On April 26, a total of 100 mountain bikers took part in the third annual Diamond Route Bike4Beasts Mountain Bike Challenge on the De Beers Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve.

This exciting and adrenalin-filled cross-country event aims to raise funds for the conservation activities of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, promote awareness of the region, and stimulate ecotourism.

Participants were also given a rare opportunity to take part in a 31km fun ride in the Mapungubwe National Park. Race organisers Lycaon Logistics were thrilled with the success of the event, which is growing in popularity and can only get bigger and better each year.

The winner of the 2009 Bike4Beast men’s challenge was Damien Booth, with a time of 02:27:25, beating the previous course record by 45 seconds. Damien crossed the line with Cornell van der Westhuizen who, in second place, also broke the course record and was 0.3 seconds behind Damien. Bernard Bronkhorst finished third. The winning lady was Kerry Baytopp, with a time of 04:15:45. Rosalia Kubjone took second place and Karin Irvine-Smith in third. The winning team was Team Garmin, with a new course record time of 03:53:42.

A youth category was introduced this year and was won by William Mokgopo, who was also the fourth fastest rider. William and Rosalia were both sponsored by Terex Africa and are members of the Diepsloot Development Riders’ Group. Each of the three places walked away with prize money, sponsored by Land Rover South Africa. Full race results and details can be found at www.lycaonlogistics.co.za