Buys and Ralph secured their first victories of the Nissan TrailSeeker Series when they triumphed at Buffelsdrift
Philip Buys and Theresa Ralph took their first wins of the 2016 Nissan TrailSeeker Gauteng Series at Round 4, the Bundu Bash, held at Buffelsdrift MTB Park near Pretoria.
Buys wins the 69 km marathon
Buys, racing for SCOTT LCB Factory Racing, completed the men’s 69 km marathon in 2:25:18. Jan Withaar finished second in 2:26:11, while Buys’s teammate Arno du Toit took third in 2:27:31.
The route mixed wider gravel roads and jeep track in its opening half with a much larger concentration of twisting singletrack later in the race. Hot and dusty conditions helped stretch a field of roughly 700 riders.
Du Toit rode aggressively early, allowing Buys to stay with the main chase before the leading group came back together. Buys then used his familiarity with the Buffelsdrift singletrack to move clear late in the race.
Ralph takes the women’s victory
Theresa Ralph, riding for Galileo Risk, won the women’s race in 2:58:53. Adrienne Moolman of Lynwood Cyclery finished a little over a minute behind, with Tamaryn Kietzmann of Complete Cyclist completing the podium.
Ralph moved into the lead after the opening climb began to split the women’s field. From there she maintained her advantage through the technical second half to secure the win and strengthen her position in the series standings.
Leading men’s results
- Philip Buys — SCOTT LCB Factory Racing — 2:25:18
- Jan Withaar — Redhub — 2:26:11
- Arno du Toit — SCOTT LCB Factory Racing — 2:27:31
- Alan Gordon — 2:32:55
- Henry Uys — Complete Cyclist — 2:36:52
Event context
The Bundu Bash formed Round 4 of the 2016 Nissan TrailSeeker Gauteng Series at Buffelsdrift MTB Park. The next round, Diamond Rush, was scheduled for 26 November 2016 at Cullinan, east of Pretoria.