Luyanda Thobigunya finished at the top of the podium in the men’s marathon category of this year’s Savanna Origin of Trails MTB Experience event at Coetzenburg in Stellenbosch this weekend.
Thobigunya won the first stage of the two-day event on Saturday (18 November) and crossed the line in front of Kusaselihle Ngidi in the second stage on Sunday (19 November).
His first place finishes on both days secured him the top spot in the marathon distance. Ngidi, for the third consecutive year, had to settle for second place, with Stellenbosch local Stefan de Bod placing third.
De Bod, a South African road cyclist, was pleasantly surprised by the event. “I’m from Stellenbosch, but am living in Spain for the team racing in Europe,” he explained. “This is the first time that I’ve taken part in the event. I took my bike to Flandria Bike Shop and saw the poster. While I was waiting for my bike, I entered the event. Now I think that I’ll enter every year. It’s just a great opportunity to ride the trails that I use to train and race on. Sometime people take sport too seriously, so it’s nice to have an event that encourages people to have fun. Yes, there’s a racing aspect to it, which is great, but we need more events that people can just enjoy.”
Somerset West local Lehane Oosthuizen was the overall winner of the women’s marathon distance, winning both stages. Selina Kuhn placed second, with Suné Henning finishing third.
Caroline de Villiers was the overall winner in the women’s half marathon after two days of racing, followed by Stellenbosch local Jackie Lochner in second and Rochelle Burger in third.
In the men’s half marathon, Jonathan Elcock was the overall winner, with Ruben Ward in second and Ian Volschenk in third.
