The past weekend saw not only the annual Fighter Town Cycling Challenge being hosted, but also the club championships of the P&L Cycling Club of Makhado (Louis Trichardt).

The Fighter Town Challenge was held on Saturday at AFB Makhado and attracted a large number of local entries. During this race, cyclists competed in a 70km and a 55km road race, which took them over runways and past some fighter aircraft on display.

In the 70km race, it was a neck-and-neck race. Both Alan Gordon and Neil Hanekom finished the race in a time of 01:36:39. Third to finish was Lourens Beeslaar in a time of 01:47:30. In the women’s category of the 70km race, the podium was dominated by cyclists from other clubs. Lenise Henning clinched victory in a time of 01:51:32. Second and third were Annemarie Lindeque and Corné Nel, finishing the race in 02:09:02 and 02:15:50 respectively.

First overall winner in the 55km race was local cycling star CP van Wyk in a time of 01:21:38. Milliseconds after him were Chris de Klerk in second place and Rick Coetzee in third. They finished in a time of 01:21:39. In the women’s race, local cyclists clinched the top three positions. First was Renata Joubert in a time of 01:27:28. Second and third were Amanda Kruger and Jenay McLeod, finishing in 01:39:32 and 01:46:39 respectively.

The Fighter Town Challenge also served as the club championship road race for the P&L Cycling Club. First, second and third were CP van Wyk, Rick Coetzee and Marco Roets. In the women’s category,  Renata Joubert, Amanda Kruger and Jernay McLeod took the first three places.
On Sunday, the P&L Club held their mountain bike championship race in the form of a cross-country race in the Hanglip Forest. CP van Wyk clocked the best time over the two 15km laps in a time of 01:15:46; following him were Lourens Beeslaar in a time of 01:17:36 and Nico Geldenhuys in a time of 01:23:13.

Marnelle Pessegueiro boasted the best lap times in the women’s race, with a combined time of 01:36:38. Sarah Venter had the second-best time of 01:43:27.