Johannesburg – National women's mountain-bike (MTB) marathon champion Robyn de Groot capped a solid year with a win at the Momentum 94.7 MTB Challenge race in Johannesburg on Sunday, while Kallen Williams defended his men’s title.
De Groot crossed the line in two hours, 12 minutes and 34 seconds (2:12:34), Anriette Schoeman finished second, while defending champion Yolandi du Toit finished third.
De Groot, who bagged her first mountain-bike title at the challenge, said she dedicated her win to her late grandfather.
“Today is just a special way to finish off a year, it’s been a really fantastic year,” said De Groot after the race at the Waterfall Estate.
“I would like to dedicate this win to my grandfather who we lost two months ago.”
Only in her first year of mountain-biking, after retiring from professional road cycling in 2012, de Groot has had a remarkable season, winning the national mountain-bike marathon championships in June, as well as the women's 75km marathon at the MTN Rooiberg event in the same month.
The non-sponsored rider said she was pleased with her performance on the day and felt fortunate not to have had mechanical problems.
“The pace was pretty tough from the start and it was really taxing.
“It was a nice race, up and down. I didn’t know what the route was like so it was all a bit of a surprise.
“The final drag up to the finish line was really tough on the legs.”
Last year's winner Kallen Williams successfully defended his title in the men’s race, crossing the line in 2:04:30 seconds, in a sprint finish battle against Dylan Williams, who came in three seconds later.
William Mokopo was third across in 2:07:39.
“The pressure coming in as defending champion was very difficult and so I just took it in my own stride and it turned out for the best,” said Williams after the race.
“I was not sure about winning today, I have been writing optometry exams and they’ve been really difficult. The time I’ve had to train was not so much, so everything came from the heart today.
“This win means a lot to me, it proves you can race in the top field and study as well.” – Sapa