McDougall claims the title in Sabie
It was a different ball game among the women as Amy Beth McDougall stormed almost 20 minutes ahead of second-placed Samantha Sanders.
The German Bulls Team, that are currently visiting SA for their Cape Epic preparation, dominated the 80-kilometre field in one of the toughest events on the mountain-biking calendar, the Sabie Classic.
The already difficult race turned into an extreme challenge by the heavy rain that preceded the event. A total of 700 riders arrived to sample what Sabie is best known for – mountains and views.
Among the local lads, only Nico Bell managed to put up some competition, managing to pull off a respectable fourth place behind the Bulls’ clean sweep of the podium.
Previous winner Urs Huber was again first to cross the finish line, sharing the podium with teammates Tim Bohme and Simon Steipjan, who were second and third respectively.
It was a different ball game among the women as Amy Beth McDougall stormed almost 20 minutes ahead of second-placed Samantha Sanders. McDougall finished the 80-kilometre race in 4:17,36, followed by Sanders in 4:37,22.
The 42-kilometre event saw Reinhard Viljoen and Zandri Strydom dominate their categories.
This year’s route featured an extra 250-metre climb in the first seven kilometres, which started before riders moved out to the Maritzbos Hut and the infamous Mamba Switchbacks (350 metres of ascent in 3,5 kilometres).
According to Brett Coates, director of Mountain Biking South Africa, the 2018 Sabie Classic was once a again a huge success, especially with the new sponsor Builders Warehouse on board.
“The organisers went all out to make the day a full family affair with distances to suit all riders and market stalls to keep the spectators occupied,” he concluded.
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