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Cannondale lead the charge towards Tankwa Trek title

Cape Town - Defending champions of the Tankwa Trek, the Cannondale Factory Racing team, will return to the Koue Bokkeveld in 2020.

Manuel Fumic and Henrique Avancini line up at Kaleo Guest Farm on February 6 as the five-star favourites.

However, with Team BULLS, BH-Wallonie, CST PostNL Bafang, Devonbosch Stellenbosch and a strong South African contingent, the German/Brazilian pair will have a tough task of claiming matching their 2019 dominance.

Avancini was arguably the form rider of the last two editions of the race. In 2018 he continued to ride, for training, after Fumic withdrew with a back injury; keeping pace with the top general classification teams. Then in 2019 he stormed to victory, alongside Fumic, by 2:54.5 over their Cannondale Factory Racing stable-mates Maxime Marotte and Cameron Orr.

Marotte is one of the world’s most consistent cross-country campaigners and has twice finished runner-up at the Tankwa Trek. His 2019 partner, Orr, returns for a second bite at the Bokkeveld apple (the mixing of metaphors is derived from the region’s primary agricultural export). The 20-year-old Brit once again joins the experienced French star in support of Fumic and Avancini.

Cannondale Factory Racing may well need that support as Team BULLS are sending a stacked three-team line-up to the UCI S1 categorised stage race. The BULLS Legends are represented by two former winners, 2018 champion, Alban Lakata and Karl Platt, the 2017 and 2016 champion. They will have the BULLS Heroes, led by Platt’s 2017 and 2016 partner, Urs Huber and Simon Stiebjahn to punch and counter-punch off. The two experienced BULLS squads have raced the trails of the Tankwa Trek so many times that they know the routes better than the South African riders.

Martin Frey and Simon Schneller, of the BULLS Youngsters, complete the BULLS line-ups and are riding primarily in support of the Legends and Heroes teams. They will have a major role to play if the talented debutants Sebastian Fini and David Nordemann, of CST PostNL Bafang, can acclimatise to the rocky terrain and blistering African heat. The Devonbosch Stellenbosch combination, of Frans Claes and Soren Nissen have stage race experience aplenty and should challenge for a podium position. While BH-Wallonie’s Sebastien Carabin and Pierre de Froidmont along with Gerben Mos and Rob van der Werf, of Giant - Backdraft, conclude the stellar European line-up.

The South African teams are not only competing for the overall title and the race’s significant prize purse. First place on the general classification, after four stages of racing, will net the winners R80 000. Which could be supplemented by the R25 000 prize for the first all-South African team overall and the R10 000 King of the Mountain prize; for the first team to reach the summit of the infamous Merino Monster on Stage 3.  

PYGA Euro Steel are arguably the favourites among the local teams. Philip Buys and Matthys Beukes have the stage racing pedigree to demand the respect of the other South African teams. They will once again be supported by PYGA Euro Steel 2’s Pieter du Toit and Philimon Sebona. Gert Heyns and Arno du Toit, of DSV Pro Cycling, are established rivals to Buys and Beukes’ crowns as the kings of the national stage race scene.

The highest placed South African team, from the 2019 Tankwa Trek, Nicol Carstens and Marco Joubert, of Imbuko Giant, will be fired up to race for a spot on the overall podium in 2020. Though they will have to contend with the road racers returning to the mountains, Jaco Venter and Jacques Janse van Rensburg. The First Move riders had stellar results in the Attakwas Extreme in January. Venter and Janse van Rensburg placed 13th and 18th, respectively, after struggling with punctures, in exceptionally challenging weather conditions. They will however be looking to improve on that showing and anything beyond a top ten finish will surely be regarded with disappointment.

Outside of the main favourites, Namibians Alexander Miler and Tristan de Lange will be dangerous outsiders for DANSTE Racing / Megabuild. As will the Insect Science Pro team of Keagan Bontekoning and Alan Gordon. The Darkhorse Wheels Pro Cycling combination of Shaun Nick Bester and Alexandre Vialle complete the elite men’s line-ups.

Mountain biking fans can follow the action live from the 2020 Tankwa Trek on the race’s Twitter handle, @tankwatrek.

Racing updates will be posted throughout the four stages, starting from registration on the morning of Thursday, February 6. Stage 1 starts at 15:00 on the same day as registration, thereafter the racing gets underway at 06:30 daily.

For more photos and videos from the race follow @tankwatrek on Instagram and the Tankwa Trek Facebook page.

All the details of the 2020 Tankwa Trek can be found online at www.tankwatrek.co.za

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