A missed turn around 12km from the finish of the final stage resulted in the Nedbank 360Life team of Kevin Evans and David George losing the 2011 Subaru Sani2C. But on reflection, they gained more from the three-day race than they lost.

Having won the first two stages and holding a lead of more than two minutes over their nearest rivals, George and Evans were in rampant form come Saturday’s final leg.

They made the pace hard on the early climbs and narrowed the lead group down to just four teams, themselves, MTN Do It Now’s Max Knox and Adrien Niyonshuti, Cycle Lab Toyota's Andrew McLean and Shan Wilson and RE:CM’s Neil MacDonald and Waylon Woolcock.

Eager to complete the race on a high note and give their sponsors, who were waiting at the finish, additional exposure, Evans and George attacked on the final climb 15km from the end and held around a 30-second gap over their rivals as they sped towards the finish at Scottburgh beach.

“We had a taxi driving in front of us, kicking up dust. And as we were doing around 50kph, the taxi obscured our vision and on a badly marked corner we missed the left hand turn. Only once we ran out of markings, did we turn around to find the route and pick up where we left off,” explained Evans.

By the time they returned to the race route, they’d lost minutes, their stage lead and the overall lead.

“What I found most disappointing was the fact that the top teams saw us go wrong. But it seems that in the spirit of mountain biking now, they decided to rather race full steam to the finish instead of perhaps just waiting for us to rejoin them. Disappointing but I guess it was our mistake and one which they took full advantage of,” added Evans.

MacDonald and Woolcock won the stage ahead of Knox and Niyonshuti. Evans and George finished the stage in seventh place, more than five minutes behind the stage winners. This dropped them down to third overall in the provisional results. However, the event organisers decided not to amend the results, handing the title to Knox and Niyonshuti.

“Not the nicest way to win a race, but they seemed very happy on the podium,” said George. “It was the most disappointing race of my life and it was a sad day for mountain biking. We’re more disappointed for our sponsors than ourselves. They have been so supportive and deserved the exposure. But we’re not going to dwell on the past and are focussing on more important races over the next few weeks.”

George and Evans have set their sights on finishing on the podium at the 2011 Marathon World Championships in Montello, Italy, on 26 June. But first they’ll be contesting some build-up races in Europe to help fine-tune their form.

They’ll begin with the Craft Trans-Germany, a four-day stage race from 1-4 June, followed by the Willengen Ultra-marathon on 12 June and the Black Forest Ultra Bike Marathon on 19 June.

“We didn’t win Sani2C, but what we got from the event was confirmation that my shoulder is fully mended, our form is good, our equipment is very reliable and our sponsors are as supportive as ever,” said Evans.

“Last year we went to the World Champs with very little racing preparation and it showed. This year, thanks to our sponsors, we have a proper build-up programme and infrastructure, including a mechanic and a masseuse,” said George.

“We’ve had a mixture of success and disappointment in South Africa this year and are looking forward to more of the former in Europe.”