Ballito cyclists shone at the first-ever Peschlsports Cane Challenger mountain bike race in Umhlanga last Sunday.

Presented by Cycle Lab, the race attracted more than 400 riders, who lined up just after dawn at Cornubia Mall to tackle rocky, sandy trails winding through the sugarcane fields of Umhlanga and Umdloti.

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An additional 9km run was held on the morning. Led by DriveTrain Academy, local riders claimed a series of MTB podiums, with female riders winning two of the three titles.

Sheffield’s Rouxda Grobler delivered a standout performance, taking top honours in the veteran 40-49 category and the 60km race overall in 2:32:13. “The race was great but tough. There was a lot of pedalling; it felt like I was constantly pedalling,” she said.

Kylie Harborth (2:46:05) won the women’s sub-veteran 30-39 category and finished third overall in the 60km event.

In the 40km race, Curro Salt Rock Grade 11 pupil Natalie Kluza claimed victory in the junior women’s 17-18 category in 1:49:22. The 16-year-old finished ninth overall out of 145 riders and won the overall women’s category by 11 minutes.

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“I really enjoyed the course, especially the uphills – I love them. It’s where I can pull away from the other riders.”

The men’s 60km race was won by Tayne Rudling (2:08:15) of Port Shepstone, who edged DriveTrain coach Tyronne White by 16 seconds. White still claimed victory in the veteran men’s 40-49 category.

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Daniel van der Watt led early before a mechanical issue dropped him to third overall in 2:11:24, earning second in the senior men’s 20-29 division.

“It was awesome to have a local race,” said White. “It was fast and hard. Tayne was too strong, but I’m happy with second and proud of my team.”

Additional podium finishes for Ballito riders included Luke Pretorius (2:22:40), third in the junior men’s 17-18; Joel Stransky (2:31:33), third in the men’s masters 50-59; Jo-Anne Rogers-White (3:10:23), second in the women’s sub-veteran 30-39 and Jill Peach (3:10:33), third in the women’s sub-veteran.

In the 20km race, Sophie Bircher (1:06:31) and Millie Buckley (1:07:14) placed second and third in the sub-junior girls’ 13-14 category.