![\"ccs-62657-0-10128600-1481269043.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-10128600-1481269043.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>RMB Change a Life Academy’s Sthembiso Masango showed his incredible endurance skills when he completed the gruelling 1000km Munga in sixth place overall and first development rider. Erik Vermeulen\/ AdventurePhotos<\/span><\/p>\nFollowing in former Academy veteran John Ntuli\u2019s footsteps, who won the overall title in 2015, the Change a Life duo\u2019s effort saw the Valley of Thousand Hills setup\u2019s flag continue to fly high this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they asked John for advice, he basically just told them that their backsides would get very sore!\u201d quipped Change a Life Academy founder Martin Dreyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an incredible effort from the guys and awesome for them to be rewarded with a podium finish.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe race is more like an adventure challenge than a mountain biking race, with the guys using the 36ONE MTB Challenge earlier in the year to give them some sort of an idea on how to go about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The race\u2019s non-stop, rest when you want approach made it difficult for the Change a Life pair to pace their race and Masango went out the hardest, finding himself in the lead at night fall on the first day.<\/p>\n
However a mechanical, that would plague him throughout the race, meant that he hit a rough patch mentally at that point. <\/p>\n
\u201cSthembiso was flying and at about 180km into the race his back wheel buckled. This meant that he had to limp his way into the first race village in Britstown.<\/p>\n
\u201cLosing three hours on the leaders, he was ready to call it a day. We chatted, where I told him everyone goes through tough times in a big race like this and it\u2019s how you deal with it that counts. You cannot give up. Adversity is the breakfast of Champions!\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a good rest, a switch flicked in his head and he was off, riding like there was no tomorrow, making his way up the rankings! <\/p>\n
\u201cHe had another issue with his back tyre coming into the fourth race village in Sutherland around the 700km mark, fortunately here they managed to fix it properly.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom there he didn\u2019t look back and powered to fifth over the line but was given a thirty minute penalty for not signing in at the race village in Loxton, but that luckily didn\u2019t change the results,\u201d Dreyer added.<\/p>\n