on the climbs and was quite happy to work with Burry to ensure that the move stayed away. After a long and tricky single-track descent, Philip Buys joined up with us. This resulted in a ding dong battle during the rest of the race.

“The serious attacks started during the last 10 kilometers. Unfortunately, Burry clipped a rock while racing into a corner and went down. He was fine but his bike was not. The handlebar snapped.

“Philip and I carried on at the same pace.  Despite one or two attacks by me to get rid of Philip before the finishing line, he managed to hang onto my back wheel.  Much to my surprise, Philip cramped with 2 km to go and he had to come to a complete stop.  This gave me a solo run to the finish.”

According to Buys the sprint for the second position was quite a tricky affair.

“I proceeded limping along on my bike while Burry was battling to steer his.”.