‘Manic’ mango mania ride

The event had to be postponed after heavy rainfall in the Hoedspruit area in February but was lauded by cyclists for its great organisation. In the 70km challenge, Gert Peens took first place overall followed closely by Komborero Bere, who took second place overall. These two elite cyclists crossed the finish line with only four seconds between them. Walt Katzke took third place overall and first place in the veteran category.

Shani Rudder was the first woman to cross the finish line, winning the women’s elite category as well. Elvy Canadas took second place overall and won the women’s veteran category. Suzette Roode took third place overall and won the women’s masters category. The 35km race was highly contested with a sprint finish between the first five but it was Henro van der Walt who took first place with a time of 01:10:26.

Also read: Mango Mania MTB postponed for safety reasons

Willie Willemse Jr took second place with a time of 01:10:27. Gordan Noel took third place overall with a time of 01:10:28. Waldo Strijdom crossed the finish line with 1:10:29 on the clock and took fourth place overall and Jacques du Preez took fifth place with a time of 1:10:30. Anke Rood was the first woman to cross the finish line with a time of 01:20:10. She took on the 35km challenge with her father, Dick Rood who finished the race a second later.

Lianke Fourie took second place and Dané Strijdom took third place. A total of 178 cyclists took on the 35km race. In the 15km challenge, Martin Haines took first place followed by Adriaan Rabe (sub-junior) in second place and Lohan van der Walt (Nippers) in third place. Mary Jane Rabie (Sprogs) took first place in the women’s division with Yvette Snyders and Tania Steyn in second and third place, respectively. On the e-bikes, Lisa Michelle Botha took first place in the 35km challenge and Barend Vorster took on the 70km challenge.