Alan Gordon scoops up top win at Munnik Meerkat

Date: 31 March 2017 By: Anton van Zyl

The Munnik area was engulfed in a misty wetness on Saturday morning, but this did not stop more than 500 cyclists from taking part in the annual Munnik Meerkat Mountain Bike Race. As expected, the race provided lots of entertainment but also top-class riding from the region’s best cyclists.

In the 70km race, Alan Gordon had no-one to match him. This experienced rider from Tzaneen finished in 02:37:30, well clear of Mario Ferreira, who ended in 02:50:40. Mario built up a bit of a gap, but four riders put up a mammoth fight for the bronze medal. They were Bill Noel (02:58:03), Michael Wood (02:58:39), Paul Essakow (02:58:44) and Conrad Lubbe (02:58:50). Mario won the category prize for the first veteran rider home.

Alex Strydom was the first U/19 rider to cross the line, in 03:01:03. Louis Trichardt rider Marno van Zyl was second in this category in 03:38:29. The sub-veteran category was won by Phillip Otto (03:01:59), while Henry Hayes won the master’s category in 03:03:29.

The ladies section was won by Theresia Lessing in 03:29:32. She beat Shirley Scriven by about ten minutes. Shirley finished in 03:39:03 and also won the veteran category. Gina Cloete (03:44:26) was the first sub-veteran to finish.

The 35km race, as usual, drew most of the entries and almost 300 riders lined up to test their skills on a fairly sandy track. Carel Smit was triumphant, finishing in 01:18:49, three minutes before the two riders from Louis Trichardt, Richard Lambert (01:21:47) and Heine de Jager (01:21:55). All three podium winners are junior riders.

Arno Smit, who competed in the youth section (15-16 years of age), made his presence known in the race by finishing sixth overall in a time of 01:23:24. A sub-junior (13-14 years) caused a bit of a stir by clinching a Top-10 finish. Reuben Middleton finished in 01:25:45 and clearly indicated that he is a rider to watch out for in the next couple of years.

The Elite category (19-29 years) was won by Tiaan Fullard (01:24:33), and in the sub-veteran category it was Ben Olivier who took gold in 01:25:32. Christiaan Visagie (01:27:58) won gold in the veteran category and Ian Cook (01:30:53) was the first master to cross the finish line. David Surmon (01:31:38) won the U/23 category. The gold medal in the grand master category went to Frits Eloff (01:43:35).

The women’s race was dominated by the young Anna Elisa Gutierrez (01:31:53). She also won the youth (15-16 years) category. Second overall was Carmen Schoeman (01:39:31) who also won the masters category. A grand master (60 plus age group), Elbie Lourens (01:46:43), showed the young women what she is capable of by taking bronze overall and winning her category.

Jana de la Port was the first sub-veteran home in 01:47:49 and hot on her heels was the 13-year-old Simone Oberholzer of Louis Trichardt in fifth overall position in 01:48:52. Simone also won the sub-junior category.

Sasha Boyum ended seventh overall, but won the U/12 category by finishing in 01:49:58. Another Louis Trichardt rider, Joleen de Swardt (01:51:43), won the junior category. Retha Beukes was the first veteran home in 01:53:11. The first elite rider (19-29 years) to finish was Eldine van der Walt (02:07:34) and the Under 23 winner was Etne Lloyd (03:03:08).

The 10km race was won by a Louis Trichardt cyclist, Christelle Coetzer, in 00:29:19. She also won the ladies section. The second rider across the finish line was Jarred Watridge (00:32:31), with Anton Steenkamp (00:33:37) in third place. The third male rider was Zineddine Mengouchi, finishing in 00:34:45.

The second lady to finish the race was a US visitor to the country, Solvei Stenslie (00:40:48). Solvei is also a talented artist who featured in an article in the Zoutpansberger a few weeks ago. The third lady home was an U/12 rider, Tashane Ehlers (00:41:46).

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Anton van Zyl

Anton van Zyl has been with the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror since 1990. He graduated from the Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg) and obtained a BA Communications degree. He is a founder member of the Association of Independent Publishers.

More photos... 

Simone Oberholzer (middle) of Louis Trichardt ended in fifth position overall in the 35km women's race. Simone also won the sub-junior category. Aicha Mengouchi (left) was second and Amilia Goosen third.