On Saturday, the 3^rd race in the Mazda MTN Series, Induna, took place just outside Hazyview. Last year the event was the SA Marathon Championships and with a challenging route that combines all aspects of mountain biking, it makes for a good battle. The turnout was again good with riders able to make it into a holiday with the Monday being a long weekend. A couple of the top riders were missing, having already left for the XC World Championships in Italy this coming week.

The race started with a neutral section as we headed out along the main tar road before heading onto the dirt and up the first of what was to be many climbs.

Hi all! This weekend I raced the 5th SA Cross Country Cup at Mankele, which is just outside of Nelspruit. Unfortunately I had to write tests on Friday and thus werenʼt able to train the course as I only arrived there on Friday evening. But I managed to slip in one lap early the next morning, which at least gave me an idea of what was coming..

On the start line I was amazed at the poor turnout, as quite a few top riders was noticeably not there, Kevin Evans; Johan v Zyl; Mannie Heymans; Brandon Steward; JP Pearton and a few more, although the race favorite Burry Stander was there.

Hi Guys, Yesterday was the second leg of the Mazda drifter series held in Graskop. The event was the second SA selection race, which meant that all the guys would be there and the competion would be really strong.

Marc Bassingwaithe set a really fast pace in the beginning splitting the bunch early on and by the 15km mark it was Marc, Kevin, David George and I in the split. I knew I would be in trouble as the two MTN guys were looking strong. Kevin attack leaving us to do the chasing and not soon after that, David attacked and went across to Kevin. Marc and I were now left to do all the chasing, which was going to make it a really hard race.

With over 3 months having passed since the first MTN Mazda Marathon in January, it was with anticipation that riders lined up for Forest to Falls, the 2nd event in this years series. Some unseasonal downpours on Thursday and Friday resulted in a course that changed from being bone dry to wet and slippery. All the top riders, besides Burry who is having some exceptional performances in the World Cups overseas, were present.

With most of the top riders having taken part in the Epic, some were in exceptional form, while others were still trying to convince themselves that it was necessary to spend 3 hours on the bike.