Nkomazi MTB is a thrilling conclusion to Mpumalanga Marathon Series
With over 450 competitors this year, Saturday's Nkomazi MTB Challenge in Malalane proved more popular than ever.
Hosted by Laerskool Malelane, the great camaraderie, fair weather and scenic routes winding through nearby farms showed the Nkomazi MTB Challenge was a fitting end to this year’s Mpumalanga Marathon Series.
Franco Pelser was named the male winner of the series. The female winners, in their respective categories, were Claudia Slattery and Heila Meintjies.
The half-marathon winners , in their respective categories, were Rikus Booyens, Reinhart Viljoen, Reynard van der Berg, Zandri Strydom, Hijke Coetzee and Suzanne Mare.
The Nkomazi MTB featured 10-, 19-, 35- and 65-kilometre routes and almost 100 more people than last year competed.
PHOTOS: Hundreds of cyclists take on the Nkomazi MTB Challenge
Nohan van Tonder, who was the overall male winner (65 kilometres), was named cyclist of the day. His time was 2:27:39. Claudia Slattery was the overall female winner of the 65 kilometres with a time of 3:11:56. Kimhan van der Merwe (1:14:42) and Hijke Coetzee (1:23:33) were the male and female winners of the 35 kilometres.
Other results:
65km:
Male:
Second: Christo Carelsen with 2:34:56
Third: Heine Engelbrecht with 2:34:57
Female:
Second: Neline Hoffman-Kellerman with 3:11:59
Third: Heila Meintjies with 3:20:45
35km:
Male:
Second: Emile Fourie with 1:14:43
Third: Rikus Booyens with 1:16:38
Female:
Second: Juanita Kammeyer with 1:29:15
Third: Suzanne Mare with 1:31:03
19km:
First: Jean Coetzee with 45:59
Second: Lohan Pelser with 46:01
Third: Nico Potgieter with 46:05
10km:
First: Zane du Toit with 29:18
Second: Karike Coetzee with 34:03
Third: Rayno Janse van Rensburg with 34:43
The organisers received a lot of positive feedback, with cyclists complimenting them on the standard of the routes and how enjoyable and challenging they were.
Two cyclists were injured during the race and Swift EMS transported them to hospital for treatment.
The organisers would like to thank main sponsor Malalane Toyota for its contributions, as well as Dirk Lourens for the work he put into the development and maintenance of the routes.
Thanks also went to MBM Protection Services and the businesses which manned the water points, as well as all the sponsors who supported the event.
