Dutch endurance mountain bike racing specialist, Jean Biermans (Sunweb Napoleon Games), has claimed victory in the third yearly 36ONE Mountain Bike Challenge in Oudtshoorn, South Africa, breaking the last record in the process.
The 36ONE MTB Challenge takes place in some of the most scenic roads in the Karoo region of South Africa’s Western Cape province. Photo: www.oakpics.co.za
Biermans clocked a time of 14 hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds for the gruelling 361km race to claim the title and the course record at the weekend.
The 36ONE Challenge is South Africa’s longest full-support mountain bike race, taking the competitors over a distance of 361km with an accumulated elevation gain of 5200 metres.
Participants have a maximum of 36.1 hours to complete the course, the first 10 hours being completed through the night.
Biermans started the race conservatively, moving through the first checkpoint at 81km just over six minutes behind early leader, Dana Schutte.
By check point two, at 183km, the Dutchman was in second place, literally on the wheel of then leader, Jacques van Zyl.
But by the third check point, at 280km, Biermans had worked up a 30-minute lead over Van Zyl, which he extended to 46 just over minutes by the finish, with Schutte a distant third to round out the podium.
Biermans sliced a large chunk off the 2013 record of 17:07:23, set by Charles Nienaber.
“I’m very stoked I could win the 36ONE. It was a very hard race and I’m glad I made it,” said a weary, but happy Biermans.
Hannele Steyn claimed her third successive title in the women’s category, improving on her 2013 winning time and the course record by almost an hour with a time of 17:28:57. Kirsty Thompson and Thea-Mari van der Sandt were second and third respectively.
