Family Feuds or Family Fun at the BUCO Dr Evil Classic

1. Family bragging rights were the driving force behind Nicky Giliomee’s stellar performance on the opening day of the BUCO Dr Evil Classic. Photo by Oakpics.com

Published: September 19th, 2019

Knysna’s Giliomee and Bosman Families are taking part in the BUCO Dr Evil Classic as a family adventure. Like all families though, they are not immune from a healthy dose of sibling rivalry. Or in the Giliomee’s case sibling and parental rivalries.

Brothers Jaco and Cecil Bosman are riding the three-day mountain bike stage race as a team. As are the father and son combination, of Hein and Benjamin Giliomee. That leaves a family member spare in each clan. The third Bosman brother, François, and Hein’s daughter, Nicky, are thus riding solo. On the opening day of the race the solo riders held the upper hand.

Benjamin Giliomee who is riding with his father, Hein, and the Bosman Brothers Jaco and Cecil had to make do with runner up positions in the intra-family competitions. Photo by Oakpics.com.

The 9 minute 31 second lead François had established, after 71 kilometres of riding, is noteworthy. Especially, given the shorter second and third stages of the 2019 BUCO Dr Evil Classic. Between the Giliomees the gap was even bigger, at 20 minutes and 50 seconds.

Those time gaps may sound significant, and when family bragging rights are at stake even the smallest of advantages is, but the BUCO Karoo to Coast is the wild card up Jaco, Cecil, Hein and Benjamin’s sleeves. The de facto fourth stage of the BUCO Dr Evil Classic is South Africa’s most popular single day mountain biking event. Each year it attracts 4 500 riders to the 100-kilometre route from Uniondale, in the Karoo, to Kynsna, on the coast. The time gaps between the various family members could run into hours after Sunday; regardless of who holds the advantage now.

The wildlife of the Plettenberg Bay Game Reserve once again put on a show for the BUCO Dr Evil Classic riders. Photo by Oakpics.com.

Nicky Giliomee is not taking the talk of competition too seriously though. Despite there being R50 000 worth of prizes, in the Best of Both Worlds competition, on offer for the fastest accumulated time for the two events. “Everyone is just here to relax and enjoy their bikes. It makes it so special. Personally, I don’t know how I am going to feel on the fourth day of racing” the Solo Women’s stage winner said. “Today was really awesome though. Zandile [Meneses] and Leon [Evans] put on such a good show. This morning when we left the Plettenberg Bay Game Reserve we had to stop as a herd of wildebeest ran across the road” Giliomee laughed. “It’s such a beautiful setting for a mountain bike race and we’re really lucky to be able to ride here.”

Looking ahead to the next two days she added: “Stage 2 and 3 will definitely feature more singletrack, especially the last day in the Harkerville Forest. This race caters for all types of riders and everyone enjoys it. So, I’m really looking forward to the next two days.”

KMC’s Martin Schuttertt won the opening stage in an impressive time of 2 hours, 49 minutes and 49 seconds. Photo by Oakpics.com.

While the families were battling it out for bragging rights, Martin Schuttertt raced to stage victory, 6 minutes and 21 seconds ahead of Matthew Leppan. Schuttertt hails from the Netherlands and extended a trip to South Africa to take part in the BUCO Dr Evil Classic and BUCO Karoo to Coast. The KMC rider will be tough to beat over the coming four days, but as many a rider has mentioned the final kilometres of the BUCO Karoo to Coast route are not the place to discover you have expended too much energy at the BUCO Dr Evil Classic.

Stage 2 starts and finishes at Kurland Hotel and features 45 kilometres of riding with 880 metres of climbing. To keep updated on proceedings form Plettenberg Bay mountain biking fans can follow @DrEvilClassic on Twitter. While to view all the photos and videos please follow @drevilclassic on Instagram or like the Dr Evil Classic Facebook page.