Evans wins Grape Escape
2011-03-10
IN another spectacular finish, Kevin Evans (Team 360life) emerged as the overall winner of the inaugural Columbia Grape Escape mountain-bike race that ended at Boschendal on Sunday. David George (Team 360life) claimed the second position with the German, Karl Platt (Bulls), finishing in third place. Commenting on the last stage, Evans had the following to say: “I feel awesome! This stage suited us – it was a shorter route with steeper climbs. “David (George) and I put on the pressure early. I had some brake issues, so I wasn’t as fast on the downhills, but I’m glad I could come back to win today’s race.” Platt admitted that perhaps he pushed too hard on Friday and Saturday. “I’m a bit disappointed, having won the first two stages of the Columbia Grape Escape, but it shows that I’m not 100% in perfect shape. I will need to do some more work before the Absa Cape Epic.” “Hard” is how Cherise Taylor (USN), female winner of the Columbia Grape Escape, described the last stage. “It is very seldom that race organisers manage to get a stage race right the first time around and the organisers of the Grape Escape have managed to do that.” A total of 5100 unique riders participated in the Columbia Grape Escape and the Cape Argus Pick n Pay MTB Challenge on Saturday and Sunday. Philip Buys (Garmin Adidas) clinched the first position in the 52km MTB Challenge. “Those of us who did the MTB Challenge today got lucky with the weather. I’ve been supporting my team mates on the Grape Escape, and they have been experiencing very hot conditions. The 55km route was a great race with some nice single track – I enjoyed it.” Said David Bellairs, CEO of the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust, “We are very pleased with how this weekend’s two events turned out. The fact that the Columbia Grape Escape experienced minimal teething problems is a great achievement and we’ve enjoyed some terrific feedback from the riders. “We focused all our energy on successfully launching the Grape Escape, and in the process I think we somewhat neglected the 10th anniversary of the Cape Argus Pick n Pay MTB Challenge,” Bellairs continued. “It’s grown from 164 participants to a two-day event across four different routes. That’s not bad going,” he added.
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