Dutch endurance specialist, Jean Biermans, shattered his own course record to win the fourth edition of The 36ONE MTB Challenge, ultra-distance mountain bike race in South Africa’s Western Cape province at the weekend.
Dutch rider, Jean Biermans, celebrates his second successive victory and course record at The 36ONE MTB Challenge. // Photo credit: Jazz Kuschke.
The 40-year-old Biermans clocked a time of 14 hours 03 minutes 57 seconds for the non-stop 361km race, slicing more than 11 minutes off his 2014 winning time of 14:15:25. His average speed was 25kph for the course, which included 5 250 metres of vertical ascent.
Runner-up was 52-year-old South African, Riccardo Stermin, in 14:37:21 with Zimbabwean, Warren Squires (43), rounding out the podium in a time of 15:16:45. The first eight finishers in the men’s race were at least 40 years old.
Riders head out of Oudtshoorn shortly after the start of The 36ONE MTB Challenge. // Photo credit: Jazz Kuschke.
The event, which attracted a record field of over 500, started at 18h00 on Friday, sending competitors into the night on the largely non-technical gravel road route through the Karoo region around the town of Oudtshoorn, including the 23km climb and descent of the dramatic Rooiberg Pass. The cut-off time for the event is 36.1 hours.
A record number of 12 women finished the Solo category. The first three finishers were Liesbet Kristafor (17:52:51), Marzanne Kriel (20:15:49) and Naomi Visser (21:23:47).
“The race, which is exceptionally well organised, was a bit different this year compared to last year. It was more difficult for sure – colder and more windy and the mud from the previous days’ rain also made the surface a bit more difficult. There were also more Solo riders this year and stronger riders too. Definitely a more competitive field,” said an elated Biermans.
The Dutch rider was among the leaders from the start, but made his race-winning move with 180km remaining.
“I tried to make the pace hard from the start. Maybe it was too hard. I had a little dip before the first check point, but I recovered and then went more steady. I decided to make my move with 180km to go. It’s a long way to ride on your own, but I knew that I had the experience and the training and it worked out well. Winning again was great and breaking the record was a big bonus!
Yolande de Villiers heads towards the finish on the final leg of the two-rider team relay at The 36ONE MTB Challenge. She and teammate Jandri Ferreira won the relay overall. // Photo credit: Jazz Kuschke.
“I definitely trained more than last year. I lost my job after doing the Cape Pioneer Trek in South Africa in October last year. While I was looking for a new job, I had more time to train. I did 11500km of training since November. I live in Belgium and did a lot of my training with professional road cyclists, Tom Boonen and Andre Greipel. They think I’m mad to do a 361km race on a mountain bike,” grinned Biermans.
Martin and Jeanie Dreyer, the married couple that hold the men and women’s records respectively for the Freedom Challenge, the non-stop 2300km race across South Africa, competed in their first The 36ONE MTB Challenge. Riding as Team RMB Change a Life, they finished first in the Mixed Team category, clocking a time of 16:32:14, the fastest time recorded by a woman for the event.
South African endurance racing ace, Martin Dreyer, arrives a one of the check points during The 36ONE MTB Challenge. Dreyer and his wife Jeannie won the Mixed team category overall. // Photo credit: Jazz Kuschke.
“In terms of a pure mountain bike race, The 36ONE is the longest we’ve done. And while it’s hard – that’s a long way to ride in one go – it’s achievable because it’s very well marked and there are aid stations every 35km, which give you great food and TLC,” said Martin Dreyer afterwards.
“Unlike the Freedom Challenge, where you stop and sleep or get off and have to portage regularly, The 36ONE is pedalling your mountain bike the whole time. It’s actually best to go as hard as possible so that you don’t have to ride into the Saturday night and have to deal with the need for sleep that starts to grow stronger the longer you’re out there.
“Jeannie and I loved it. It was a bit like a long date as we were able to do something together that we both enjoy without the kids. Jeannie was strong. I had to ask her to slow down a bit for the last 50km, but doing such a well organised race together was an amazing experience,” added Dreyer.
A record total of 222 riders completed the full distance event, with 158 men, 12 women and 26 two-rider teams earning their finisher medals. A further 23 two-rider relay teams shared the effort to complete the full distance too.
Riders prepare to start the fourth edition of The 36ONE MTB Challenge. More than 500 entrants tackled the ultra-endurance mountain bike race. // Photo credit: Jazz Kuschke.
There were also 35 finishers in the Half-distance event over 181.5km, introduced to give riders a sample of the full distance race, with the aim of growing the full-distance participation each year.
“Each year The 36ONE is growing in both numbers and prestige. It’s a tough event, but it offers a very different challenge to the high number of marathons and stage races on the calendar, which appears to be one of the reasons for the growth,” said Henco Rademeyer of Dryland Event Management, organisers of The 36ONE MTB Challenge.
Jean Biermans enjoys the sunrise as he heads towards the finish of The 36ONE MTB Challenge. Biermans won the race for a second year in succession and set a new course record. // Photo credit: Jazz Kuschke.
“We’ve already set the date for the fifth edition next year. It will be held from 15-17 April and we expect to see even further growth in South Africa’s longest non-stop mountain bike race,” added Rademeyer.
2015 The 36ONE MTB Challenge
Oudtshoorn, South Africa 17-19 April 2015
Leading results
Men’s Solo – 361km
1 Jean Biermans 14:03:57
2 Riccardo Stermin 14:37:21
3 Warren Squires 15:16:45
4 Andre Visser 15:20:03
5 Hentus Baard 16:03:15
Women’s Solo – 361km
1 Liesbet Kristafor 17:52:51
2 Marzanne Kriel 20:15:49
3 Naomi Visser 21:23:47
4 Nienie Steenekamp 22:14:09
5 Katja Steenkamp 22:54:16
For more information and for full Solo, Team and Relay results, visit www.the36one.co.za.
While I didn't ride solo, we finished in "5th" place overall. And I'm not 40
Well done to Jean - what a stellar ride, and to everyone else who rode. One seriously hardcore event.