Elephant challange

PIC BY LARRY

Craig Campbell does not have a chance to take in this beautiful scenery as he pushes himself to a third position in the senior male category

Larry Bentley

THE fourth mountain bike race in the Zululand Big 5 Series, held in eShowe on Sunday, took its toll on riders.
Mountains, river crossings, gravel roads and tracks were par for the course which challenged riders and their machines.
Despite the rugged terrain, there were few medical emergencies. Good rains on Friday night ensured the dust was settled but the shady parts of the track were still muddy and presented a challenge for the riders.With just on 190 riders in the 25 and 55km races and 30 in the 10km race, the event was a great success.

Tough
Comments made by competitors was that the race was extremely tough and the route needed to have a greater balance between tough and technical.
Some riders also lost valuable positions by missing critical route markers.
Series leader Sean Merredew won the eShowe event and is still leading the challenge with only one race to go.
The final race will be held on Saturday 30 September at Kwambo.

Results
25km male
1 Alexander Feret
2 Giovanni Pantalone
3 Nathan Langley

Female
1 Simone Scrase
2 Danielle Dalton
3 Maré Pieterse

55km Classic male
1 Sean Merredew
2 Andrew Warr
3 Tyrone Stevenson

Female
1 Teresa Macgregor
2 Jackie Thompson
3 Joyce Benade

Junior (male)
1 Kyle Wilmans
2 Martin Linser
3 Jaques van Barick

Senior (male)
1 Sean Merridew
2 Andrew Warr
3 Craig Campbell

Senior (female)
1 Desiree Briedenhann

Sub-Veteran (male)
1 Dirk Barnard
2 Graham Priest-Jones
3 John Milne

Sub-Veteran (female)
1 Teresa Macgregor
2 Jackie Thompson

Veteran (male)
1 Marc D’Offay
2 Paul Melville
3 Mike Carter

Veteran (female)
1 Joyce Benade

Master (male)
1 Tyrone Stevenson
2 Louis Fourie
3 Rodney Owen.