Mankele Cross Country MTB a gruelling test of technical ability
The race organiser said that the course was designed to test the technical abilities of riders taking it on.
This year’s provincial Mpumalanga Cross Country Mountain Biking Championships were held at the Mankele Mountain Biking Club on Sunday. This followed the Spur Schools MTB Series final, which was held there the previous day.
According to race organiser, Mark Meyer, 144 participants entered the race, which included the u/10 to grand master categories. Meyer described the race as more of a technical ride which challenged the riders’ abilities to negotiate the rocky route over 3,8 kilometres on the shorter loop and 4,6 kilometres on the longer loop.
“This was a once-off standalone event which required the riders to dig deep into their technical abilities. So the intensity is a lot higher because it is a very difficult course. It was a hot day with good racing and a high skill level from the riders, because we had no injuries,” he said.
ALSO READ: Snake season to start soon
The competition had a few familiar faces from the previous day’s racing, including Aiden Meyer in the nipper category, who placed second on the day. Le Roux van der Leek, who triumphed in the previous day’s racing, put on another great display of technical expertise on the rough terrain and recorded another win in the sprog boys’ category.
Mikaela Goelst and Luan Snyman also returned for a second time and their abilities in the saddle was made evident after they repeated the previous day’s feat with great performances on the course.
ALSO READ: Racers juggle speed with limited battery power
In the men’s and women’s youth categories, Ruhan Dreyer and Bernice van Wyk put up spirited performances and blew away the competition over the gruelling course.
In the junior men’s category, Reinhart Viljoen and Jean du Plessis stayed close on one another’s wheels, drawing cheers of excitement from the spectators as they raced to the finish.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Silulumanzi explains why water bills might be high at community meeting
The pair was virtually neck and neck, with only a few milliseconds separating them, but Viljoen sprinted over the line with a time of 00:59:55 to Du Plessis’s 00:59:59.
