The annual Munnik Meerkat Mountain Bike Challenge hosted at Munnik outside Polokwane once again lured hundreds of mountain biking enthusiasts on Saturday.
The race offers serious mountain bikers a challenging 70 km and 35 km ride while the less serious can opt for a 10 km race.
This year saw veteran rider Bill Noel claiming victory in the men’s 70 km with a time of 02:51.40 followed by Alasdair Garnett. Claudia Slattery was the first woman to return to base in a time of 03:14.35 with Dorothy Wood finishing second nearly 42 minutes later.
In the 35 km race junior rider Ben Barber gave his opponents a hard time finishing first with a time of 01:13.59. Christelle Coetzer took first position in the 35 km women’s category with a time of 01:21.28.
Fifteen-year-old Marthinus Viviers attained gold in the 10 km race having reached the finish line in a time of 31:48. Seven minutes later the first woman home in the 10 km was veteran Ina Neeleman.
A total of 524 riders completed this year’s event.
Story: RC Myburgh
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