Phillimon Sebona had the crowd on their feet as he came in for the win at the 15th annual Magalies Monster MTB Classic at the ATKV resort in Buffelspoort today.
Making his debut at the race, Sebona took the top spot on the podium in the 66km marathon with a lightning fast time of 3:06:10. Wessel Botha came home second with Henry Uys finishing third.
See the top five finishers of each of this year’s categories here.
Phillimon Sebona won the 66km feature race of the 15th Magalies Monster MTB Classic at the ATKV resort in Buffelspoort today in a time of 3:06:10. Photo: Tobias Ginsberg
“I’m used to racing the longer stage races, but have heard that the Magalies Monster was one of the toughest one-day races,” said this year’s Cape Epic Exxaro special jersey winner. “I had to try it out.
“There was about six of us riding together just before the monster climb. I was between 2nd and 3rd from the front, but was dropped just before we reached the top.
“My legs just weren’t warm enough, but I managed to catch up in the last 20km,” said the Diepsloot MTB Academy rider.
“The terrain was rough going up. There was no easy traction, while the downs had loose corners. I had to control my pace.”
Sebona said the Magalies Monster had been a great experience.
“There were a lot of climbs, my kind of racing. I’ll definitely be back in 2018.”
Theresa Ralph obliterated the field in the women’s marathon to win in 3:36:06. She was followed home by Johandri Leicester, while Adrienne Moolman finished third.
“I had fun today,” said Ralph.
“The route changed from last year. There was a lot of loose sand.
“I guess it wouldn’t be the Monster if it wasn’t difficult. I took it easy at the start, riding at my own pace, not pushing too hard.”
