Athleticism is undoubtedly in the Mee genes

Caitlin and her father Steve Mee have come on top of the race during a competition in KZN.

June 24, 2024

Provided Content 2 minutes read

Caitlin and Steve Mee pictured in their mixed team race leader jerseys alongside SA’s top professional cyclists, on day two of the KAP sani2c Race.

Caitlin and her father Steve Mee from Dainfern Valley in Fourways recently won first place in the mixed team category of the 2024 KAP sani2c Race, a three-day, 270km mountain bike stage race, which took place in KZN.

The 19-year-old first-year student at the University of Pretoria and her father Steve Mee embarked on the challenging race for the second time, competing under the team name The Peanut Gallery.

They secured third place in the mixed team category last year, despite Caitlin’s relatively short time in the cycling world, just six months after she started. This year, they were even more motivated to improve their performance and set their sights on an even better result.

Caitlin, whose dream it is to be a professional cyclist, also scored an incredible individual result at the race, winning the Unitrans Queen of the Mountain, polka dot jersey against a highly competitive field that included some of South Africa’s top female professional cyclists.

She took the honours by being the fastest woman up the aptly named Iconic Climb.

“I was able to complete the 2.84km, 294m climb with its 10.4% gradient in just 20 minutes and 21 seconds.”

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Steve, on the other hand, is a seasoned and accomplished athlete. Back in the 80s he notched up several BMX championships. He was a seven-time national duathlon champion in the 90s and early 2000s and represented South Africa at six World Duathlon Championships.

Caitlin and Steve Mee take first place in the Mixed Team in the 2024 KAP sani2c Race. Gavin van der Merwe of race-sponsor KAP, third-place finishers Philip Beukes and Ilse Nel of the team Sumeil, winners Steve and Caitlin Mee of the team The Peanut Gallery, runners-up Mikaela Meyer and Nick Arthur of team Wellias and Mekelias, and Farmer Glen Haw, sani2c race-owner.

The 57-year-old became the second, and youngest person, to achieve 20 consecutive silver medals in the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon in 2007. While living in the USA, from 2008 to 2022, he was a five-times Texas State Mountain Bike Marathon champion and a third-place finisher at US Nationals, as well as a two-time Texas State XCO Mountain Bike champion.

The top three mixed team results for the overall 2024 KAP sani2c Race were as follows: