Township cyclists flex muscles

Three wannabe daredevils from the township of Seshego, Polokwane, won the hearts of many a mountain biker on the occasion of an event across the rocky terrain of Bela-Bela’s Elements Golf Estate, Shakuma Lodge, ending at Sondela Nature Reserve.

The endurance experience was the first ever for Willy Ledwaba (33), Reggie Galane (33) and Benny Galane (33).

Ledwaba said the threesome had over a period of time circled their way between Seshego and Polokwane, and that was how word reached them about the mountain bike event in Bela-Bela.

One thing led to the other, and come Friday 8 June, the three were complete in safety gear and customised bicycles, for the three-day endurance test.

While the race went smoothly for both the Galanes, Ledwaba had to deal with a flat tyre along the rocky Shakuma Lodge stage of the event.

Organisers offered special prizes to the threesome, in recognition of plunging into a sporting code which was generally known not to be not for sissies.

The “makeshift” twosome of B Kruger and Regis Maniora won their third stage in a row, to seal overall victory of the Liberty Waterberg MTB Encounter.

In the final stage, which culminated at the Sondela Nature Reserve after 59km of racing, the ASG-Cape Duo pair took a hard-fought three-second victory over ASG Store Paarl’s Hanco Kachelhoffer and Pieter Seyffert, who secured the runner-up spot in the general classification.

Kruger and his makeshift Luxembourg teammate clinched the top spot with an overall time of 6:50:18, a minute ahead of their closest rivals.

LikeToBike’s Floris Engelbrecht and Justin van der Linde finished a distant third overall after three successive podiums.

Kruger, who is based in Paarl, was delighted with their victory in his second appearance in the Waterberg Encounter, presented by STANLIB.

“It was a good feeling to win,” he said, admitting that he was more relaxed than during his debut.

“From my experience last year, I knew it would be an enjoyable race with a good vibe and I was looking forward to another challenging weekend.

Kruger said he and Maniora were pushed hard on the final day after a less than perfect start.

Marie-Louise Kleynhans and Rentia van Tonder won the women’s race in 11:06:49.

– The BEAT