<p>Specialized's Burry Stander confirmed his status as South Africa's undisputed number one mountain biker when he won the SA Marathon Championships at Inanda near Durban this past weekend.</p><p>
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Stander beat the defending champion Kevin Evans in a sprint to the finish line for his second national title this season after winning the SA Cross Country Championships two weekends ago. Stander won the marathon title for the first time in 2009.</p><p>
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"I'm happy to win this title again, especially in my home province. I'm in good form right now and the course definitely suited me. I would have liked not have to sprint against Kevin for the win at the end, but I was feeling really strong still and had checked out the finish before the race in case it came down to the sprint," said Stander on www.treadmag.co.za.</p><p>
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With halfway to go in the 80km only six riders were left to fight for the title - Stander, Evans, David George, Rourke Croeser, Philip Buys and Brandon Stewart. </p><p>
</p><p>
Stander had other plans though with some singletrack on the route and when he made the pace harder only Evans was able to follow. The 23-year-old wanted to be in front for the singletrack. </p><p>
</p><p>
"I made some mistakes near the end which allowed Kevin to get ahead of me on the singletrack. I wanted to be ahead of him because he looked like he was suffering a bit and I planned to attack him from further out. But it came down to the sprint and I was still feeling sharp which worked in my favor."</p><p>
</p><p>
Next on the calendar for Stander is the Cape Epic which starts on 27 March. Christoph Sauser will be his partner in this stage race over eight days.</p>
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</p><p>
Stander beat the defending champion Kevin Evans in a sprint to the finish line for his second national title this season after winning the SA Cross Country Championships two weekends ago. Stander won the marathon title for the first time in 2009.</p><p>
</p><p>
"I'm happy to win this title again, especially in my home province. I'm in good form right now and the course definitely suited me. I would have liked not have to sprint against Kevin for the win at the end, but I was feeling really strong still and had checked out the finish before the race in case it came down to the sprint," said Stander on www.treadmag.co.za.</p><p>
</p><p>
With halfway to go in the 80km only six riders were left to fight for the title - Stander, Evans, David George, Rourke Croeser, Philip Buys and Brandon Stewart. </p><p>
</p><p>
Stander had other plans though with some singletrack on the route and when he made the pace harder only Evans was able to follow. The 23-year-old wanted to be in front for the singletrack. </p><p>
</p><p>
"I made some mistakes near the end which allowed Kevin to get ahead of me on the singletrack. I wanted to be ahead of him because he looked like he was suffering a bit and I planned to attack him from further out. But it came down to the sprint and I was still feeling sharp which worked in my favor."</p><p>
</p><p>
Next on the calendar for Stander is the Cape Epic which starts on 27 March. Christoph Sauser will be his partner in this stage race over eight days.</p>
More...