Having sat comfortably in fourth place during the first of the three 15km laps, Calverley patiently bided his time and trusted his instincts as he settled into a rhythm a little way off the frenetic pace set by early leaders Alan Hatherly (BMC-SA) and Kyle Dorkin (Ellsworth SA).
Having claimed victory in the exciting new Enduro race the day before, Hatherly soon tired and dropped off the pace leaving Calverley and Dorkin to battle it out for the overall honours.
“Alan (Hatherly) and I went out hard in the first lap but then we took it a bit easier in the second,” explained Dorkin. “On the third though Carl (Calverley) came flying through and once he got through he really attacked hard. Fortunately I managed to stay with him and then counter attacked myself and opened up about a minute lead over him.
“As we went into the last bit of single track I crashed and when I tried to get going again my chain got stuck, which took a while to get back on by which time Carl had gone past again and I wasn’t able to close the gap,” he added.
An experienced racer, Calverley had the rest of the elite riders chuckling on the frontline as he strolled up just minutes before the gun and slotted into the front row, however when it came down to it all there was no messing about for Calverley and his true colours beamed through.
“Carl’s been around for a while and when he feels like turning it on then he really lets everyone know about it. He’s a top competitor and really raced well today,” said Dorkin.
“It was an awesome race though. I have never raced the new lap format before, which was really cool and the track was awesome,” he added.
Hatherly, the young pupil from Hillcrest High School, had to settle for fourth overall as he came home behind Mark Malherbe (Coffeeberry Cafe) and ahead of the ever consistent Hilton Frost (Marshalls World of Sport) after a strong start.
“It’s a little frustrating,” said Hatherly. “I’d hoped to finish in the top three but I won my age group and got fourth overall so it’s still pretty good. It was a bit of a World Cup type start, which was really good practice for me but the pace was really hot on that first lap so I kind of knew it [having to slow down and falling back in the field] was coming,” he added.
Natalie Bergstorm deservedly claimed her hat-trick of victories at this weekend’s event having successfully battled it out in the gravity Enduro, cross-country eliminator and the 45km Classic beating the small yet respectable ladies field in all three events.
Bergstrom claimed victory ahead of young talent Ashley Parker-Moffatt (BMC-SA) and Savannah Schuit after former MTB hero Allegra Wykerd had to withdraw after the first lap due to severe lower back pain.
Meanwhile in the 30km event Gareth Cook powered his way to a sizeable victory ahead of the father and son combo Cian and Kevin Leveridge.
SUMMARY OF RESULTS – CSA KZN All Africa MTB Challenge
45km Classic – Overall Men
1. Carl Calverley 2:02.03
2. Kyle Dorkin 2:02.49
3. Mark Malherbe 2:04.03
4. Alan Hatherly 2:08.57
5. Hilton Frost 2:11.38
45km Classic – Overall Women
1. Natalie Bergstorm 2:34.40
2. Ashley Parker-Moffatt 2:39.40
3. Savannah Schuit 2:49.43
30km
1. Gareth Cook 1:35.06
2. Cian Leveridge 1:48.09
3. Kevin Leveridge 1:48.09
15km
1. Sean van der Merwe 56.43
2. Jacques Enslin 1:02.13
3. Raymond Kock 1:02.31
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