Van der Walt cuts through mud to win the 36ONE MTB

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SPORT NEWS - Wayne van der Walt won the 2023 36ONE MTB Challenge in a time of 15 hours, 37 minutes and 52 seconds with Mariske Smith reigning victorious in the women's division.

The race started at 15:00 last Friday at Klein Plaas holiday resort.

PHOTO GALLERY: 2023 36ONE MTB Challenge

The weather, with intermittent drizzle falling on already muddy roads and cold temperatures, played their part in determining the winners too, on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 May.

The conditions were probably the toughest they have ever been for The Ultimate Race. This was accentuated by both defending champions being forced out with mechanicals. In hindsight, Van der Walt's 45mm tyres cleared mud better than the 2.1 inch, and wider, mountain bike tyres on his rivals' bikes.

He also reported being able to save energy in the early phases of the race, which paid dividends later. These factors certainly aided him in overcoming not only his rivals but also the rain, mud and icy temperatures.

In the women's race, Yolande de Villiers set the early pace, as she, Mariske Smith and Rebecca van Huyssteen settled into groups separated by two minutes each, on the roads to Louvain. Shortly after checkpoint 1, De Villiers also suffered a race-ending mechanical.

In the mud, a rock became lodged between her crank and the chainring, which broke her chain and damaged the frame of her bike.

The defending champion's misfortune handed Smith the race lead, which she never relinquished. As the groups broke apart she and Van Huyssteen were isolated and largely ground their way through the second half of the race solo. Smith nonetheless continued to extend her advantage on the road, eventually winning by more than two hours.

The mixed team competition was won by Nicola Freitas and Willem Mouton.

Ten riders completed their fifth 36ONE MTB Challenge. Fred van Zyl, who was also among the four finishers over the age of 70, completed his tenth edition. The fastest over 70 was Bles de Wet, ahead of Philip Erasmus.

Such is the difficulty of the full 36ONE course that the Half is considered easy by comparison. In reality, it is anything but. Especially in 2023 when the addition of a 11km neutral zone to the 189km route took the effective distance to 200km. The course also took in the Rooiberg Pass to Calitzdorp, as well as the Kruisrivier Road along the foothills of the Swartberg Mountain range.

Warren Langridge was the first man across the line in the Half. Rethe Mostert took the women's race victory. Mostert's husband, Marius Mostert held off Brandon Willcocks in a sprint for second. While Channel du Chene and Roxanne Kemp completed the women's podium places.