{"id":4739,"date":"2025-07-28T07:01:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T05:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/?p=4739"},"modified":"2025-08-02T07:06:27","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T05:06:27","slug":"pritzen-and-jacobs-top-the-podium-at-ford-trailseeker-van-gaalen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/28\/pritzen-and-jacobs-top-the-podium-at-ford-trailseeker-van-gaalen\/","title":{"rendered":"Pritzen and Jacobs Top the Podium at Ford Trailseeker Van Gaalen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Van Gaalen, North West, 27 July 2025<\/em> \u2013 A crisp winter morning gave way to red-hot racing at the fifth event of the 2025 Ford Trailseeker Series, held on the iconic trails of Van Gaalen. With over 2,100 riders lining up, the day delivered tactical brilliance, thrilling finishes, and a fierce display of mountain biking from some of South Africa\u2019s top athletes.<\/p>\n

Header Image: From left to right: Bianca Haw (2rd), Tyler Jacobs (1st), and Sarah Hill (3nd).<\/em>
\nPhoto: Arnon George van der Spuy<\/em><\/p>\n

Pritzen Powers to Solo Victory<\/b><\/p>\n

The elite men\u2019s race played out as a tightly controlled tactical affair, with the front group holding formation for much of the day. But when it mattered most, South African Marathon Champion Marc Pritzen of Team Honeycomb 226ers made his move. Launching a decisive attack in the final kilometres, he distanced himself from the chasers and crossed the line solo in a commanding time of 2:30:29.8. \u201cIt\u2019s a good win in the national colours,\u201d said Pritzen after the race, proudly representing South Africa on the top step.<\/p>\n

The fight for second came down to a heart-pounding sprint. Jaedon Terlouw of PYGA Eurosteel edged out reigning African Champion Travis Stedman of Toyota Specialized by just half a second. Terlouw finished in 2:31:42.6, with Stedman close behind in 2:31:43.1. \u201cIt was a fast day,\u201d said Terlouw. \u201cHaving raced here before, I knew I had to be first into the singletrack. That made the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacobs Attacks Early for Commanding Win<\/b><\/p>\n

In the elite women\u2019s race, Tyler Jacobs delivered a bold and calculated performance. She made her intentions clear from the outset, launching an early solo move on the Ford Everest climb and riding clear with a lead of nearly four minutes.<\/p>\n

Bianca Haw chased hard, closing the gap on the flatter stretches of the course. But as the trail turned uphill once more near the Greek Church climb, Jacobs surged ahead again and sealed the victory in 2:56:59.2.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really know what to expect coming into this,\u201d said Jacobs. \u201cThere were a lot of strong women on the start line. I got a gap on the first climb, but Bianca pulled it back. On the final climb, I managed to get away again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haw crossed the line in 2:58:48.8 to secure second place, with Sarah Hill pushing through for third in 3:06:25.2, rounding out a fiercely competitive women\u2019s podium.<\/p>\n

A Celebration of Community\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

There\u2019s something truly special about bringing the mountain biking community together, and that\u2019s exactly what the Ford Trailseeker Series is all about. With a range of distances on offer, the event caters for everyone. \u201cThere\u2019s something special about Van Gaalen,\u201d said Race Director Pieter Vorster. \u201cThe trails, the venue, the people, it all came together this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post-race vibe at Van Gaalen was nothing short of festive. The venue, nestled in the heart of the Magaliesberg, was alive with energy as friends and families basked in the winter sunshine. Finish line reunions and laughter-filled race stories created a scene that captured the spirit of the day.<\/p>\n

Next Stop, the Series Finale, 13 September\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The series now shifts to its final event in the 2025 Series, #6 Wellington, on 13 September, with leaderboard titles up for grabs and one last chance to soak in the Ford Trailseeker magic. The grand finale in the Cape Winelands is set to be a spectacle with the overall marathon series winners taking home R100 000, adding extra fire to what\u2019s already shaping up to be a fiercely contested finish.<\/p>\n

Enter here:\u00a0https:\/\/trailseeker.co.za\/mtb\/events\/6-wellington\/<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

Results<\/b><\/p>\n

Elite Men<\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Marc Pritzen | 2:30:29.8<\/li>\n
  2. Jaedon Terlouw | 2:31:42.6\u00a0 (+1:12.8)<\/li>\n
  3. Travis Stedman | 2:31:43.1\u00a0 (+1:13.3)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Elite Women<\/b><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Tyler Jacobs | 2:56:59.2<\/li>\n
    2. Bianca Haw | 2:58:48.8\u00a0 (+1:49.6)<\/li>\n
    3. Sarah Hill | 3:06:25.2\u00a0 (+9:26)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Van Gaalen, North West, 27 July 2025 \u2013 A crisp winter morning gave way to red-hot racing at the fifth event of the 2025 Ford Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4740,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[208],"class_list":["post-4739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycling","tag-van-gaalen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4739"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4741,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4739\/revisions\/4741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}