The fourth and final leg of the South African National Cross-country Mountain Bike Series saw some high-paced racing at Mankele on Saturday.
Reigning SA champion and South African World Cup rider, Alan Hatherly, made the trip from the Western Cape and made his intentions clear from the gun.
Hatherly has had an amazing 2018 so far. He came third at the Commonwealth Games and second at the u/23 World Cup two weeks ago.
After seven laps, with his best one being the first at just under 11 minutes, he finished in a total time of 01:18:42.
Though Stuart Marais gave him a good run for his money, the gap widened after each lap and four minutes separated the two.
Local hero, Wessel Botha from team NAD, stepped up to the plate to pull off a well-deserved third place.
“Stuart and Alan are in good form at the moment and I did my best to maintain the gap with the front two riders. I managed to stay within 20 to 30 seconds of Stuart. I am very happy with my first Elite podium at the SA MTB Cup and I have something to work from for SA Champs,” Botha said.
Mopani rider, Franco Pelser, threw in the towel as flu got the better of him after two laps.
Capetonian, Candice Lill dominated the women’s race from the start, beating last year’s SA champion, Mariske Strauss, by more than three minutes.
In third place was Sarah Hill with a time of 1:27,14 followed by local rider, Amy Beth McDougall who finished almost
12 minutes behind the leader.
After a showstopping sprint to the finish, junior female, Zandri Strydom, pulled off an amazing win in 1:13,26.
Here are the winners in their respective categories:
Seven laps
Elite (M) – Alan Hatherly – 1:18,42
Six laps
Elite (F) – Candice Lill – 1:22,13
Junior (M) – Alexander Miller 1:13,26
Five laps 
Junior (F) – Zandri Strydom 1:13,26
Four laps
Youth (M) – Travis Stedman – 50:59
Sprog (M) – Francois de Jager – 42:46
Sub vet ladies – Cristelle le Roux – 1:10,26
Sub vet men – Dion Froneman – 52:19
Veteran men – Paul Davies – 57:13
Three laps
Sub junior (M) – Ruan Jansen van Vuuren – 43:11
Youth (F) – Jone van Eeden – 48:49
Sprog (F) – Hannah Elliott – 35:13
Nipper (M) – Josh Johnson – 35:37
Two laps
Nipper (F) – Danel de Jager – 26:48
Sub junior (F) – Emily van Heerden – 32:55