Durban resident Brent Yelland has confirmed that on Saturday, 13 May he will be back to defend his aQuellé Tour Durban MTB title that he won in 2022 on the trails surrounding Cornubia Mall.

Riders have three different options to choose from in terms of distance with the 10km, 20km and 40km marathon all available and all offering excitement and fun for the riders taking part.

For the 21 year-old Yelland, it was a simple decision to return to a place that holds good memories for him.

“It’s the closest race to my house so I couldn’t not come back and race my home race,” the UKZN mechanical engineering student said.

“I know the trails around Cornubia well and last year I rode the track twice before, so I had a good understanding of what to do on the day, and I am going to do that again this year.”

With this year’s edition forming part of the Quattro ROAG KZN MTB Series, it has an added incentive for riders hoping to claim overall honours at the end of the season. Yelland believes that the Tour Durban is a good opportunity for him to gain valuable points.

“I think that the track at the Tour Durban really plays to my strengths,” he added.

“There isn’t too much single track and it’s hard and fast for the majority of the race until the final climb which is close to the finish.

“Last year I managed to get to that final climb and dropped the guys because if you put the pressure on then, you can see the cracks forming.

“After the climb it’s just a sprint to the finish and last year I managed to get ahead on that climb which gave me the gap I needed to cross the line first.”

Recently Yelland partnered up with the vastly experienced Andrew Hill to win the North Coast Challenger Three-Day race and the youngster learnt a lot from one of KZN’s premier MTB stars.

“We had a puncture and Andrew knew exactly what to do and how to stay calm. He knew how we needed to pace ourselves to catch up in a chase and he also taught me a lot about pacing myself in stage races.

“It was awesome to ride with him and I learnt so much over that race.”

The fourth-year student continues to impress given his constant juggling between his university studies and his competitive racing.

“I don’t have a sponsor, a coach or a team but I ride in my UKZN colours.

“With my studies I have to put in a big bulk of my training over November, December, January and February and then try and maintain that level because I don’t have time for seriously long rides.

“I would love to find a sponsor or two to help, but I am happy to work and then ride national events. On a national level I think, on my day, I could win,” Yelland commented.