Bikers endure hot conditions and a challenging course outside Mbombela

The fourth round of the Mpumalanga Enduro mountain biking event took place at Friends Café on Saturday September 16.

Riders from all corners of the province and even some outsiders too had to endure excruciating hot weather, which made the already challenging course even more demanding.

It was an adrenaline-packed event, showcasing some mountain biking brilliance as cyclists glided around sharp turns with ease and even tried their hand at some daring jumps.

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Two options were available for cyclists to compete in: the lite version and the full enduro.

One could easily guess the level of difficulty just by looking at the names!

The lite version featured approximately 20km of epic trails with a total elevation gain of 400m, while the full enduro asked a lot more questions from the riders. They put themselves to the test on a 25km route with a whopping 800m elevation gain.

Willie van Eck was not only first in his category (full enduro), but also managed to bag an overall first position. He finished the course in a blistering 08:33.862.

Short on his tracks was Tyrone Anders. He placed second overall, adding just about 15 seconds to Van Eck’s time.

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The full enduro’s top three in the senior male category was wrapped up by Christiaan Smit. He finished fourth overall.

A lot of the riders felt brave, and out of the 42, only 12 opted to enter into the lite version.

In this category, Joshua Oosthuizen (10) was the first in, three minutes faster than the young Wihan van Niekerk (7) who crossed the finish line in second place.

Reinhardt Strydom (10) claimed third. All three these boys competed in the nipper category (10 and below) of the 20km race.

All in all, the day can be summarised in only a few words; extremely hot, challenging, fast-paced and loads of fun!