Weiss and Van Huyssteen win first PE Xterra

STELLENBOSCH’S Bradley Weiss took the honours in the first Fedhealth Xterra Full event centred at Kings Beach on Saturday.

The men’s race was dominated by Weiss, Stuart Marais and Theo Blignaut.

But ultimately it was Weiss who completed the 1.5km ocean swim, 23km mountain bike discipline and 10.2km trail run in a combined time of two hours, one minute 50 seconds.

Marais came in second while Blignaut finished third.

Weiss said he had not expected to have to race so hard on the day.

“This past week my training was a bit more intense in preparation for Xterra Philippines.

“I then heard that Stuart would be racing, which was definitely a curve ball for me,” Weiss said.

“The ocean swim was more technical, with bigger swells than expected.

“Theo was in the lead, but Stuart and I closed the gap in the second lap.

“Exiting the swim/bike transition, Stuart went out hard. Instead of major climbs, the mountain bike discipline featured a few 20- to 30-second kickers.

“I managed to catch Stuart on one of these and broke away on the single track.

“By the time I reached the turnaround point, I had approximately one minute on Stuart, but he made up time on the flat sections,” Weiss said.

“Entering the bike/run transition, I ran down the wrong chute, and, as a result, my lead decreased to 25 seconds going into the run.

“It was only at the 6km-7km mark that I managed to open the gap.

“I was chuffed running down the beach to the finish – it was beautiful.”

Carla van Huyssteen took the women’s race in a combined time of two hours 21 minutes 42 seconds.

“The route included the perfect combination – the ocean swim was amazing, the mountain bike route was just long enough and the run through Happy Valley had such a nice vibe to it with people cheering for you all the way,” Van Huyssteen said. Andrea Steyn came in second, while Susan Sloan finished third.

Myuyisi Gcogco won yesterday’s 10.2km Puma Trail Run in 38 minutes and 27 seconds.

“The route was tough. The sand was soft forcing me to use more force,” Gcogco said.

“When I first started taking part in trail run events I always finished last. Crossing the finish line in first place today was wonderful.”

Jade Muller came in second and Andrew MacKenzie third.

Alexia Loizou won the women’s event in 45 minutes and 44 seconds.

Jane Barnard came in second, while Odessa Perelson finished third.

Michael Ferreira and Natia van Heerden claimed gold in the Xterra Lite at Kings Beach yesterday.

Xterra Lite entrants needed to complete a 400m swim, followed by a 12km mountain bike route and finally a 6km trail run.

In the women’s race, Van Heerden took gold in an impressive one hour, 24 minutes and 50 seconds.