Riding under the banner of the Nashua Care Riders, local cyclists Sanet Griesel and Lizle Rosenstein, accompanied by Natasha van der Berg, Maretha Bezuidenhout and Karen Vermaak, showed true grit during the Munga Equipe, where they covered the 1 129km distance from Bloemfontein to Wellington within 2 days, 14 hours and 10 minutes.

The Care Riders ladies team was one of four Care Rider teams to compete in what is considered to be the toughest MTB race in the world, to raise funds for the scholastic needs of the Middelburg Care Village.

Local Ironman champ Sanet explained that the all-ladies team was a dream borne by Thiesa Janse van Rensburg and Tim Calitz, who saw the ladies through as team managers.

Thiesa and Tim have long been dreaming about entering an all-ladies team into the Munga, until Thiesa sustained an injury during the Cape Epic, which prevented her from competing herself.

Sanet, who has competed in numerous Ironman World Championships, and who is no stranger to physical endurance, explained that the Munga came with challenges unparalleled to anything she had ever experienced, “Every single lady on the team was dedicated and well-prepared, and I don’t think we would have done so well if it hadn’t been for the fact that everything ran surprisingly smooth.”

Sanet described how very abandoned each cyclist is during the Munga. How each lady had to cycle over 200km alone with nothing but navigational devices.

“Traditional of the Karoo, you can’t always find a cellular network, which means that if something went wrong, you’d lie there for hours before someone could come to your aid or rescue.”

Lizle, whose shift started at 01:00 and rode in the darkness of the early morning, at some point called Sanet, believing she was off track, “She was alone, with no one in sight and nothing but her bike, GPS and her light. So you can imagine how very isolated you feel.”

Sanet explained how each team member had to undergo challenges that were unique to them.

“Natasha and Lizle rode in the dark. Maretha caught the unbearable heat, Karen and I were completely isolated with no one in sight and I caught the strong winds the Tankwa is known for,” Sanet explained.

Lizle and Sanet were both overwhelmed by how much camaraderie and mutual support was show by the whole group of Care Riders, including family and friends.

“We prayed together, joked together and every day words of encouragement were shared. There was no tension, no arguments, everyone was in high spirits and extremely positive.”

• The Nashua Care Riders consisted of the following cyclists:

Team one: Sanet Griesel, Lizle Rosenstein, Natasha van der Berg, Maretha Bezuidenhout, Karen Vermaak, and team managers Thiesa Janse van Rensburg and Tim Calitz (2d;14hr;10min).

Team two: Andre Brandmuller, Leon Brugman, Roger Henriques, Bertus Haring, Muzi Khumalo and team manager Herman Steyn (2d; 21hr; 54min).

Team three: PC Nell, Johan Odendaal, Johan van Rensburg, Rudy van der Walt, Riaan du Preez and team manager Willie van Straaten (finished but did not place).

Team four: Francois Stapelberg, Jonathan Lennox, Jaco Kruger, Adriaan van Wyk, Pieter du Preez and team managers Frans Stapelberg and Jaco Kruger (3d; 6hr; 51min).

Solo riders: Jaap and Elmien Beyers (4d; 21hr; 8min).

Andre Brandmuller gave the following comment on behalf of the Nashua Care Riders:

“The Care Riders were a special group of people who left Bloemfontein as a team and arrived in Wellington as an even stronger team. We are proud of our ladies, who won the Equipe, and very grateful for the support we received from the community. The children of Middelburg Care Village will benefit from better schooling because the Care Riders raised a sum of R150 000 towards their education. We are still open for further donations, and any contributions can be made via GivenGain of the Middelburg Care Village account.”

Donations can be made by visiting the following link: https://www.givengain.com/cause/middelburgcarevillage