May 2014, Champions Uncovered hosted a water point to serve the community and cheer the athletes on as part of giving back to the sport of mountain biking. The race took place in a small town best known for it’s game farms and wild life, called Rooiberg in the province of Limpopo for leg 5 of the MTN National MTB series driven by NISSAN.
The race was particularly challenging due to the loose sand and very rocky course. The Ultra Marathon and Marathon riders had to conquer Butcher’s Hill and the rolling hills, known as the “roller coaster”. For those who did stop to recover, it was a welcomed relief to stop for refreshments, at our water point being number 2 on the race route.
We got to see and hear some stories of what the Champs had to overcome and the sense of achievement just getting over that hill. Some Mountain Bikers having done forward somersaults and landing spectacularly on their feet whilst others were not so fortunate, however they continued on their pursuit to cross the finish line to receive their well deserved medals.
The Half Marathon, 20km and 10km also had their own obstacles to overcome, like Surprise Hill which put the beginner and intermediate riders skills to the test.
The fast and friendly came racing past us to be first to finish – here are the results.
Results:
Ultra Marathon (Men): Darren Lill 04:28:35 won his first race in 2014, followed by Max Knox from FedGroup-Itec in second place and fellow teammate, Kevin Evans also from FedGroup-Itec in third.
Marathon (ladies): As for the ladies who competed the podium results are as follows; Ariane Kleinhans 03:52:25 from Team RECM took first position, Robyn de Groot from Team RECM second and third place Yolandi DuToit! Well done ladies!
Congrats to all the Champs who took part in this race! Leg 6 of the competition takes place in Van Gaalens, Gauteng in June.
We were proud to contribute to making the race enjoyable and it was associated with the MTN National MTB series driven by NISSAN.
