First Ascent Big Induna Mountain bike Classic

The event was held at Induna Adventures situated between Sabie and Hazyview.

Not only does the Big Induna provide a unique and spectacular environment to ride in, but it also offers a warm welcome break from the chilly Highveld winter.

The Lowveld winter weather didn’t disappoint greeting us with a beautiful warm winter’s day as we left the start line for the 78km marathon event.

First we were taken onto the 40km half marathon route, through the finish line and then onto another 38km circuit.

The first 40km rolling section was extremely fast and mainly consisted out of jeep-and-single track through macadamia plantations.  The single track is not your usual fast flowing single track but more cross country orientated with sharp corners, tree roots, sandy patches, narrow bridges and drop-offs.

The single track isn’t scary, just tricky and if you’re technically sound or have ridden the course before hand (mental note) then it will definitely count as an advantage.

Most of the climbing was found on the second loop. It consisted out of long steady ascents broken by tricky descents with some single track thrown in to make sure you couldn’t find a rhythm. 

Theresa Ralph, who is busy with her final preparation before heading off to Europe for the Marathon World Championships at the end of June, had a storming ride claiming victory at the Big Induna. Samantha Saanders who just returned from her 2 month European Campaign where she was competing on the cross country circuit, showed her technical prowess and local knowledge to finish in 2^nd place while I rounded out the podium in 3^rd place.

A Big thank you goes to Jaco Lubbe and his Induna Adventure’s team for putting together a great event! I always enjoy and look forward to this race!