Cyclists race towards the finish line

Over 3 500 cyclists lined up at the starting lines of the MacSteel National Classic cycle race with mountain bikes on Saturday and road bicycles on Sunday at Carnival City’s main entrance.

The 33rd of its kind annual event, hosted by the Germiston Wheelers, took place twice this year as the official date has been moved from February to November.

The results are as follows: On Saturday, Marisa van der Linde dominated in the 60km mountain bike race winning by almost 12 minutes.

Steph Blane came in second while Erica Daniell finished third.

Out of 106 competitors and with a time of 1:57:50 Jan Withaar crossed the finish line first in the same race in the men’s category.

Kai Pritzen came in second and Henry Uys in third. In the 30km race, Yolande Meiring finished first in the women’s class and Aaron Heyneke took top honours in the men’s race.

Reaching speeds of up to 45km per hour, Nolan Hoffman won first place in the 125km race by one second with a time of 2:54:01 in the elite category on Sunday.

Steven van Heerden, Reynard Butler, Willie Smit and Neil Robinson all followed right on his heels with a time of 2:54:02.

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There was a breakaway of 16 cyclists who set a fast tempo early on enabling them to finish about one minute ahead of the peloton.

Kim le Court, who also won the women’s division in February, finished in first again.

Elbe Coetzer won in the women’s category of the 103km race while Rodney Love was the first male who completed the race.

In the 65km race, Claudia Gnudi finished first in the women’s category while Chris Ransom earned the men’s title.

Cyclists not only had to compete against other competitors but also against strong winds on Sunday.

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Gerald Martin, Germiston Wheelers race committee member, says the proceeds of the event will be divided between the Germiston Wheelers, Germiston Rotary projects, and towards the development of amateur cycling.