The Ashburton Sabie Classic 2015 on Saturday and Sunday had everything a race in the national series, and CSA and UCI sanctioned races, should have.

For 17 years it has been the benchmark marathon mountain-biking race against which all others are judged. More than 2 000 riders converged in Sabie to experience what is known as South Africa’s Mecca of mountain biking.

Cyclists were welcomed by misty mornings on both days, but just an hour after the race started, the temperatures soared past 30 degrees. But that didn’t keep Max Knox and Ariane Kleynhans from walking away with the spoils in the ultramarathon. This was Knox’s second victory in this particular race. He also deputed his new team, Biogen Volcon and will aim for the African jersey at the Cape Epic with his partner Kevin Evans. Kleynhans, the Swiss National Marathon Champion, reigned supreme in the women category with an excellent time that deserves a feather in her cap – or helmet so to speak.

As most racers in the Lowveld proved to be generous on many different occasions, this one was no different. A great example among many others was when Jan Delport thought that his race would be a sorry tale again. He had a sidewall cut inflicted on his back wheel, after which he messed up the valve and thought his race was over. Then his fellow riders gave him a spare tube. Two kind guys at the first water point lent him a hand to fix it. He could at least carry on until his chain derailed and landed in the spokes.

Again there were helping hands to assist and he could continue up the brutal Mamba section. He managed to finish the race thanks to the MTB camaraderie.

The dreaded Mamba saw many riders push their bikes the whole way up the mountain, followed by the exit of the Iverness single tracks where many riders could take a breather in the shade of the pine trees. After the last water point at Tweefontein it was clear that the route was starting to take its toll and dehydration was becoming an imminent risk.

By the time riders approached the many single tracks towards the end they had not forgotten about the challenges the route had to offer and lingered on to the finish line.