{"id":5710,"date":"2026-08-03T17:16:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T15:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/?p=5710"},"modified":"2026-08-03T17:16:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T15:16:53","slug":"pritzen-puts-in-perfect-performance-to-win-in-die-bosveld","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/03\/pritzen-puts-in-perfect-performance-to-win-in-die-bosveld\/","title":{"rendered":"Pritzen Puts in Perfect Performance to Win in Die Bosveld"},"content":{"rendered":"
Heading into the penultimate round of the Ford Trailseeker Series, in Die Bosveld, Marc Pritzen led Jaedon Terlouw by 20 points on the series leaderboard, while Sarah Mar\u00e9 held a 36-point advantage over Samantha Sanders. Pritzen\u2019s perfect performance and superbly executed ride to victory on Saturday, 1 August 2026, moves him a further 15 points clear of Terlouw. Sanders was able to reduce Mar\u00e9\u2019s buffer by claiming the Die Bosveld crown, but by finishing second, Mar\u00e9 was able to limit the damage and still has 26 points in hand over her Efficient Infiniti Insure teammate and Ford Trailseeker Series rival.<\/div>\n
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Photo:Elite Women\u2019s Die Bosveld Podium (from left to right): Tania Burgin Ortiz, Sarah Hill, Samantha Sanders, Rachel Seaman, and Frances Janse van Rensburg. Captured by Anthony Churchyard.<\/em><\/div>\n
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\u201cIt was good to feel myself again, without Unbound in my legs and a bit of sickness in my lungs,\u201d Marc Pritzen smiled. \u201cI was pretty fatigued and a bit ill coming into Sondela, so I wasn\u2019t able to race to my usual level there. Today it was great to look down and see the power numbers I know I\u2019m capable of producing.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Those numbers helped Pritzen create an early advantage and then hold off a chasing pack to win. \u201cI came to recce the route in the week and saw that a sprint finish was very likely if nobody got away early,\u201d Pritzen recounted. \u201cThat\u2019s why I gambled and went solo near the 20-kilometre mark. I knew I could build a gap there and if I could hold them off until the singletracks in the last 15 kilometres or so I\u2019d be able to stay away.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cI expected Marc to attack on that climb, but I thought we\u2019d bring him back, to be honest,\u201d Jan Withaar explained the chasers\u2019 perspective. \u201cWe had the two [Toyota Specialized] Imbuko guys [Terlouw and Ignatius du Preez], Michael Foster, and myself. That\u2019s a lot of horsepower! We could see him, at times, and managed to get close, but could never quite reel him in.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cApproaching the Ford Wildtrak segment, I knew if I had any chance of a result I\u2019d have to get into the singletrack ahead of Jadeon [Terlouw] and Inus [Ignatius du Preez]. I managed to get a bit of a gap on them, but I couldn\u2019t bridge across to Marc [Pritzen].\u201d<\/div>\n
Pritzen\u2019s advantage was never much more than 45 seconds, and his final margin of victory over Withaar was just 39 seconds. Terlouw completed the podium places, a further 10 seconds back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThe overall is realistically now beyond me, but I\u2019ll be going all in for victory in Wellington,\u201d Terlouw stated. \u201cIt\u2019s a home race for the Toyota Specialized Imbuko team, and winning there would be a great way to end the Ford Trailseeker Series.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThe [35-point] advantage is good, but it\u2019s not over yet,\u201d Pritzen warned. \u201cWellington will be another fiercely contested race in September. I\u2019ve sacrificed a lot to be at my best for the Highveld Ford Trailseeker Series races this year. I live in Cape Town now, but I haven\u2019t been home since April. With the events three weeks apart, it made sense to live up here at altitude rather than travel up and down. I\u2019m looking forward to getting home now!\u201d<\/div>\n
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Sarah Mar\u00e9, like Pritzen, has prioritized the Ford Trailseeker Series in 2026. By consistently scoring points, she has built a healthy lead over Samantha Sanders. Sanders had only started two of the four races before Saturday, but scored a maximum 40 points with a victory at Van Gaalen and 30 points for second at the Cradle. A second victory in Die Bosveld, after her win in Sondela, would have put Mar\u00e9 in an unassailable position. For the sake of excitement leading into the final round, Sanders\u2019 performance in Die Bosveld was vital.<\/div>\n
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The Efficient Infiniti Insure women initially worked together to distance themselves from their rivals on other teams. With a decisive advantage established over Rachel Seaman, Tania Bugarin Otiz, and Frances Swanepoel [n\u00e9e Janse van Rensburg]. \u201cAfter a bit of a break you never really know how your legs are going to feel,\u201d Sanders confessed. \u201cSo, I pushed the first 20 minutes quite hard to see where my legs were, and I was pleasantly surprised so I could push on. I had some admin with a derailleur battery too, but I was able to swap it out with my dropper seatpost battery, so it didn\u2019t really make any difference in the end.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Once Sanders was solo, she was able to hold Mar\u00e9 at bay, while Mar\u00e9 was herself equally adept at distancing the chasers in third, fourth and fifth on the trails. \u201cSam [Sanders] started us off really nicely, with a fast pace,\u201d Mar\u00e9 recounted. \u201cI\u2019ve raced with and against her a lot over the years, and I know how she likes to go out at a fast but steady pace. On the second climb, I thought I would take it up; it was there that Sam and I managed to distance the rest of the field.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cOn the third of those three climbs in the first 25 kilometres, my 3-minute power was just not quite good enough to stay with Sam over the summit,\u201d Mar\u00e9 said. \u201cFrom there it was a time trial to the finish, but if I have to come second to anyone, I\u2019m happy it was Sam!\u201d<\/div>\n
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Sanders crossed the Die Bosveld finish line 1 minute and 33 seconds ahead of Mar\u00e9. Behind the Efficient Infiniti Insure pairing, Seaman and Bugarin Ortiz were locked in a titanic tussle for third. \u201cThe course sort of suited me today,\u201d the 2025 South African Under 23 Road Race Champion stated. \u201cI loved the jeep track, but I have to admit that on the singletrack things fell apart a bit and my technical skills were up to maggots. I managed to fight my way back on the jeep tracks again though.\u201d<\/div>\n
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In the finale, Seaman outsprinted Bugarin Ortiz to claim her best yet Ford Trailseeker Series result. Seaman and Bugarin Ortiz were 4 minutes and 54 seconds down on the day\u2019s winner in third and fourth, ahead of Swanepoel, who rounded out the top five.<\/div>\n
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As a result, Mar\u00e9 leads Sanders by 26 points heading into the final round of the 2026 Ford Trailseeker Series. The Wellington leg takes place on Saturday, 12 September, from Bosman Family Vineyards. Entries for the final round are open and can be secured via the\u00a0www.trailseeker.co.za<\/u><\/a>\u00a0series website. To share in the excitement building up to the grand finale and to relive the highs of the season thus far,\u00a0follow\u00a0@trailseekerseriesmtb<\/u><\/a>\u00a0on Instagram, like the\u00a0Ford Trailseeker MTB Series<\/u><\/a>\u00a0Facebook page, and subscribe to the\u00a0Ford Trailseeker Series<\/u><\/a>\u00a0YouTube channel.<\/div>\n
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2026 Ford Trailseeker Series Die Bosveld Results<\/b><\/div>\n
Elite Men\u2019s Results\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
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  1. Marc Pritzen: Honeycomb 226ers (2:21:26)<\/li>\n
  2. Jan Withaar: Insect Science (2:22:05 | +39)<\/li>\n
  3. Jaedon Terlouw: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (2:22:15 | +49)<\/li>\n
  4. Ignatius du Preez: Toyota Specialized Imbuko (2:22:50 | +1:24)<\/li>\n
  5. \n
    Johan van Zyl: Insect Science (2:24:56 | +3:30)<\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    Elite Women\u2019s Results<\/i><\/div>\n
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    1. Samantha Sanders: Efficient Infiniti Insure (2:51:46)<\/li>\n
    2. Sarah Mar\u00e9: Efficient Infiniti Insure (2:53:19 | +1:33)<\/li>\n
    3. Rachel Seaman: Cycle Nation Enza Construction (2:56:40 | +4:54)<\/li>\n
    4. Tania Bugarin Otiz: Tshenolo Pro Cycling (2:56:40 | +4:54)<\/li>\n
    5. \n
      Frances Swanepoel: Cycle Nation Enza Construction (2:57:37 | +5:51)<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Heading into the penultimate round of the Ford Trailseeker Series, in Die Bosveld, Marc Pritzen led Jaedon Terlouw by 20 points on the series leaderboard, Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5711,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5710","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=5710"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5712,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5710\/revisions\/5712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}