Sportsmanship triumphs in MTB classic

IN a rare feat for a race that has a habit of attracting the most competitive mountain bikers in the region, the Sappi Scottburgh MTB classic ended in an amicable dead-heat between its defending champion, Andrew Hill, and Tyronne White.

The tough first climb quickly separated the podium contenders from the rest of batch A, but it nearly went very wrong for Tyronne and Andrew when they took a wrong turn and had to back-track to return to the 45km route.

Andrew felt the effects of four tough days riding on the Wild Coast and said the raw and untamed nature of the Scottburgh route challenged him.

“I was feeling it in my legs,” he admitted.

The duo were inseparable during the demanding hilly and untamed 45km race before they approached the finish at Scottburgh’s main beach. After racing across the pallets laid out across the beach sand they had to deal with the Mpambanyoni lagoon crossing, and as the first riders home, they were uncertain about the water’s depth.

ALSO READ: Hill aims for fourth crown

Andrew, fresh from an impressive win at the Imana Wild Ride, crossed the shallow water safely while Tyronne opted to stop, remove his cycling shoes and then wade across the river.

Instead of racing away to claim a fourth successive win, Andrew waited for Tyronne and the pair crossed the finish line together to share the spoils.

“That’s proper mountain biking. There wasn’t any difference between us on the bike out there today, so we reached a gentleman’s agreement that we would finish together,” said Andrew. “It shows sportsmanship and I hope it sets an example to the younger mountain bikers.”

Tyronne scored handsomely from the deal as he claimed maximum points towards the Quattro ROAG Series and now has one hand on the trophy after seven races in the series. Brad Thompson finished in third position.

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