Team Contego's Knipe Proves a Point
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 15:47Team Contego's Louis-Bresler Knipe won the Porcupine Ridge MTB Challenge over 49km in Franschhoek at the weekend in less than two hours.
The 22-year-old got the better of David George (360Life) who finished second, while Dominic Calitz took the last spot on the winner's podium. Knipe's teammate Adriaan Louw finished fifth.
“The pace was high right from the start,” said Knipe. “Timo Cooper attacked and together with David, Shan Wilson, Dominic and I, we got away from the group. On the first big climb David, Dominic and I were on our own – a nice solid climb of 4km – and shortly before the top we dropped Dominic.”
Louis-Bresler Knipe won the weekend's Porcupine Ridge MTB Challenge in style, completing the challenging course in less than 2 hours. Photo: suppliedKnipe broke his saddle and struggled to find his rhythm, but the gap that George had created was never too big for Knipe to lose sight of him. He finally found a comfortable position on the broken saddle and started to close the gap.
“I could feel that I was riding strong and that the gap was getting smaller,” continued Knipe. “On the long steep downhill I got closer and closer and with only 6km to go, joined George in the lead. Feeling strong, I made a break, managed to get a gap and with some hard riding I managed to keep the gap and win the race.”
The hot and windy conditions did not make for an easy day of racing, with tiders tackling everything from sand to rocks and gravel, fast downhills and some good climbs. “I gave it my all the whole time,” aid Knipe. “I had so much fun on the Giant 29'er. I'm really thankful for this bike, because the route is hard on the body and bike. I would have liked more single track, but I do understand that the terrain here makes it difficult for more single tracks. The route was perfect for a power rider.”
Standing tall at 1,92m power is one of Knipe's biggest assets. As a former downhill champion Knipe is ready to take his cross-country career to the next level. “I really feel that I have what it takes thanks to some great support from those around me. I can already see a difference in the short time I have been working harder than usual.”