In cold and windy conditions, Travis Walker and Jeannie Bomford emerged as the big winners at the inaugural Mandela Day Marathon MTB Dash on Saturday 30th August. The event started and finished at the Capture Site near Howick and formed part of the expanded programme of events linked to the Mandela Day Marathon this year that also included a Trail Run and a 5km kid’s road running race.
The wind that picked up earlier in the week and that blew hard on the day played havoc with many of the riders that took part in the 42km and 21km MTB races with many riders after the race showing signs of a hard day in the saddle. Nick Floros designed a course that was more challenging the quicker it was ridden making the sharp end of the race interesting indeed, but the weather conditions also played a huge role in how people got on on the day.
Although Walker and Bomform walked away with the bulk of the prize money on the day, with a total of R 122 700.00 prize money up for grabs, even those in the minor places walked away with broad smiles on their faces. However, it was not just the prizes that gave everyone a warm fuzzy feeling about the race. The general consensus amongst the entrants is that they all had a great time and that the event was well organised and that it will hopefully become a feature on the national mountain biking calendar for many years to come.
A full set of results can be found at www.mandelamarathon.com.
