Chocolate eggs weren’t the only cause of the sugary sweet aftertaste left in the mouths of Martin Dreyer’s RMB Change a Life MTB Academy this Easter after the team’s telling impression left on the Pietermaritzburg MTB Festival held at Cascades MTB Park last weekend.
The fast emerging outfit handled the wet and slippery conditions with aplomb and walked away with their heads held high after MTB captain John Ntuli won Saturday’s sub-vets cross country tussle and Sthembiso Masango finished sixth overall and was the third senior across the line in Sunday’s 50km Classic.
RMB Change a Life MTB Academy’s Sthembiso Masango (right) joins Full Dynamix’s Travis Walker (left) and RECM’s James Reid (centre) on the senior men’s podium of the 50km Classic event of the Pietermaritzburg MTB Festival that took place on Easter Sunday last weekend. // Photo: Supplied/
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“What a cracker weekend it was for RMB Change a Life!” exclaimed a proud Dreyer afterwards.
“Conditions were super testing on Saturday with the Cascades’ clay and all the rain but John put in a super effort to win his age group’s cross country race and then Sthembiso put in the performance of the weekend for us on Sunday!” he added.
It was pleasing for Dreyer to see the positive cross country results after the academy’s recent branching out into the discipline as the Change a Life setup is known for their marathon strength on the local circuit for good reason.
“This year we’ve looked to incorporate cross country into our training because it’s just such good training!
RMB Change a Life MTB Academy’s Dumisani Shabalala (33rd), Martin Dreyer (16th), John Ntuli (8th) and Sthembiso Masango (6th) celebrate theirs and the rest of the team’s success in the 50km Classic event of the Pietermaritzburg MTB Festival that took place on Easter Sunday last weekend. // Photo: Supplied/
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“There is nowhere to hide in cross country. It is so intense, you are not able to draft, it’s technical and you go full gas throughout and si it was great to see John’s result and Sthembiso did well in the elite men’s HC cross country event too.
“With the valley providing such an ideal natural mountain biking playground, marathon is definitely more of our thing and for Sthembiso to stand on the podium with James Reid and Travis Walker in the senior men’s category really was amazing!” said Dreyer.
Steady rain meant conditions were testing throughout the weekend and having already experienced Saturday’s muddy XCO course and more rain overnight, the RMB Change a Life outfit braced themselves for the worst ahead of Sunday’s 50km clash.
“When we set off on Sunday, to our surprise it wasn’t half as muddy as expected.
“The minor detours to avoid problem areas, plus the virgin track played into the hands of the event with its great surface.
“I guess that’s what you get when you’ve got the world’s best trail builder in Nick Floros involved in the mix!
While Masango looked to challenge the front of the field, he was closely followed home by Ntuli in eighth place and the ever-improving Ndumiso Dontso in eleventh while Dreyer himself kept the banter from the rest of the academy’s riders at bay for a little longer as he edged out Sipho Kupiso, Mboneni Ngcobo and Bongumusa Zikhali for 16th position.
“We have our own dices within the academy at each event and before the race the guys had been saying I was getting old.
“I said to them the night before that this grey beard was going to beat them in the morning and it was great to prove just that to most of them. It keeps them from ragging me for a little while longer!” laughed Dreyer.
The RMB Change a Life MTB Academy now turn their attention towards the local KZN MTB Cross Country Series third leg in Eston before looking for strong showings against the country’s best at the Clarens leg of the Ashburton National MTB Series in the Free State and the Nedbank sani2c.
SUMMARY OF RESULTS – RMB CHANGE A LIFE MTB ACADEMY
PIETERMARITZBURG MTB FESTIVAL
XCO
Elite Men
17. Sthembiso Masango 1.41.15
Sub-Vet Men
1.John Ntuli 1.14.41
50KM CLASSIC
Overall
6.Sthembiso Masango 2:26.16
8.John Ntuli 2:30.26
11.Ndumiso Dontso 2:34.15
16.Martin Dreyer 2:39.24
17.Sipho Kupiso 2:42.38
18.Mboneni Ngcobo 2:42.58
19.Bongumusa Zikhali 2:45.20
23.Mazwi Msimango 2:48.16
25.Siyanda Masango 2:51.56
33.Dumisani Shabalala 3:01.47
