Following an “absence” of two years, the Akkedis Mountainbike race was held again on Saturday and it lived up to its reputation of being one of the toughest but also most enjoyable mountainbike races in the country.

Even the weather played along and thick mist made life difficult for the competitors in the 70-kilometre event. This was no deterrent, however, to the 18-year-old local rider, CP van Wyk, who finished in 03:14:47, almost 10 minutes before another local rider, Shaun Constable (03:24:15). Heinro Malan took the overall third spot in 03:26:01.

The race had a distinctive “orange” colour this year, as almost two dozen riders wore orange cycling shirts to create awareness for multiple sclerosis. Several of the water points were also clad in orange to support the cause.

The shorter 35-kilometre event drew well over 100 entries and in this race, Louis Blom dominated. His time of 01:27:24 was more than three minutes faster than that of Steve Wilson, who finished in 01:31:57. Joshua Selfe ended third in 01:32:11 with the first local rider, Bas Rennings, in fourth place in 01:33:27.

In the 70-kilometre event, the first lady home was Nicole van der Greft in a time of 04:08:47. Lenise Henning was second (04:33:30) and Cherrie Siebert third (04:56:21). In the ladies categories, Nicole and Lenise were the first and second seniors. Marnelle Pessegueiro was the first sub-veteran home in 05:39:16 and Jernay McLeod won the Veteran class by finishing in 05:39:21.

The first senior home was Heinro Malan, with Corné van Deventer (03:57:31) in second place. Shaun Constable won the sub-veteran category, with Mario Ferreira (03:38:40) in second place.

The veteran category was strongly contested, but Eddy Teixeira claimed the first prize by finishing in 03:26:03, more than 27 minutes before local doctor, Casper Venter (03:53:40).

Stephanus Eksteen was the first Master home in 03:59:34, with Elmo Barnardt in second place in 04:34:33.

Anton and Adri van Zyl entered on a tandem and became the first couple to complete the gruelling 70-kilometre race on a tandem. They finished in 06:59:08.

Cycling SA’s rules state that junior riders are not allowed to enter long-distance races, which meant that local juniors such as CP van Wyk were not eligible for prizes. There was thus no junior category. Another junior rider who took part and did exceptionally well is Christiaan Roos, who ended seventh overall in a time of 03:47:08.

In the 35-kilometre race, first prizes went to the following riders:

Men

Paul Dando (First Sub-junior 14)

Lachlan Truesdale (First Youth 15-16)

Louis Blom (First Junior 17-18)

Juandré Brits (First Senior 19-29)

Steve Wilson (First Sub-veteran 30-39)

Charl Talbot (First Veteran 40-49)

Gerhard Gouws (First Master 50+)

Women

Anke Vaughan (First Sub-junior 14)

Sarah Progrund (First Youth 15-16)

Natasha Erasmus (First Junior 17-18)

Carmen Talbot (First Senior 19-29)

Soretha Lubbe (First Sub-veteran 30-39)

Suzette Talbot (First Veteran 40-49)

Amanda Kruger (First Master 50+)

The 10-kilometre race was won by Stefan Horn in a time of 12:30:20. Zian van den Heever was second in 12:30:48, with Jacques Minnaar in third place. The ladies winner was Marzanne Pretorius, with Nicola Foort in second place. Tanya Coetzee ended third. Zian van den Heever was also the first junior home, while the junior ladies prize went to Clarisa Ouwenkamp.