This past weekend saw the top riders from around the country make their way to Cascades in Peitermaritzburg for the second time this year.

The decision was taken to use the World Cup venue from earlier this year for a second time to host a national event, after the opening round of the Super Series was washed out by torrential rains. The decision proved good as the weather was stable and conditions were prime for racing.

There was a bit of a poor turn out for the event as many riders chose not to attend, but the Elite field was full of the main contenders. Noticably, Burry Stander(Specialized) was absent as he was still campaigning in Europe. This gave others a rare chance to go for the win.

Startline

The start of the elite race saw a number of riders scramble for position to try take control of the race. Early on the first lap it was Philip Buys (Garmin Adidas) James Reid( Mr Price BMC) and Renay Groustra(Mr Price GT) who pulled away, and opened up a gap on chasers Oliver Munnik (Mr Price GT) Bryce Munroe and Marc Bassinthwaight(Garmin Adidas).

Renay Groustra

The the end of lap 1 Bassingthwaight had bridged the gap, but it was too late as Buys had disappeared off the front, setting a pace too hard for the others to follow. The next lap saw the 3 chasers chasing hard, but it did nothing to stop a rampaging Buys. The race continued to unfold this way until Bassinthwaight had trouble on lap 4 leaving Groustra and Reid to battle it out for second.

Oliver Munnick

Buys continued his domination on the front while Reid(riding in the u23 category) managed to hang on to a small gap  and capitalize on a fading Groustra on the last lap to take 2nd place, 45 seconds ahead of Groustra. Rounding out the top 5 were Bassigthwaight and Munroe(also u23).

Philip Buys

The ladies race was completely dominated by reigning u23 National Champion Mariske Strauss riding for team Contego/Giant/ Sludge. 5 minutes later Candice Neethling took second place riding in her Bizhub colours.

Mariske Strauss

The National Super Series concludes in two weeks time up in Rietvlei, Gauteng.